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WARNING: CHAPTER CROSSES OVER AND CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM MY OTHER GOT FICS, "SINNER" AND "HOWLING"
"DID Daenerys really burn the men who refused to bend the knee to her after the battle?"
Maia leaned on her elbows after asking her question. She sat alongside Varys and Tyrion in the Dragonstone throne room, watching as the dwarf sipped his wine. Maia, unfortunately, had only water in her glass. The two men on both sides sighed longingly, especially Tyrion, who had seen the aftermath of the battle firsthand.
Tyrion nodded at her question.
"I know Missandei has made clear that Daenerys has good intentions, but ..." Maia held up her hands. "I don't know. Guess I can't say anything because I wasn't there."
"She massacred anyone who didn't bend the knee," Varys explained, leaning in closer on the stairs they sat upon. "Most of the Lannister soldiers agreed once they saw Drogon, but the Tarlys refused."
Tyrion took a large sip of his wine. "All rulers demand their people bend the knee. That's why they're rulers."
"Is that what you say to make yourself sleep at night?" Maia cocked her head to the side and smirked.
The dwarf rolled his eyes, staring at the two with disbelief. "She gave Randyll Tarly a choice, a man who had taken up arms against her. What else could she do?"
Maia frowned. "Not burn them alive?"
"I am her Hand. Not her head." Tyrion excused. "I can't make her decisions for her."
Varys lifted his brow. "That's what I used to tell myself about her father. I found the traitors, but I wasn't the one burning them alive. I was only a purveyor of information." He ended up picking Tyrion's glass from the stair and drinking it, wincing the slightest bit. "That's what I told myself when I watched them beg for mercy. 'I'm not the one doing it.' And when the pitch of their screams rose higher, 'I'm not the one doing it.' When their hair caught fire and the smell of the burning flesh filled the throne room, 'I'm not the one doing it.'"
Maia was staring at the large Dragonstone throne, knowing that the Iron Throne was even larger. She looked back to Varys and sat up. "At least she isn't hiding packs of wildfire beneath King's Landing and threatening to blow it up. She seems to care for her people than most."
"Daenerys is not her father," Tyrion said, nodding his head with Maia.
"And she never will be," Varys continued, "with the right council. You need to find a way to make her listen."
Tyrion didn't reply. He only sipped at more wine in his cup.
Maia blinked, her mind reverting back to history books she once read. "Wait, I'm confused. Didn't the Tarlys fight alongside the Targaryens once? Why did they suddenly turn their backs on Daenerys?"
