King's Landing, 290 AC – Tenth Moon of the Year
POV: Jon Arryn
"The king will not be with us for this council meeting as he is busy. Let us begin without him. The matter of the tourney and its cost…"I said to the small council as I sat down in my chair. Gods, Robert and his obsession with tourneys will destroy us before the Targaryens do.
"My lords, the royal treasury cannot afford it. If we proceed regardless of our other debts, we will be three hundred thousand gold dragons deeper in debt," said the new Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish, immediately after I sat down. It was a good thing I had listened to Lysa's advice about replacing Braxton, I thought to myself as I nodded at him. To Do it.
"Lord Hand, we cannot keep this up anymore. Tourney after tourney—we cannot afford to pay the debts back. Surely you can see that!." Stannis said. His expression mirrored the rest of the council: desperation and anger.
"It is the king's command, Lord Stannis, and you know how stubborn he is when it comes to tourneys." I replied helplessly.
"You have to convince the king to give us time to repay the debts. We already owe four million gold dragons to the Iron Bank, two hundred thousand to the Faith, three hundred thousand to the Tyrells, and half a million to Lord Lannister. If we keep doing this, in ten years we will owe gold to all of the Seven Kingdoms," he pleaded.
I shook my head helplessly.
"So are we to continue taxing the old Targaryen loyalists more and more? And pray that when he comes back they won't side with him?" the new Master of Laws, Renly, asked. As He took a peach and bit into it, drawing our attention.
"The taxes on the Velaryons are up by ninety percent since the rebellion ended, and the old loyalists are up by fifty percent. We must lower their taxes before the rest of the realm thinks they are next," he continued. And Stannis looked deeply regretful at that. He had only suggested raising the taxes a little, but Robert had not listened and tripled them instead.
"I agree with Lord Renly, we—"
"Lord Hand, forgive the interruption, but my little birds have been singing an interesting song from Volantis for the last moon. A song that I believe the king will love to hear,"Varys interrupted me with an apologetic smile.
I frowned and ordered Ser Arys Oakheart to fetch Robert.
"Speaking of Volantis, what has become of our dearest cousin Ser Andrew Estermont? The king sent him as his representative to deal with the Triarchy and convince them to abandon the Targaryens. As far as I remember, the king sent him three years ago. Surely he has achieved something noteworthy by now,"Renly asked Varys with curiosity.
"I'm afraid Ser Andrew has achieved nothing yet, my lord. He has not been able to secure a meeting with anyone inside the Black Walls, and I do not believe he will. It is probably for the best to call him back," Varys replied.
I nodded and was about to speak when Robert entered the council chamber, clearly drunk.
"Agh, my head! Boy, get me some wine. And who called for me at this ungodly hour? Don't you people know how to sleep?" he grumbled. Ser Barristan entered after him.
Gods, what a disturbing sight it is to see a king as fat as an ox and his old knight, who could still kill a man half his age with ease. Robert has truly allowed himself to be lost I thought with sadness
"Your Grace, good of you to join us. Please take a seat," I said.
Robert nodded and walked toward his chair, sitting down with great difficulty. I nodded gratefully to Ser Barristan as he helped the king settle properly.
Gods, what a cursed sight it is to see a knight like him having to help a man half his age fit into a chair, I thought sadly as I looked at the duo.
"Well, get on with it. What is keeping you people up at this ungodly time of night?" Robert demanded.
I looked at him with exasperation and worry.
"Robert, the sun has just risen. It is not night, we—"
I was interrupted yet again as the queen entered the council chamber with her brother, Ser Jaime.
"Your Grace, it is good to have you present in the king's council, even though we were not aware you would be joining us. Please be seated," I said.
She nodded and walked toward her chair without answering me, her brother following silently.
I sighed. "Lord Varys, you may begin your report regarding Volantis."
POV: Lord Varys
"As you wish, Lord Hand," I said as I stood up and began to explain the situation.
"As of the past couple of moons, there has been large unrest among the population of Volantis. A Dothraki Khal by the name of Drogo is marching toward Volantis with an army of a hundred thousand in order to claim a bride of Valyrian blood. I do not believe I need to explain further, as it is clear that the Targaryen girls are his target." I said as The king looked ready to explode. While the Hand remained silent. And the queen watched me with clear interest.
"Viserys was also seen in the Red Temple of Volantis. He has been buying enormous amounts of tents, catapults, and carriages for unknown reasons," I continued. I noticed Ser Barristan's eyes widen in shock and fear?.
"Tents, catapults, and carriages, you say? Perhaps the boy has lost his mind. Why in the world does he need such things?" Ser Jaime said with a small laugh. The queen joined him, but I paid them no mind. My attention remained on Ser Barristan, who was breathing heavily.
"Is something bothering you, Ser Barristan?" I asked, concerned. He was sweating and breathing more heavily.
"N-no… it's… just… nothing, Your Grace. Perhaps it is best that I leave," he said. As He walked out of the council chamber without waiting for the king's leave. As The rest of us watched his retreating form in shock.
POV: Ser Barristan Selmy
"No, no, no… Gods, no! He's going to burn them all… He's going to burn them all," I muttered to myself. As I found a secluded spot in the Red Keep and emptied my stomach at the thought of what he was planning.