Sansa Stark's words filled Viserys with pride. He cast her a pleased smile, not thinking in the slightest she was laying it on too thick - one could never overdo it with praise for the dragon. What a charming girl she was, for being of the North, he thought to himself. Beautiful, charming and so respectful to her rightful king, unlike her elder brother. What a shame it was he had overlooked her until now, the girl was wonderful. He felt quite lucky to have both Margaery and Sansa present today, he certainly wasn't going to be lacking in the amount of women to choose from. He glanced at his sister, Daenerys briefly before allowing his smile to slowly fade and like a candle that had been extinguished, all warmth left the dragon's face as he turned his lavender gaze back to the council who appeared to be surveying the mercenaries when suddenly another member of the party arrived.
Good gods. Viserys thought, his face betraying his surprise at the sight of the woman entering the room. The woman was larger than some men, probably near six feet in height and donning breeches, a tunic and a sword in place of a dress. Thankfully, her face hadn't been spoiled and she didn't clomp around like a man perpetually in a suit of armor, instead moving with the grace of a lady. The silver haired dragon opened his mouth to demand who this woman was and why she was in his dining hall, interrupting his council meeting when he remembered that they were expecting another, a lady from Bear Island, was it? But that couldn't be...Could it? Then, the lady spoke, only...not to him. Rather than speaking to her King, the woman moved right on past him to where Lord Stark and that monstrous wolf of his sat at the table, greeting him before finally turning to face himself and Daenerys, apologizing for her late arrival. She didn't sound at all apologetic. By this point, Viserys was practically bristling. Apparently this indeed was the Lady Dacey Mormont of Bear Island; however she didn't have the manners of a proper lady at all. "Lady Mormont," The silver haired dragon said, his voice crisp. "You are forgiven, however would do well to remember to acknowledge your king first, and your lord second." He heard one of the sellswords scoff quietly at that.
The dragon king whipped his head around and scanned group for the source of it, but there was only silence now and all the men in the room remained composed, however a few's eyes flickered from time to time to a slight figure hidden beneath a black cloak holding a bow however he thought it may be a coincidence, but he also hadn't been looking previously. He decided to let it go this once and clasped his hands together, looking back to Robb Stark, who expressed his skepticism on the matter of the men. He had figured as much from the Northerner, they were all so very noble after all. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. It wasn't the Lord of Winterfell's decision to make; therefore Viserys chose not to heed Robb's warning. Why should he? He was the king, he could have their heads removed if they attempted to betray them - or better yet, he could set his dragons on them. "That may be true, Lord Stark. But I intend to pay them well; therefore they would have no reason to fight for another." He said, unconcerned, his eyes moving back to the ugly, pig eyed man whose name he couldn't remember. "Remind me, captain. How much had I offered you to fight for me?" He asked.
"Six trunks of gold to split amongst the captains and the men, your grace." The pig eyed man replied, keeping his balding head down as he spoke to Viserys.
Viserys nodded once, straightening his dragon pin as Lord Stark's mother arrived. He didn't remember inviting her, but she was not of any concern to him at all, so he merely ignored her. "Six trunks of gold for the Sons of Cerberus. Does that seem fair?" He asked the council. He was willing to raise his prices, if the Sons of Cerberus tried to leave him - that, or hire another company to fight for him. When he had arrived in Westeros, he had been shocked by the state of the royal treasury, but after taking the money from the Lannisters, he had found things to be much more comfortable so he saw no reason to worry. "Today, I would have the three captains be leaving with a single trunk of the gold to start with and distribute within their group as they see fit. I'll be paying the rest when I have need of them and the group have settled into their positions within my army and guard."
The captain did not look enthused with that, and the rest of his men even less which was never a good sign but if Viserys noticed or cared he didn't show it. His previous interest had faded. "Now, as for the matter of the tourney I want expect it to be a thing of special magnificence..."
When the dark haired woman strode into the room, Reed couldn't help the surprise that came over her. Not only because of the woman's height, but because of the way she was clothed. She wasn't dressed in flowing silk gowns like the other women present, but instead something incredibly similar to her own attire - even complete with a sword at her hip. The woman greeted The Young Wolf which he responded to warmly. After that, the lady stroked the direwolf at Robb Stark's side, which made her smile ever so slightly beneath her cloak. As the woman introduced herself and apologized for the delay in her arrival, Reed decided she rather liked this Dacey Mormont - however, King Viserys apparently didn't share this opinion. He reminded Lady Mormont coolly of his superiority and status. Reed couldn't help but roll her eyes and scoff quietly at his haughty attitude, "Prat.” She hadn't realized that she had muttered the word aloud until it had already passed through her lips and king Viserys had whipped around, searching for the voice. Reed froze, grateful for her cloak as she knew her expression would’ve given her away had it been visible. If the king had taken insult to someone simply not acknowledging him first, he certainly wouldn't take being legitimately insulted well.
After a moment, the King seemed to let it go since he couldn’t seem to find someone to blame and then The Young Wolf spoke. None of company corrected him. What he said was true; the sellswords were a notoriously fickle group. She herself didn't even trust her own company, which was why she kept to herself so much. Reed wasn't fickle, although she didn't like making promises or swearing oaths, for she made it a rule to always keep the promises she made. She was a woman of her word, if she ever gave it. Robb Stark was right to mistrust the Sons of Cerberus as she knew her company would indeed turn on their employer and fight for whoever offered more gold like all the other companies she’d seen.
Reed had hoped her opinion of King Viserys would have improved slightly upon seeing him, however it had not. She still thought him weak, haughty and from what she heard, reminiscent of his father. His sister Daenerys seemed different, though she couldn't be sure as she had never spoken to the Mother of Dragons. Still, Reed didn't enjoy the idea of fighting for him at all, even if he was going to pay them well.
The party seemed to be growing larger and larger by the minute, as a red haired woman joined them who Reed actually managed to recognize. Lady Catelyn Stark, who used to be the wife of Lord Eddard. Reed briefly recalled the times when she was a child where she would watch Lord and Lady Stark ride past their farm, every now and then picking wildflowers if there were any at the time and offering them to the Lady as she rode past. Her mother had always had the utmost respect for the Stark family and Reed understood why - they were very noble and she admired them for that. When her mother had been dying, she had told Reed to go to the Stark's and to tell them what had happened in hopes they would take her in as a servant or at the very least find her work somewhere else, for she had nowhere else to go. She had put off going as her mother had instructed because at the time she had feared the Stark's might turn her away.
"Today, I would have the three captains be leaving with a single trunk of the gold to start with..." That caught her attention. Reed stared at Viserys, desperately hoping she'd heard him wrong but judging by the look on Grizel's face she hadn't. Not that Grizel should complain. She was the one who wasn't going to be having continuous income - at least not immediately, not him. Especially if he didn't distribute it evenly. Reed was in dire need of a meal; and a bath to wash off the dust of the road would be most welcome. Now she was really going to need that second job she had been thinking about unless Viserys and his council actually got a move on putting the company to good use. Knowing nobles they probably wouldn't...
RPG
