House Avalon

[Lord Howland Royce]

Brandon smiles at that. "I will have to make some time so I can see them"

[Deleted]

"Tonight you should keep yourself free then," Lettie smiled. "But tell me, how was Braavos?"

[Lord Howland Royce]

"It was nice. I almost missed the city and it's nightly duels. Visited the courtesan I guarded too, she seemed to be doing well. I went most for business, had to sell my mother's house after all. Are you planning to watch the Ship of Fools tonight then?" Brandon asked.

[Deleted]

"I might," Lettie shrugged. She smiled. "Why don't we go together? I'll bring tomatoes, in case they do a bad job."

[Lord Howland Royce]

"It would be a pleasure throwing tomatoes with you," Brandon smiled.

[Deleted]

Lettie grinned. "See you tonight then."

[Lord Howland Royce]

Brandon smiled in confirmation as he was dragged to the playing stand by a drunk knight.

[Deleted]

//

Plump Petyr, Master of the Mummers, joined Lettie and Brandon for dinner after Lettie had seen to the other girls and given instructions for the night's business.

"Where is dear Dacey, I meant to ask?" Petyr asked as they sat down at a private table in the screened off alcove.

"In Pentos, on holiday," Lettie replied, as wine was poured. "But tell Brandon your gossip Petyr, I know how you love it."

Petyr was not ashamed. "Ah, of course," he turned to Brandon with a smile. "Lord Baldwin, the Bald Lion. How we miss him, truly. When he was Hand, King's Landing flourished," he sighed. "I was very young then. None of the Bald Lion's children ever matched him. Allard Kinslayer was as mad as Bloody Aedon. The twin boys never amounted to anything. That pretty daughter, Benedicta, went off to Dorne."

"To that snake, Princess Emelia," Lettie said darkly.

"Yes, dear, I know how you feel about her. But one of Lord Baldwin's children was quite clever, actually. Lady Elena, she who married that fat man, Lord Plumm," Petyr said, apparently forgetting his own generous belly.

[Lord Howland Royce]

Brandon did his best to supress his smile at Petyr's remark about fat men. "What happened to the clever one?"

[Deleted]

"Became a widow," Petyr said indifferently, as a roast was laid out and carved for them. "Pretty lady, Elena Lannister. Too pretty by half for that fat Lord Plumm. Good thing he died, because a couple years later, Rhodri Arryn fell in love with her."

"Nobody knows if he really loved her," Lettie said.

"Yes he did," Petyr insisted. "You listen to me, Brandon. Lady Arryn died, killed by Goldface. Later, Lord Arryn resigned as Hand because he was angry with the King and Lord Barret Tyrell. Everyone in the city knew about it. Just before he left for the Vale, Lady Elena attached herself to his party. And they went and lived in the Eyrie together," Petyr said with a triumphant smile. "Why do that, if they were not fucking?"

"Lady Elena was governess to his children," Lettie said.

"That's what they say," Petyr said. "But his own men swore they were having an affair."

"That's true," Lettie said. "She was all over him like fur on a dog."

[Lord Howland Royce]

"No one can claim that the lords have simple lives," Brandon chuckled. "What happened to the pretty one who went with the Martell? She back in the Rock after the war?"

[Deleted]

"Lady Benedicta? Must be in the Rock somewhere, same with that Lady Sara," Petyr said. Benedicta and Sara Lannister were faded figures in King's Landing. "Better at the Rock than here. Damn Royces. We have too many of them in this city. They've been here almost constantly since the Targaryen days. Serving as Hand and everything else. Even that damn Beetle, he's more Royce than Bettley, I can promise you that," said Petyr, Political Expert.

"You think so?" Lettie said, giving Brandon an apologetic look.

"Yes," Petyr said. "The Beetle was a fool for women, and he had a Royce wife and backed the prissy Falcon Lord in everything. I'm sick of Royces. Now we have another Royce Hand. Damned good it'll do. This city has been sacked and burned more times than I can count, and we scrabble and try to rebuild our lives while the high lords play their game. The Royces and the Blackwoods - that fucking Crow, son of a bitch, glad he's dead - and the Dornish. Pah," Petyr spat. "I remember the Dornish when they tried to take over this city. Glad they got burned in their own lands. As long as the high lords fight their wars far from here, I'm happy."

[Lord Howland Royce]

Brandon looks at Lettie and rolls his eyes, other than that he does his best not to show irritation. However the candle lights seemd to glow a bit brighter, but only for a heartbeat or five "War is always terrible business, Petyr, no matter where it is fought".

[Deleted]

"It's not as terrible for them as it is for us," Petyr said. "Who gives a damn about who the King is as long as the money flows? I don't. Ser Humfrey the Ox could sit the Iron Throne, for all I care, as long as I get my bread and cheese and wine. The only stag I care about is a round silver one, not our sweet boy king on his throne."

He took a swig of wine. "What about Dorne, eh? Her Princesses might be bitches, but none of the common folk are. They're like you or me. Have you heard how they got massacred? Thousands and thousands of them. And for what? Princess Tristeza? Is one woman worth the lives of thousands of innocent folk? It sounds good in stories, but I've seen too many butchered bodies to have a stomach for romance and rebellion. I was a boy when Aedon burned this city. It's been war since then, almost ceaselessly."

[Lord Howland Royce]

Brandon nods. "Aye, it is not the lords who suffer the most, still if the King is a good one the money will flow better than if it is a poor one".