Chapter Four: The Act

"Dragonspawn."

That was the only word Robert Baratheon, the new King of Westeros, had for the two small corpses that had been placed before the Iron Throne. The bodies were ruined almost beyond recognition, but there was little doubt for almost everyone present that they were all that remained of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen.

There were a couple people there who happened to know better.

Be that as it may, several of the others were horrified or appalled by the sight of the two tiny children wrapped up in a red sheet. Lord Eddard Stark was the most shocked of all.

"Robert, you cannot tell me this does not unsettle you," the Lord of Winterfell barked furiously, "This was an atrocity."

"It had to be done, Ned," Robert Baratheon said facetiously.

"Then could it not have done more in a more civil manner?" Ned Stark debated, "Such as a pillow pressed against their faces, or poison? Even cutting their throats would have been more humane."

"I must agree with Lord Eddard," Ser Jaime Lannister pronounced, "The children should have been granted a merciful death."

Gregor was surprised to see the young lion knight backing up the wolf lord. Especially since the latter had been the first one to daub the former "Kingslayer." Then again, Jaime had come to care for most of the Targaryen royal family. If he had not been preoccupied with putting down Mad King Aerys, he probably would have attempted to save Elia and her children, just as Gregor had.

"If you seek justice for this, Lord Stark, you need not bother," Tywin Lannister declared, "The culprit has already paid for his actions."

"Yes," Eddard shiftily agreed, "By the hand of one of your own bannermen, if what I've heard is to be believed, Lord Tywin."

"It is, Lord Eddard," Gregor Clegane professed.

When Lord Tywin arrived in the city, Gregor had shamelessly admitted to killing Amory Lorch.

He had given Lord Tywin two very understandable and logical reasons to justify that deed. The first reason was that when he saw how Ser Amory had butchered the royal children, Gregor had felt his blood boil, and he had taken his rage out on Ser Amory for his misdeeds. The other reason was that Ser Amory had been on the verge of doing the same abominable thing to Princess Elia, and unlike her children, the Dornishwoman was no danger to the throne.

He was asked to explain those reasons in further detail to King Robert and the other men present.

"Before we entered the city, I declared that the harming of innocent lives would not be tolerated," Gregor revealed, "I made it clear that anyone who disobeyed my orders would be severely punished. Depending on the crime, they would face penalties as great as death as the consequence. When I saw what Ser Amory did, I did nothing more than keep my word."

"That may be," Lord Jon Arryn conceded, "But Ser Amory was not the only one who violated your commands, Ser Gregor. There are over thirty other westermen that are being held on charges of thievery, rape, murder, or other crimes."

"They will be chastised soon enough," Gregor asserted, "Ser Amory is the only one who already has been simply because he was the only one I caught in the act."

"Even so, Ser Amory was simply following my orders," Tywin Lannister pointed out, "Any order I give supersedes any order you give, Ser Gregor. You all but prevented Amory Lorch from carrying his out."

"It was not my intent to countermand your authority, Lord Tywin," Gregor Clegane claimed, "If you were led to believe that, then I beseech your forgiveness. However, I was not informed of Ser Amory's… assignment."

The lion lord folded his arms and stated inquisitively "If you had been informed, would you still have intervened?"

Gregor was spared the burden of answering that question. Robert Baratheon sat up in the Iron Throne and remarked "That is not important, Tywin. Whatever his motives, Ser Gregor has done his duty. He has helped us take King's Landing, and he did it without endangering most of the smallfolk."

Gregor felt the urge to smirk. Robert Baratheon may have been a fool, but even he comprehended the benefits of minimizing civilian casualties in wartime.

"I thank you for your recognition, Your Grace," Gregor said humbly, bowing his head a bit.

"Spare me your thanks, Mountain," Robert Baratheon spat, suddenly tense, "I still have reservations about your decision to spare Princess Elia."

"As do I," Tywin Lannister muttered, "Enlighten us, Gregor. What motivated you to extract the princess from the city?"

Even before he rode for King's Landing, Gregor had prepared an explanation for that question. He informed those assembled "I was being strictly diplomatic. If Princess Elia was murdered at our hand, her brothers would be outraged. That outrage could have sparked a wave of disobedience and hostility against both the Westerlands and the throne. I was hoping to avoid creating any more political turmoil with Dorne."

"Very sensible of you, Ser Gregor," Jon Arryn muttered in approval.

"Maybe," Robert Baratheon uttered with a light shrug, "In the meantime, what should be done with Elia Martell?"

"Perhaps she should remain in King's Landing," Tywin Lannister suggested, "Her presence here would secure Dorne's fealty."

"I must advise against that, Your Grace," Jon Arryn proposed, "Princess Elia was used as a hostage by the Mad King to prevent Dorne from rising against him. While the Dornishmen remained loyal to Aerys, that decision made him quite unpopular with them. If we appear to treat her as your predecessor did, Prince Doran will not hesitate to show the full extent of his protest."

"I asked what should be done, not what shouldn't," Robert grumbled, leaning on his hand.

"There is no need to keep her here any longer, Your Grace," Eddard Stark told his best friend, "If you ask my counsel, the best course of action would be to let her go home."

"I would have to agree with Lord Eddard," Gregor declared, "Princess Elia has already lost her husband and both of her children. She has endured enough grief for one lifetime. The least we could do is permit her to live out the rest of her days peacefully."

"Indeed," Varys professed, "Princess Elia should be allowed to return to Sunspear. Her safe return would guarantee Dorne's loyalty to the crown far more than keeping her captive would."

"But is it possible that she is with child?" Robert hypothesized, "What if Rhaegar managed to plant his seed in her cunt one last time before he rode off to war?"

"That is entirely unlikely, Your Grace," Varys countered, "Even for a Dornishwoman, Elia Martell is small of frame. Princess Rhaenys's birth devastated her. Prince Aegon's practically killed her. After that, she was deemed incapable of bearing any more children."

"Lord Varys speaks the truth," Jaime Lannister coincided, "Princess Elia is barren now. Were the Grand Maester here, he would be able to confirm that."

Alas, Pycelle was unaccounted for. Gregor had seen to that.

Not long after the Mountain separated from Princess Elia and his men-at-arms, he had gone off to search for Vays. Before he got to the eunuch's chambers, he made a slight detour. He found Grand Maester Pycelle in his quarters underneath the rookery.

He told Pycelle that Lord Tywin Lannister was on the outskirts of the city, and he wished to be informed the instant the Red Keep was secured. That was a lie, but the Grand Maester bought it, and it was sufficient to coax him out of his chambers.

Gregor had then bidden Pycelle to come with him up to the rookery so that they could send a raven to Lord Tywin. He claimed that he needed the maester to compose the message, as he could not read or write (also a lie).

The massive knight and the elderly maester had made their way up the staircase to the rookery together. They ascended in that order.

When they got to the top of the staircase, Gregor had opened the door and stepped to the side, as though he was holding it for Pycelle.

Just before the Grand Maester entered the room, Gregor grabbed his shoulder and gave him a slight push backwards. That soft nudge was all it took to send the elderly maester tumbling down the steps. Gregor stood idly by and waited until the sounds of Pycelle's groaning and falling ceased. Then he made his descent.

When Gregor reached the base of the stairs, he found Pycelle sprawled on the ground with his head turned at an unnatural angle in relation to his body. In other words, he had broken his neck. That was precisely what Gregor had hoped would happen.

The original Gregor Clegane had been the primary suspect in a series of accidents that concerned his family and servants. Of course, those had only been referred to as accidents because no one had been brave enough to accuse Gregor of foul play.

Still, if HE could get away with those actions, Gregor was confident he could, as well. Because of his experience as an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, he was an expert at covering up his tracks.

So far, it appeared as though he had managed to do so. Pycelle's death had already been written off as an accident. Even at the beginning of Robert's reign, he was old and feeble. In addition to that, his lengthy maester's chain would not have been difficult to trip over.

Gregor noted that nobody seemed particularly distraught by the Grand Maester's sudden demise. Not even Tywin Lannister was moved by the loss of his spy. That gave Gregor some relief; it implied that no one would bother with an investigation.

Pycelle was far from the most despicable character in the franchise, but Gregor had disliked him ever since the first book. He had known the truth of the parentage of Cersei Lannister's children, yet he had looked the other way when Eddard Stark had confronted Cersei. Worse yet, he had the gall to call Lord Eddard a traitor.

Gregor would lose no sleep over what he had done to Pycelle. The entire realm would be better off without him. His only problem was that he had no way of knowing whom the next Grand Maester would be or where his loyalties would lie. In any case, he would have been content so long as the Conclave picked someone less cowardly, dishonorable, and lecherous than Pycelle.

At any rate, Robert spent a minute reflecting on everything he had heard. Then he let out a sigh and bluntly proclaimed "Rhaegar's heirs are dead. His wife has no claim to the throne, so I suppose there is no need for her to share their fate. Very well. I will allow Elia Martell to return to Dorne."

Eddard Stark, Gregor Clegane, Varys, Jaime Lannister, Jon Arryn, and nearly everyone else in that room were pleased with that decree. Tywin Lannister was the only one who was somewhat opposed to it, but he held his tongue.

"Where might we find the princess, Ser Gregor?" Varys inquired, "I only ask out of concern for her well-being."

Gregor gave a nod and announced "After my men-at-arms took her out of the city, they brought her to House Clegane's camp. She is still there, and she's currently under my protection. My men have standing orders to cut down anyone who tries to harm her."

"That won't be necessary for much longer, Ser Gregor," Robert Baratheon declared, "I will commission a ship to transport her to Dorne tomorrow. Since you seem to be so invested in her welfare, I am charging you with bringing her home."

"As you command, Your Grace," Gregor conceded, taking a bow. And thanks for making it a command. You saved me the trouble of asking.

Lord Tywin then looked to Gregor and stated "As 'content' as Princess Elia must be in your camp, she may be more comfortable back here in King's Landing."

"Lord Tywin makes a good point," Jon Arryn agreed, "Perhaps you should send a raven or a rider to invite her back in, Ser Gregor."

"There's no need for either, my lord," Gregor claimed, "When I saw her last, the princess mentioned that she has no desire to set foot in this city ever again. After what happened to her children, I cannot blame her."

"None of us can," Eddard commented.

Robert leaned back in the Iron Throne and muttered "In any case, tell her she's going home. And to show her I mean well, I'll send her a wee peace offering."

I'm not even going to ask what.

Gregor gave a nod of acknowledgement and requested "Have I your leave to depart, Your Grace?"

"Yes, yes, you do," King Robert responded, rather disinterestedly.

The massive knight bowed his head and left the throne room. He waited until he was all the way through the threshold to smile.

His ploy had worked beautifully.

Despite the stern orders he had given to attack no unarmed persons, the Sack of King's Landing still had not been without some innocent bloodshed.

In all fairness, Gregor had been expecting that. As far as he knew, no city had ever been seized by force without incurring at least a few civilian casualties. That was how it had been both in reality and in fantasy since the days of Troy.

While Gregor was disappointed and upset by this needless loss of life, the victims managed to serve some useful purpose. Albeit a posthumous purpose.

After King's Landing fell, Gregor had all the casualties gathered in one large pile near the Red Keep. There were a few infants and toddlers amongst the casualties. Gregor had searched through the pile until he found a male babe and a female toddler. They did not look very much like Aegon and Rhaenys, but only those who had seen the prince and the princess up close could tell the differences. Still, Gregor had to make a few… alterations.

He was not proud of what he did next. First he took his dagger and stabbed the toddler girl's body over and over until it was a mess of red. Then he took the babe and dashed his head against a wall until the skull and brains were visible. The bodies were still warm enough that the blood was fresh. So only a maester would be able to tell that the wounds had been inflicted after death.

Desecrating the dead made Gregor feel nauseous at first. Then he reminded himself that he was doing it to ensure that two children who still were living would continue to live. That made the process a little easier to stomach. Only a little though.

Unbeknownst to almost everyone in King's Landing, Elia Martell was not the only guest in Gregor Clegane's camp. Rhaenys and Aegon were there with their mother, as well.

Luckily, Gregor had succeeded in faking their deaths. He knew Tywin would have killed them to eliminate future contenders for the throne, and for personal reasons, Robert was determined to wipe out the entire Targaryen line. Gregor had appeased and fooled both of them with a mummer's farce.