These Violent Acts → House of the Dragon

008. Murder, She Wrote

Naenya moved further into the room, seating herself on one of the couches near the window. Pouring herself a glass of water from a pitcher on the nearby table, she offered Lady Ciera a glass. After receiving a disapproving stare, Naenya opted to fill Lady Ciera's glass full of the mulled wine that was sitting beside the water. A wine that appeared much more used than the water. 

"Now, I assume your maid had been under strict orders to spy on me and give you all the information she could find," Naenya said.

It was more of a statement than a question. 

"Of course she was, you stupid girl," Lady Ciera took the glass of wine from Naenya's hand, rolling her eyes at the girl's antics, "A princess in my halls? Not just a princess but a future Queen? The first future Queen to ever exist? I like to know things about my occupants, especially those so high in the food chain,"

Naenya nodded in understanding. Lady Ciera was not necessarily, the rudest woman she had ever come into contact with. She was, after all, simply a Lannister that acted as Lannisters did. It would be rather short-sighted of Naenya, a princess who, whether she liked to admit it or not, was desperately searching to secure as many loyal houses as possible to discredit Lady Ciera for the fact. It would be much wiser to use Lady Ciera for her strengths and credit her for them. 

"What about Jason, your eldest son?" Naenya asked carefully, trying not to come off wrong, "Did he-"

"Are you implying Jason would do something like this?"

If looks could kill, Naenya would be a dead woman. 

"No, I'm asking if Jason had any maids or guards keeping an eye on me too?" Naenya specified, speaking as though she were trying to calm a raging lion, "He does take after his mother, something you should be proud of,"

If Jason Lannister was half as quick-witted and sly as Lady Ciera, he would be twice as smart as he was now. Of course, publicly calling a son dumb to his mother's face was not something people who were looking for support did. 

"No, it was just me," Lady Ciera said, after calming down slightly, "I had put Jason in charge of looking after my youngest, Lyla. She's only eleven months, you know,"

Naenya nodded. She hadn't seen much of the young princess. Lord Lannister had died shortly before she had been birthed, with many believing the death caused an early pregnancy that caused the babe to come out much smaller than it should have. While the maesters feared the babe would be riddled with health concerns due to its early birth, the girl had proved far stronger than they gave her any credit for. Naenya had much respect for the babe. 

"Of course, I apologise if I made you feel as though my presence here hindered your ability to spend time with your daughter," Naenya said. After seeing Lady Ciera with her sons, it was no secret she was a protective lioness, "I should have taken that into consideration when planning my travels, perhaps sent word to you to discuss it,"

Lady Ciera paused, clearly taken aback by the apology. Though she did not say anything, Naenya quickly noticed the softening of her face as she gave the princess a nod of acknowledgement. 

"But no, Jason had too much on his plate to consider it. Though I'm sure he would have,"

"Indeed, you are placing Casterly Rock into good hands once you pass," Naenya lied, "But that does make my theory more difficult to prove,"

"Theory?"

Naenya nodded, beginning to rise from her seat as she began to unfurl her idea. 

She had tried to speak to the common folk herself, even going down to Lannisport for clues. However, it became apparent how little the common folk wished to speak to nobility, and she quickly changed her tactic by forcing Ser Loren to find answers while dressing as commonly as he could.