Sunchoke / Arya Stark (2)

23. Sorry For Your Loss

Bad Idea Right? / otto Hightower / larys Strong

"Tywin hated Aerys in the end, he complained about everything, thought Tywin was conspiring against him, didnt like to be questioned, didnt like to be pushed around, but liked Tywin do to everything for him, make his life easy but didnt listen to him when it mattered." Avalon remarked.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ned countered.

"Because they called my brother the mad king, I learned a lot from living in the capital. Being a princess. I learned to see when someone is too far gone to save."

"What would you have me do Avalon?" Ned rasped.

"That's the hard part." Avalon whispered. "I dont know."

+

"You sound like you admire the Targaryen, Davina..." Joffrey remarked.

''The tomb is just up here.'' Draco offered anxiously but Joffrey stared at a dangerous stand off with Davina. 

"Where's sansa?" Tyon questioned. 

"She doesnt like fun." Arya answered. 

"What was Jon's excuse?" Draco mused. 

"He was tired, busy night." Davina offered and Tyon's brows rose eyes wide staring back at her. "He came all the way from the wall.. get your head out of flee bottom Tyon." Davina purred. 

"Lies." Tyon countered. "You and I share a wall." Davina chuckled. 

'The last of the Targaryen's are buried here. It is fun.'' Joffrey agreed loudly. 

''The last of the dragons.' Arya agreed and Draco studied her face as she said it. She seemed sad about that. 

'Yes,' Joffrey agreed 'and my father was going to have their bodies burned and thrown into the black water but the high Septon convince them otherwise.'

'I'm glad he didn't'. Kelsea whispered as she looked around. Joffrey glared back at her. Draco looked to Davina, she wanted to snap Joffrey's neck. 

"What did you say?" Joffrey demanded. 

 ''I know some of them did terrible things at the end but their ancestors built this,'' she gestured around the citadel ''sometimes severity is the price we pay for greatness.'' Kelsea declared. 

"Our poet in the making." Davina remarked fondly. "Come on we should be getting back, we are all heading home I think." 

+

Avalon was having an impossible time getting Draco on board with leaving.

"I can just pick him up and throw him over my shoulder." Sandor offered.

"I'm about one tantrum away from agreeing to that." Avalon remarked.

"Davina said Jon is coming back with us and I want to marry him." Tywin remarked stiffly. "I objected. Of course."

"Of course you did." Avalon mused. "What did she say to that?" Tywin kissed the top of her head pulling her back into him. "What did she say?"

"I'm asking mum then." Tywin grumbled.

"And I would say yes." Avalon agreed.

"Thats why she isnt talking to you about it. She is too young." Tywin corrected.

"I agree, she can be courted by him for at least a year, but then a wedding!" Avalon declared happily. 

 "I don't want to practice today." Arya declared.

"No?" Syrio countered.

"I'm going home. I don't care about stupid wooden swords. Mother won't let me train when I'm home anyways." Arya grumbled. 

"You are troubled." He remarked.

"Yes -"

"Good! Trouble is the perfect time for training. When you are dancing in the meadow with your dolls and kittens, this is not when fighting happens." Syrio agreed.

"I don't like dolls and k -" Arya began.

"You're not here. You're with your trouble. If you're with your trouble when fighting happens..." Syrio reminded her. Arya made a move for Syrio, who quickly countered and put her on her back.

" ... More trouble for you. Just so... How can you be quick as a snake, or as quiet as a shadow, when you are somewhere else? You are fearing for your father, hmm? That is right. Do you pray to the gods?" Syrio pondered. " The old and the new." Arya stood up brushing herself off. "There is only one god. And his name is death. And there is only one thing we say to death - 'Not today.'"

Syrio stepped back and tossed Arya her sword back, she caught it and assumed the counter position.

+

"More wine your grace?" Lancel questioned. 

"You think? I think you'd remember. Back in our day, you weren't a real man until you fucked a girl from each of the Seven Kingdoms and the Riverlands. We called it "making the eight." Robert cackled out. Renly was bored out of his mind on this hunt.

"Those were some lucky girls." Renly offered with a sigh.

"You ever make the eight, Barristan?" Robert questioned.

"I don't believe so, your Grace."

"Those were the days!" Robert laughed out.

"What days were those? The ones where half of Westeros fought the other half and millions died? Or before that, when the Mad King slaughtered women and babies because the voices in his head told him they deserved it? Or way before that when dragons burned whole cities to the ground?" Renly questioned.

"Easy, boy. You might be my brother, but you're speaking to the King.'' Robert sneered.

"I suppose it was all rather heroic. If you were drunk enough and had some poor Riverlands whore to shove your price inside and "make the eight." Renly offered rolling his eyes.

"More wine, your Grace?" Lancel questioned again. 

+

"You know I keep forgetting to bar that door." Tywin grumbled as Cersei burst through.

"Ned Starks knows!" Cersei demanded.

"Close the door, this seems like a door closed conversation." Avalon offered.

"I wish we were home." Tywin grumbled.

"Ned Stark KNOWS!" Cersei repeated.

"We spoke, he remembered me from when he was younger, the tourney... the stupid tourney that started this mess." Avalon remarked. "Ned remembered me from that, told me at Winterfell but its okay, he isnt going to tell Robert-"

"Robert is going to die, Robert doesnt matter." Cersei corrected.

"What?" Tywin cut in.

"Hunt went wrong." Cersei offered with a shrug.

"Sorry for your loss," Avalon giggled out.

"But thats not what I'm talking about, I mean i was but- Mother. He. Knows." Avalon watched Cersei's hand touch her stomach and Avalon understood. Tywin liked to be ignorant, forced ignorance Avalon called it.

"Here I thought Ned was a smart man." Avalon remarked. What idiot tells someone they knew their secret? Ned Stark clearly had a death wish going up against Cersei.