Littlefinger comes into my room and lowers himself slightly to greet me. Contrary to usual, I do not come to greet him. I lay prostrate on my bed with tears in my eyes.
The king is going to die, and my father tells anyone who will listen that Joffrey is not the legitimate heir. He thinks Stannis should succeed Robert. According to Renly, his own brother, he is more like a tyrant than a king. And, if Joffrey ascends the throne, the future won't be much brighter.
Baelish sits against me, gently takes my chin between his thumb and index finger, and turns my head towards him. I feel so fragile in his arms, it's a new sensation for me.
"You have nothing to worry about" he says with his sweet voice. "Joffrey will ascend the throne and you will be his queen."
"That's not what I want..."
"That's what is planned."
Planned? This word suggests to me that he has planned everything that will happen from the death of Robert... And perhaps even before.
He puts his lips on mine, but I don't answer his kiss. I want him to stop, none of this makes sense and it is not his little tricks that will solve the situation.
"I know your plan, Petyr. Ned told me. You want Joffrey on the throne because proclaiming Stannis king would lead to war."
"Prince Joffrey is impressionable..."
"He will hurt the people around him."
"That's why we need to keep him under our protection" Littefinger says.
"Our protection" means "my control". Joffrey is indeed impressionable. If Baelish uses the right words, it will be easy for him to make the prince do exactly what he wants. On the other hand, the prince is not stupid, if he realizes that he is being used, he will not hesitate to cut heads.
"Petyr... I have... I need you to promise me that my sisters will not be in danger."
"Nothing will happen to them..."
"This does not mean that they are not at risk."
"There is a risk..." he admits. "But I promise you they will be safe."
"Well... I trust you..."
I guess.
My father asked him to buy the trust of the men of the City Watch to protect him when he hands to Cersei the letter written by Robert who declares him Protector of the Realm until the majority of Joffrey.
I just hope Cersei didn't have that idea before us.
"And what will happen to me afterwards?" I ask.
I know his answer: I will marry Joffrey and give him a male child who will succeed him. And so on until the end of time.
"I don't like it, I'll never be happy with him, Petyr! I love you!"
"Diana..."
He's getting a little closer to me.
"I'm afraid I'll disappoint you..."
"Don't say it... I don't want to hear it. And if you decide to say it, I won't understand it."
♐︎
I accompany Ned to meet Littlefinger and Varys. It's hard for me to hide my affection for Baelish since our first kiss and I think my father now suspects a few things. Maybe it's because I jump every time someone says his name.
The man who welcomed us when we arrived in the capital and whose name I still do not know, arrives behind us. The guards, on the lookout, take out their weapons but are quickly stopped by my father.
"Lord Stark" he says. "King Joffrey and the Queen Regent requested your presence in the throne room."
"King Joffrey?" repeats my father, surprised.
"The king Robert is dead. May the gods rest him."
What I feared so much has finally happened.
"The king is dead" I whisper for myself alone. "Long live the king."
♐︎
Throughout King's Landing, bells began to ring. They announce the death of Robert, the mourning of an entire people. Perhaps not. Because half the country still calls Robert "the Usurper".
When I reach the height of Baelish, I miss to take him in my arms, but he prevents me by backing slightly. He's right, it's not appropriate, my future husband is waiting for us in the throne room.
"Everything is done" says Littlefinger. "The King's Watch is yours."
From the look of it, it seems this story is more serious than I thought.
"Lord Renly joins us?" asks my father.
Our two "friends" look at each other in complicity, even though their looks as heavy as ever. They have bad news to tell us.
"I'm afraid Lord Renly has left town" says Varys. "He went out through the Old Gate an hour before dawn, accompanied by Ser Loras Tyrell and some fifty servants. The last time he was seen, he was galloping south at a brisk pace."
"Perhaps he is the only man of the holy spirit among us" I say.
After making sure everyone was ready, the three of them set out. Accompanied by Arrow, I decide to follow them, I prefer to be with them if things go wrong.
As they prepare to enter the throne room, Lord Baelish turns to me and takes me by my shoulders.
"You have to stay here" he says.
"I can't... It's way too important."
His hand slips over my neck in such a way that I cannot divert my attention from him.
"There is a risk of misfortune... We don't know what Cersei is capable of."
"That's why I have to come in!"
"Diana... I don't want you to get hurt."
Moved by his gentleness, I decide to obey him. I'm sure nothing will happen. Petyr has promised to protect us, and I have total confidence in him. So, I watch the great doors of the throne room close without protest.
♐︎
After several minutes of silence, a sound of shattering weapons reaches me. The men of the City Watch remained with me to ensure my protection take out their weapons.
"What's going on?!" I'm yelling.
Without taking the time to answer my questions, the guards surround me. If they had been men from the North, they would have put themselves around me for my protection. But now it is clear that they want to kill me.
"Arrow! Attack!!"
The wolf launches at the soldier in front of her and plates him on the ground. I am fast enough to retrieve the sword of the unfortunate before the others try to plant theirs in my belly.
In this outfit, it is complicated for me to fight but I can defend myself. Until one of them grabbed me from behind and made me drop my gun.
"Leave me!!! My father is inside!!!"
Arrow throws himself on my attacker's arm, forcing him to loosen his grip. It allows me to get my weapon back. One by one, I put them out of harm's way but I spare the last. Above him, I threaten him with my sword, waiting for answers to my questions.
"What's going on inside?!"
"Don't... Don't kill me...."
"Answer!
"The...The Queen..."
"You've said enough. Go away..."
I let him go. I understand what is going on. I was right not to trust Cersei. She beat Petyr by buying the loyalty of the City Watch before him and she now uses them to rule her new regime of terror.
I push the doors with all my strength until I manage to enter the room. But what I see destabilizes me. Unable to move, I stay between the doors, eyes on Littlefinger and my father at the other end of the room.
"Petyr... No..."