Naenya had been surprised to find out she immensely enjoyed the company of Tyland Lannister. While many would toss him aside, claiming his personality to be drab and lacking a sense of humour or any emotion apart from honour and duty, Naenya had learnt better. Tyland did indeed have a sense of humour. Whether the man knew of this himself, she was unsure. He often spoke quite dryly, leaving little room for comfort and niceties, and he would commonly respond to outlandish requests or questions with equally outlandish answers, all in the same tone he usually used. It was rather refreshing and left her smirking into her drink as he spoke, though Naenya didn't comment on the fact to Tyland's face. She feared that once he knew that he was being funny, he would immediately stop.
"It is not my wish to question his way of finding the truth", Tyland continued, glancing down the halls to make sure the guard in question wasn't around, "But I could sooner find the answers by putting an illiterate child in charge."
Naenya allowed herself a soft smile, easily washed off her face should she need to, as she nodded along.
"I'm sure he's not entirely useless," Naenya told him, her hands clasped together behind her back, "He does make me thankful for my own guard's competencies,"
"I am glad he provides you with something, princess," Tyland said, not even noticing how sly he sounded, "For my mother's maid is entirely more useful than he is now, and she's dead,"
Tyland opened the door to Lady Ceira Lannisters room, ushering for her to enter before himself. She thanked him with a slight curtsy as she walked in.
"Oh, and princess," Tyland stopped her, smiling halfway, "An heir such as yourself will eventually require a husband. When that time comes, consider my name. I would be honoured to aid you in your time as Queen,"
Tyland had been incredibly useful to her during her time at Casterly Rock, both in her efforts to find whoever had killed and planted the maid in her chambers and in her efforts to survive the lion's den. A prideful and showy lion's den at that.
She knew Tyland would make a good husband. It wouldn't be a marriage of love, but it would be one of mutual agreement. A promise to be loyal and stand by her decisions and help make her stronger was a better marriage proposal than most.
"I will consider it. Thank you, Tyland," Naenya nodded to him.
She truly meant it.
Tyland gave her one final nod before departing.
"Well, that was quaint," Lady Ciera said sarcastically.
The Lady of Casterly Rock was already pacing in her rooms, something she had picked up on day two of the investigations. It was now day four. Any longer, and Naenya feared the woman's legs would give out on her.
"I would have assumed you would enjoy the shift up in society," Naenya said dryly, knowing Lady Ciera had no maids in her room since the incident.
Lady Ciera finally stopped her incessant pacing, giving Naenya an almost sly nod, "Normally, that would be correct. Now, what do you want,"
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.
"Are you aware of how disliked you are among the common folk?"
"Yes,"
"And this maid was basically your best friend?"
"Well... yes..."
"Perhaps this murder wasn't necessarily to scare me but threaten you," Naenya explained, "A murder in your home? Not only while hosting a noble but a princess, an heir too, how embarrassing would that be? The King would remember this. Your home would be haunted by the idea that any guest is not safe. After all, if you can't keep someone as important as me safe, how could you keep anyone safe?"
Lady Ciera stared at her, her gaze hard.
"Are you implying this was meant for me?"
Naenya nodded, watching as Lady Ciera began to pace around again.
"Not a single person could get into my home without my knowledge," Lady Ciera said, almost accusatorily.
Naenya took pause. She had to change tactics and tread even lighter than she had before. The Lannisters were a worthy ally and an even worthier opponent. Naenya was in no position to gain opponents.
"Of course not. What I mean is, what if they already had access?" Naenya explained, her thumb rubbing the ring on her pointer finger, "A guard perhaps,"
Lady Ceira stopped short, her head slowly turning to face Naenya. Naenya waited as Lady Ceira took in the information. Waited for whether Lady Ceira would actually trust her and look into it. Naenya would have guessed if she brought it up when the event first occurred, Lady Ceira would have laughed in her face. Hopefully, the weeks had shown Naenya's true character.
Finally, Lady Ceira's gaze dropped to the floor as bitter acceptance washed over her. Naenya watched in silence as the acceptance shifted into anger, Lady Ceira hurling her goblet filled with wine of the deepest red directly at her white walls. Naenya didn't dare flinch as the Lady of Casterly Rock shifted from pure fury to a sudden, unexpected calmness.
"I do not get a say in all of my guards. It's true. Some are remnants of my husband's rule," Lady Ceira explained, running a wine-stained hand through her hair, "Some are my cousins. If anyone knows not to trust a Lannister, it's a Lannister,"
Naenya furrowed her brow, "You think it's one of your cousins?"
Lady Ceira turned to Naenya, a firm look on her face. Though, as Naenya looked deeper, it was also filled with pleading.
"This is a Lannister problem. I wish to resolve it myself," Lady Ceira stated, taking the time to hold Naenya's gaze, "Without the intervention of the Crown,"
Naenya paused, her feet betraying her as she took a step back in bewilderment. It would be her chance to prove herself as a ruler, not to be trifled with, but she also desperately needed to secure loyalty.
After some silence, Naenya finally decided, "Of course, Lady Ceira. But your ruling and punishment must be firm but fair, as you are acting as an extension of my own punishment,"
She would have other opportunities to prove herself. But next time she proved herself, she would likely have the support of the wealthy lioness.
...Author Typing
I was originally gonna have a scene of her delivering justice and like badass vibes. But Naenya is smarter than that, and she'd do whatever got her the Lannister's favour. The politics of everything is what Naenya's trip is about, after all.
Naenya is playing chess while these boys are playing checkers. It's the mothers you gotta get on the good side of cause all these Westeros princes and Lords and just massive mummas boys.