Chapter 31: The High Walls of Highgarden

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  The city was waking up, the sunlight was warm, and my mind was a whirlwind of ideas. Renly Baratheon was not a danger, and I’d never seen him as one. Even if he didn’t die somehow in this timeline, I was fairly fident in taking him out myself. The problem was what’d e after him. Stannis the Mannis, the humorless stag.

  Stannis’ army only almost took over King’s Landing, but Tywin Lannister appeared at the right time with the Tyrell army beside him. Now, I nning to take the Tyrells for myself. Instead of Tywin, I could be the o them to King’s Landing and then take the throne.

  Or, I could wait it out. After all, just taking the throne wasn’t the pn. The pn was to hold it. If I only had the Tyrells and Dorne by my side, I couldn’t defend the throne if Robb Stark challenged me with others. So, I could kill Joffrey mid-battle, and then I could kill Stannis just whehink he was winning. Then I could let Tommen the fool py King for a while, while I bring the others under my wing too. By then, I might even have visited my lovely sister a her army.

  Those two pns came to mind, and multiple more formed as I pondered. But all of that ed me having the Tyrells by my side.

  The Reach could provide me with somewhere from 80,000 to 100,000 men. And as surprising as it may sound, that wasn’t their greatest value. Their greatest value was the crops—the food—they could provide me. Winter was ing, and with the threat of the white walkers looming overhead, food was a very important matter.

  The choice was simple, no matter whi I followed.

  I’d need House Tyrell by my side more than any other house.

  The problem was Dorne. I was an ally of theirs, and they were geional enemies of Tyrells. They wouldn’t mind if I allied both of them, they’d promise, but the manner of alliance could cause problems. I was sure that old dy, the Queen of Thorns, wouldn’t let me leave without marrying her granddaughter.

  I didn’t mind marriage, but I’d rather keep that option open if possible. After all, if things went right, I had some pns with Sansa too. While the North ion, they were the snow-barbarians who would fight the hardest against the White Walkers.

  Then again, they’d do that even if I didn’t and them.

  Regardless, I’d need a Stark loyal to me to trol them, warn them about the impending threat, and listen rather than find my words a meager story.

  “But you’ve already made your choice,” Kinvara said, yawning as she nudged closer to me. M sunlight filtered through the curtains as our skin brushed against one another. Her touch was warm, weling, like the feel of family. She kissed my lips, moaned a little, and nodded. “I think your pn’s solid.”

  “I know,” I said. I only told her after I’d made my choiot to ask her for advice or anything. She scoffed out a giggle.

  “Yeah, go to them with the iion of being allies, and try not to get married. But if you have to, if you have no other choice, then you’ve got yourself a beautiful wife,” she said. “That Margaery girl… her fate is iing.”

  “Hey, if you see the future, ’t you just tell me?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s not really the future. It’s just a lead, barely even. Plus, if I tell you, it’d be distorted. What’s the point in sharing a future that is ruined?” She said, making me shrug. “So, who are you taking with you? I’m unsure if the Tyrells will be fond of you visiting them with the Sand Snakes.”

  “Nah, if they won’t ally themselves with me just because of the Sand Shey might as well not bee allies at all. I hem to work with Dorne. I ’t have my backers fight each other,” I said. “But yes, for this, I don’t pn to take them with me sihere’s a ce that things g and we must escape. But I will take you with me. What’ll you do? I want to take you with me too, but Queen Cersei might get curious about where you vanished.”

  “I’ll go with you,” she yawned, sitting up slowly as she stretched her arms. “I ’t not be there when you’re making su important deal. This is potentially- no, easily bigger than our alliah Dorne. Dorne is supposed to have 50,000 able-bodied soldiers, but they barely provided 10,000 when your older brother Rhaegar asked them for support. Even though at that time, the Princess of Dorne was married to your brother. Even had children.”

  “Well, he was cheating on her.”

  “She was still the Queen. They didn’t bother to send more help,” Kinvara said, looking into my eyes. “We’ll just o cover our tracks and make sure nobody realizes we’re going to Highgarden. Plus, you’ll need me to talk with that wrinkle bag.”

  I ughed, slowly getting off the bed. “Let’s leave right now, then,” I said. “Unless you have work that o be taken care of?” I personally didn’t. I had Ros and her whores to gather information and do anything I hem to do in my absence.

  “Sure thing,” Kinvara agreed. “We o catch a ship through the Mander River. Should take us about two weeks to reach the pce,” she said.

  I stared at the woman who’d been helpih everything since I awakened myself. She was doing a lot, all in the name of her Lord, all in the assumption that I was the Hero she’d dreamed about. Sometimes, it was easy to trust fanatics because they didn’t hide their allegiances.

  I’d have to be careful of her when we’d have no more use of each other. Until then? She was my best friend.

  I walked over to open the windows properly, pushing the veils to the side. I looked at the city of King’s Landing outside as my hair blew in the wind. Two weeks ter, I might be half an arse ohrone already… Or not. I was going there assuming they wanted a Targaryen back to the throne, which made sense given what I knew of them, but could I be sure?

  This might backfire if they choose to expose and kill me instead.

  Hopefully, regardless of how the visit goes, I’d be back before the Riot of King’s Landing, where the mob would attack the royal family. I had a pn to fulfill during that i, after all.

  ****

  The Mander River stretched endlessly before us, its waters glittering uhe sun’s gaze. The journey had been long and grueling, but I hadn’t minded. It leasant.

  The farther we got from King’s Landing, the er the air became. Fields of golde and verdant pastures fnked us. It was a stark trast to the chaos and filth that I’d left. It was ughable how the Reach seemed untouched by the turmoil gripping the rest of Westeros, although some signs of it still showed.

  Even so, this pce wasn’t peace itself. Not when soldiers patrolled every major road and wary oner eyes followed us wherever we went. The war had reached here, even if ily. The Reach might have beeiful, but even it wasn’t safe.

  “A beautiful pce for vacation every year if they bee your in-ws,” Kinvara rode beside me and said, and I ignored her. Her magio longer ed her hair, as bck strands were tucked ly under a hood, with some swaying in the wind.

  She’d disguised herself well, trading her usual crimson robes for simpler, muted fabrics. She was stubborn about it, but I vinced her in the bedroom. But people still stared, drawn to her as if she were carrying a secret fme within her. It was odd.

  “We’re close,” she murmured, with her gaze fixed ahead, where the spires of Highgarden rose on the horizon.

  I followed her line of sight, my grip on the reins tightening. There it was, the seat of House Tyrell, a fortress that looked more like a pace. Its golden walls gleamed in the sunlight, surrounded by sprawling gardens that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful, yes. But more importantly, it looked mythically powerful.

  [Image Here]

  Spoiler

  [colpse]It was a remihat the Tyrells didn’t just rule—they thrived in the Reach. They’d taken this nd from its inal rulers three hundred years ago, and they’d been ruling ever since. “Beautiful pce, isn’t it?”

  “Quite,” Kinvara agreed. Before we could exge more words, we were interrupted by the distant sound of hoofbeats. “Careful.”

  I go my right just as a group of riders appeared, their green cloaks unmistakable. Tyrell soldiers. Their formation was tight, and their approach swift. It was as if they’d been expeg to be attacked or something.

  A knight led the soldiers, and he was a broad-shouldered man with a thick mustache. He reined in his horse with his head tilted high. He closed the distand slowed, his eyes sing us with practiced suspi. “Halt!” he barked, his voice carrying the weight of authority. “State your names and purpose.”

  I slowed Dany White to a stop, letting the horse sidestep once before settling. “Take us to your lord’s castle,” I said, keeping my tone firm.

  The man frowned, his haing on the hilt of his sword. “Not until you tell us who you are, stranger. What kind of demand is that?”

  Kinvara remained silent, her posture rexed, and her smile calm. I allowed a smirk to tug at my lips. “You’re cautious that we’re spies. That’s good, the times are tough. But you’re wasting time. My business here is urgent.”

  The soldier’s frown deepened. “Urgent, is it? You’ll have to do better than that.”

  I sighed, feigning impatience. I wasn’t truly. I was just making a show. I wanted my entry to be a bit grand, after all. I hadn’t e here as ‘Vis,’ a ed cloth hid my hair in the Dornish style, so I could get away with showing off a little.

  “I visited Dorne before this, and I guess they were right about what they said about the Reach. Pretentious and slow. Useless, too. They never wasted time questioning me like this. But I suppose not everyone be as petent as the Dornish,” I said.

  The ge in his expression was immediate. His jaw tightened, and his grip on his sword hilt became white-knuckled. “Watch your tongue, outsider,” he growled. “We’ve no love for those sand snakes here.”

  “Good to know,” I said, my smirk widening. “But if you hate Dorne so much, perhaps you’ll appreciate this—they have no patience for Rea either. And it seems to me it’s better to agree with them.”

  That did it. He motioo two of his men, who spurred their horses forward without hesitation. They rode straight at me, swords drawn, their iions clear. Fools.

  I people, perhaps, or perhaps heinous criminals. I didn’t care at that moment. I had to show a strong front, and fighting was the best way to do that.

  I didn’t move until the st possible moment, letting them think they had the upper hand. Then, with a single, fluid motion, I drew my spear from the Iory and swept it through the air. The first rider’s throat opened in a crimson spray, his body crumpling as he fell from his horse. The sed barely had time to react before he met the same fate.

  The remaining soldiers froze, and their fiderembled. Where had I gotten this spear from? How did I deal with them so fast? They hesitated.

  I didn’t give them time to recover and charged. I swung the blunt end of my spear, and I struck the soldier across the chest, sending him tumbling backward. Another fell with a sharp crack as I struck his helmet, knog him unscious. By the time I was done, only their leader remained.

  He stared at me, his hand frozen on his sword. I met his gaze, my voice cold. “Still want to test me?”

  “You… yoing to pay for this,” he said. “Our army-” Before he could respond, the sound of approag hooves filled the air. A rger group of riders emerged from the tree liheir green armleaming in the sunlight. At the front was a man I reized instantly—Loras Tyrell.

  His horse came to a sharp halt, his gaze sweeping over the fallen soldiers before log onto me. His expression was a mix of anger and disbelief. “What in the Seven Hells is happening here?” he demanded. “How dare you kill Tyrell soldiers right under my nose?”

  “They disrespected the ,” I said simply. “By pointing their swords at their king.”

  Loras scowled, his jaw tightening. “King Joffrey sits ohrone. What are you bbbering about?” His eyes nded on Kinvara. “You- your hair… You’re that red priestess we met in Storm’s End. What are you doing here?”

  I smiled, reached up, and uned the cloth around my head. My silver hair spilled out, swaying in the air as I let my smile drop. Gasps rippled through the soldiers behind him, their whispers filling the air like the buzz of is.

  Kinvara chose that moment to dismount, her movements graceful despite the tension in the air. “I hope you trust the men around you, Ser Loras,” she said, her voice sharp and anding. “For betrayal often hides in pin sight, and the betrayal of what you’re seeing right now, if it goes out of Reach, will carry a heavy price.”

  It definitely would spread out of Reach, even if as a rumor. However, I wasn’t against that. That was why Kinvara and I had returo our inal appearance, for I wahem to be a Targaryen rumor ieros. Like the lurking ghost of a dragon waiting to strike.

  Loras’ gaze flicked to her, then bae. “What… is this? Who are you two?” he asked, though his tone was less certain now.

  “My name is Kinvara. I am the Heart of Fire, the First Priestess,” Kinvara said and theured to me, her voiwavering. “This is Viserys Targaryen,” she decred. “The rightful heir to the Iron Throhe blood of Old Valyria. The Father ons.”

  The murmurs grew louder, spreading like wildfire among the soldiers. Loras didn’t look vinced but didn’t dismiss it ht, either. Smart man.

  “Now,” I said, leaning forward slightly. “Shall we tihis versation in your lord’s castle? I’d rather talk with yrandmother. Or do you pn to let your men embarrass themselves further?”

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  Author Note: Another chapter es out in a few hours.