18
Chapter 18: Part XVIIINotes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I own nothing, just borrowing for a while.
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"A king that will only get you and your men killed for a good reason is a king you should follow."
Legate-General Ser Beric Dondarrion - 310 AL
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The Red Keep - King's Landing – 298 AL
"Good Afternoon, Your Grace" Lord Varys greeted Octavian as he entered the Small Council Chamber. "I trust you have fully recovered from the malady that struck you yesterday?" he asked, smiling.
"Yes" Octavian confirmed. "The tonic Grand Maester Pycelle prescribed worked wonders" he noted, offering a nod of thanks to the older man who was sat beside Varys.
"First hangover was it?" Lord Petyr Baelish asked, trying and failing not to sound too amused.
Octavian sighed as he sat down in the chair next to the one Eddard Stark would soon take at the head of the table. "No, but it was by far the worst" he replied as the Lord Regent arrived looking as harried as ever.
"Your Grace" Ned Stark greeted Octavian with a bow before sitting down.
"Lord Regent" Octavian returned the formality.
"How's the head?" Stark checked as he sat down.
"My skull feels the correct size for the brain within it unlike yesterday" Octavian replied. "Why I listened to Thoros of Myr when he persuaded me my father would expect me to drink that much wine at his funeral feast I'll never know."
"That's likely because you had already put away enough for your judgement to be impaired" Varys surmised.
Octavian grimaced. "I'm never getting drunk again" he vowed.
"Yes I've promised myself that a few times" Baelish recalled with a chuckle.
"You're not the only one" Ned Stark added for himself.
Octavian frowned. "How did my father drink as much as he did every day and still function?" he wanted to know.
"Dedication I would say" Varys suggested, not saying whether that meant dedication to the drinking or his job as king, probably the former if he was being genuine. "With Lord Renly absent escorting King Robert's mortal remains to his ancestral home shall we begin with formal business?" he asked.
Ned Stark shook his head. "Not yet, Ser Barristan will be along any moment" he told the room.
"Ah, so will the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard be attending the Small Council again as per the tradition before King Robert's reign?" Varys asked.
"He will" Stark confirmed.
"Good. Good" Pycelle responded always one to favour tradition and cite precedent.
"If nothing else it'll help fill up the empty seats, what with both Lord Renly on his way to Storm's End and his brother Lord Stannis still back at Dragonstone" Baelish observed. "We are quite bereft of Baratheons" he joked.
"Not quite Lord Baelish" Octavian corrected him, indicating himself.
"Ah, of course" Baelish replied apologetically. "Less Lannisters in the Red Keep now too as well, what with Queen Cersei and her brother Jaime on the way to Casterly Rock" he noted. "Will Ser Jaime be returning with the escorting troops once they arrive at their destination?" he inquired.
"The plan is that Ser Jaime and the Lannister soldiers who previously guarded Queen Cersei here at the Red Keep will remain at her side for now to help protect her and the children" Ned Stark told him.
"The Royal Apartments must seem quite deserted" Varys remarked.
"Yes which is why one of the cost-saving measures I have proposed to the Lord Regent is a major reduction in staff as well as cuts in unnecessary expenditure" Octavian announced. "Less wasting money on luxuries and fewer servants won't make a great impact on our budgetary deficit but it's a small step in the right direction" he said.
Ned Stark nodded. "I'm sure we can all find similar savings if we trim the fat a little" he suggested, Pycelle, Varys and Baelish looking either unsure or perhaps unwilling to do so, although none chose to comment. "As for myself, although my new title and responsibilities would normally warrant an increased salary, I'm not taking one."
"Very commendable Lord Stark" Pycelle responded, inwardly cursing because that would surely mean nobody else would get a pay increase for the foreseeable future either.
"Incidentally, since you now hold the position of Lord Regent, who will be the new Hand?" Petyr Baelish asked.
"I intend to ask Lord Tywin Lannister to take on that role given his prior experience" Ned Stark replied. Tywin always had an agenda but with his own grandson on the Iron Throne the main part of that agenda would be keeping the Seven Kingdoms united, prosperous and stable. "Given that it may be a while until Queen Cersei, Prince Tommen and Princess Myrcella are settled and secure in Casterly rock, enabling Lord Tywin to relocate to King's Landing, I will likely appoint an acting Hand with his agreement."
"Any idea who that might be?" Varys queried.
"Not as yet, I plan to discuss that with Lord Tywin" Stark replied. "Since Ser Barristan is still delayed I suppose I may as well informally announce another new appointment" he decided. "With the agreement of Lord Renly as Master of Laws the City Watch is getting a new commander."
"Oh really? Who?" Varys asked curiously, not that anyone could be as corrupt and inept as the current commander Janos Slynt.
"Me" Octavian told him brightly.
Petyr Baelish raised his eyebrows. "If you'll forgive me asking, is it really a suitable job for a king and why would you want the job anyway?" he asked in surprise.
"Prince Daemon Targaryen once commanded the City Watch, so I wouldn't be the first royal to do so, but since the actual business of running the Seven Kingdoms falls to the Lord Regent until I come of age I think I need something to do in the meantime" Octavian replied. "Why not that?" he asked rhetorically.
The Master of Coin considered the notion. If the annoying little smart-arse wanted to play soldiers with that rabble at least it would keep him out of my hair, Baelish reasoned. "Any plans on what you want to do with them first?" he asked.
"Not as yet" Octavian lied, in fact he had a whole list of things to do once the City Watch was under his control, including better training and a purge of corrupt, inept and unfit personnel.
When the door to the Small Council chamber opened after being knocked Eddard Stark expected to see Ser Barristan enter but instead the Royal Steward stood there with a grave expression. "What is it?" Stark asked.
"News from Dragonstone, Lord Regent" the steward began then paused looking extremely nervous.
"Well spit it out man" Stark ordered him impatiently.
The Royal Steward swallowed. "Lord Stannis has issued a declaration that the children of Queen Cersei are not the legitimate heirs to King Robert."
"In what way?" Varys queried. "I attended their wedding as did hundreds of others."
"Lord Stannis is claiming that all of Queen Cersei's children were the result of King Robert being cuckolded…" the Stewart paused again and visibly winced. "By the Queen's own brother Ser Jaime Lannister."
The room fell silent, Octavian realising that suddenly everyone was looking at him.
"Did the man who would coincidentally be next in line to the throne if my siblings and I were removed from the line of succession, offer any proof for this vile accusation, or say why he waited until my father was dead to make it?" Octavian snarled through gritted teeth.
"No Your Grace, not as yet" the Royal Steward replied.
"Well how fucking convenient!" Octavian exclaimed loudly, kicking his chair backwards as he sprang to his feet and crashed his clenched fists down on the table.
"Also, he's claimed the Iron Throne" the Royal Steward added even more nervously.
"What a surprise" Octavian responded with all the sarcasm in his tone he could muster. "Let's hope that most of the population aren't gullible enough to buy this shit or we'll be fighting a civil war that'll haemorrhage money we haven't got and cost the lives of men who didn't have to die."
"Indeed, Your Grace" Varys agreed, though he noted that Lord Stark had yet to say anything himself.
Octavian visibly took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "No" he said in a more calm and collected tone. "I am not going to do this to my people" he continued. "Tell Stannis that I am going to postpone my coronation and call a Great Council to decide the issue of who gets to sit on the Iron Throne."
Petyr Baelish made an involuntary choking noise. "A Great Council?" he repeated in astonishment.
"It's been done before when the inheritance of the crown is unclear, if Stannis can prove I'm some kind of incestuous abomination and convince the Great Houses to put him on the Iron Throne instead of me then I'll stand aside rather than fight a Civil War" Octavian declared before turning away from the table and heading to the nearest window to look down on King's Landing. "I don't want to see this city burn" he said quietly.
As the Small Council and the Royal Steward stared at his back in amazement Octavian allowed himself an unseen smile. Always have a plan, he thought to himself smugly.
Notes:
Note from the author:
Prince Daemon Targaryen commanded the City Watch so it isn't unprecedented for royalty to do so.
Calling a Great Council to decide the succession isn't unprecedented. Beyond the problem of how do you actually prove Joffrey is a bastard born of incest Octavian has the other advantage that Stannis is really unpopular.