BENNYT III

BENNYT III

      "I'm very much certain, my Lord", said Johnny, the squire not being so certain. 

    He had been to the Prince's chamber to see if he was doing well or he needed more wine. Bennyt had been informed about a  disappearance which had occurred in the Hall of History after the Queen took a walk in there with the Prince behind a closed door. Things happened behind the doors and inside the walls of Glass Palace and Bennyt knew most of them. How Nene Sebastyn hated the place which Ser Mason was in love with - he was well aware of it. Those little spies had whispered everything they had witnessed with their vicious eyes and heard with their sharp ears.

    The days were beginning to be brighter than usual, sun shone above the city and on the crystals of Glass Palace. The outside walls would feel like burning coal, the greenery looked golden, the birds had stopped chirping, but never had the people. People did not seem to stop. They kept working and serving and living, nothing could stop them. Nothing could stop Bennyt. He kept trying and trying, day by day he started to think he should give up. Sometimes giving up could be the best thing to be done. But if he stopped, Shannon wouldn't. He would snatch Aerys out of everyone's hands. It was the beginning and Aerys had already forgotten her duties towards her people while doing nothing valuable with her guests. Bennyt had his own eyes on her. She wouldn't stop either. Even if the Prince would be staying alone, she would always appear for company.

    People had started talking rubbish. Some believed they were going to marry sooner than Bennyt had imagined. Some of them hated Shannon and sought revenge while some never cared enough to talk. Bennyt could pay deaf ears to the people's rumours and nonsense talk to avoid it that he had to admit something was really going on between those two. His wife might be stupid, but she had guessed the truth early. It might be a sort of attraction, which shouldn't be transformed into love. Love had always been stronger than some silly desires of skin.

     He himself had been to the Hall of History to see which of the Sunryders' posessions was missing. None of them would be useful when time would come, unless they'd have to make money for some drastic disasters and some of those old precious belongings had to be sold for gold and silver and for many more. 'It couldn't have been stolen' - he was sure of that. Royal members were only supposed to step foot inside there. Besides, not every thief could walk past the guardsmen into a corner of the castle.

   "My Lord !", said Johnny to make his Lord remember that he was still there.

   "Fine, then", said Bennyt thinking deeply. "You may leave. Look after the things, you usually do". The squire took his leave quietly. Bennyt had no notions who would be interested in three stones and would mysteriously make it disappear. According to the report of Ser Desmond, only the Queen and the Prince had been to the Hall. And the Glass Queen was given privacy as they stood outside, guarding the door for anyone who would dare to interrupt their privacy. How foolish of them ! Bennyt would have never let the Prince set eyes on their treasure, not at all. He wished if Hoseyn Sunryder would have lived, and none of these troubles would have come. But daughters were more enthusiastic those days than their fathers.

   He came downstairs thinking what his next step should be. Investigating their chambers would probably mean to have accusation and suspicion on their guests without any evidence. He could neither confront them about it, since it would seem desperate. So he headed towards the root of this,  probably the root of everything that was going on.

   Twilight embraced him and his green robe. Blackness of his hair shone and seemed to be new. But everything which was new, was as unpleasant as his dubious steps he was taking. Things were going off his hands and the innovation of his Queen was only making it worse. 'Shannon should be away from her, from the castle, from the city' - this thought kept him going on. Whatever the deal might be, it had to be made soon enough. Getting used to the Prince could result in horrible consequences for the realm undoubtedly. Aerys shouldn't be hated like her mother, Allirie.

    Ser Desmond was guarding her chamber at the door wearing his golden cloak and silver helm. Sword hanging on his waist, long spear in his hand. It seemed hard to stand outside a chamber to guard the Queen from nothing. But it must have been easy to let her alone with the Prince, she must have ordered for it. Bennyt understood the situation even if he was not present at the time it happened. Ser Desmond was no fool to let his Queen wander around with that young ambitious prince alone without making objections. He wouldn't let people question his loyalty as a Queensguard.

   "Her grace is not expecting interruptions, my Lord", Desmond informed on approaching Ser Bennyt. "She is probably asleep".

   The Queen would never end her day at twilight unless she had been too tired to keep her eyes open. She was not like his niece Ashara. Ashara was ambitious just like her father Lord Bartlett. But she was lazy, she could sleep all day without any notions of the circumstances around her. Belle had once mentioned that the girl kept sleeping for two days and when she woke, she ate thrice of her usual heavy meal. When she was asked if there might have been any illness, the Grand Mistress was startled by her answer. "It is very likely to happen if there's nothing to bother our minds with", Ashara had said in a flat voice. Her elder Dolores was no near that lazy lass. She would wake up early, break her fast with some noble fellows, spend quality time with them. Horse-riding, hunting, visiting places, chatting - she was into everything. One single hope of a good match was all she wanted. It was wanted of Ashara as well, but she never liked Eastmen. She believed their Bartlett blood ran quite warm in veins through the heart while few of the Eastmen seemed to be have blood of her kind.

    "I'm quite certain that an advisor is not an interruption, Ser", Bennyt said to the old knight. "She's our Queen and she ought to posses the knowledge of mysterious things happening inside her castle. I just hope you were true when you said about the Prince and her. I do not wish to accuse him of any charges while I have no proof of it. He might be a lot of things, but theft is not an act that could be expected of him. He's a dear fellow, poisonous for all of us, but still a dear fellow".

   "I do not wish to accuse anyone either, Lord Bennyt", said Ser Desmond mightily looking at Bennyt. Bennyt couldn't see his eyes in the gloom around there as the dusk was inviting the stars into the sky, leaving it up to darkness. A torch was lit across the hallway, he could hear moths buzzing around the flame as if they were fighting for its warmth. Besides that, it was quiet like a dark dungeon. Creepy creatures could have been hidden in the walls and could show up all of a sudden to frighten people who would be crossing the hallway. Perhaps it was only the gloom that could frighten, but Bennyt was not afraid of anything like that.

    The knight wouldn't let him in. He stood there like a fence, stopping Bennyt's way into the bedchamber. Arry chose not to offend him by speaking, he just stood silent. "You must let me through", Bennyt said firmly. "Don't you dare try to be dutiful after forgetting your duties when it was needed. You and all of your men stand in duty of nothing". His voice was stiff. So stiff that even the Lord Commander must have felt abashed. It must have raised a question on his duty. He moved aside, perhaps after realising he could never stop Bennyt.

    "She wished for her maid to be with her", he told Bennyt when he opened the door.

     "You must ask yourself, your Grace", Bennyt heard. It was her, the young girl of eighteen. The maid was speaking to the Queen. "When it starts, everything looks like it's heaven. You start thinking about him every moment you get to think. Nothing could be better than this. He becomes everything you need. A warm blanket for the cold nights, a shelter in a storm, a pillow to press your face against  it to hide your tears. Everything ! But it doesn't take too long and then heaven turns out to be hell. You get your heart broken, my Queen. And once it shatters, I doubt it could be mended again".

    "No", Aerys said. "He wouldn't break my heart, never".

   Bennyt pushed himself on the door to listen more distinctly. But the door made cracky sound and he had to open it at once. Aerys was on her bed, wearing a loose grey night clothing and holding a wine goblet in her hand. Her hair open like a lowborn maid. She didn't seem to be a queen at all. And the handmaiden was washing her Queen's feet in fragranced cold water, white rose petals floating on the water. The Queen looked like a little sick child. And then she spoke, "What's the urgency to run in, Ser ?"

    No, she was not a child anymore. She might look like a sweet innocent girl, but she knew herself that she was the Queen. Bennyt understood she was out of his hands then, like a free bird who wants to fly high above the clouds to reach the stars. She has no fear of getting her wings broken on the high fly, she always thought it was easy. Mayhap, it was truly easy. But coming back to ground wouldn't be easy, that was beyond any dispute.

    "I'm going to sleep", she continued. "We may discuss on the morrow when I'd be conscious enough to listen. I'm a bit dizzy now".

     Morrow would be the same. She would avert him by sending to check things out like a squire. She would spend her time with the Prince and his friends. She would laugh with them, dine with them, walk with them. There'd be no time to listen. She was averting right then too by making an excuse of dizziness. But Bennyt knew well about her drinks, she would never drink enough to be unconscious. She was conscious enough to pretend to be not.

     "Leave us", he said to the handmaiden.

     "Stay !", the Queen ordered.

      Bennyt was annoyed, he made his fist tight. "We shall confer now", he said looking at Aerys.

      It was silence afterwards until the maid asked, "Your Grace ?". She was humble. "Shall I take my leave ?"

      Aerys found herself bound to discuss with Bennyt, as he wanted. She nodded with consent and soon they heard door being shut. "I wonder how Ser Desmond let you in", Aerys said. "I strictly gave instruction not to... "

     "They can't stop me", Bennyt said proudly. "Not when I have matters to discuss about theft".

     "Theft ?", she sounded startled but Bennyt knew inside she didn't really care.

      "Some of those men have a notion about a box disappearing from the Hall of History", he informed. "They say you had a private talk in there with the Prince"

      "So, they accuse the Prince to be a thief and you wonder that he might be one ?"

     "I don't think he could steal", he explained. "I'm against them on this case. He doesn't look like a thief".

     "Because he's not", Aerys shouted.

     She had never shouted in front of him like that, like a lioness.

    "You will not call him a thief", she added to her roar. "He's a Prince, not a thief. He's gentle and handsome and kind. He wouldn't steal". She was so sure that it made Bennyt doubt a bit.

    "Sometimes a kind person could…", he tried to state some sort of advice.

    "I will not listen, not now", Aerys said shaking her head childishly. "Leave me alone !"

   "Then, you must tell me the truth and we can put an end to this falseness"

    Aerys took one last sip of the wine that she was drinking. Her goblet shone as the golden rays from the fireplace touched it. The room was warm, it felt like the South, Bennyt's home. The last drops of wine made the Queen calm.

    "Gift", she said. "I gave him those stones as a gift"

     'Yes, she must have', Bennyt thought. Gifts could make their friendship stronger. Aerys must have wanted it. Ser Desmond would have punctuated it. That's what made him stand outside. Aerys was trying to be clever, just like every other person on the world.

    "It was supposed to be a secret", her eyes began to well up. She held the goblet close to her chest, putting all the pressure on it. But her pressure wasn't strong enough to break the glass. "I broke his trust with this vow. I've ruined it. He would never trust me again".

     Emotional changes made it hard for Bennyt to determine who she was. For instance, she was like a little girl with persistence. And then she was gracefully a Queen. But she was becoming a woman. She was being emotional, but trying to be tough. If not, at least trying to look tough. Women were women after all. A woman's heart was as changeable as weather.

    "You made me break my promise, Ser", she was still saying. Bennyt was ready to take the blame on the cost of the truth. So, it was a gift, not a theft. It would have been better if it were a theft. But gift ? He had a fear that those rumours were about to be true in front of his eyes and tied hands.

    "Gift ?", he pretended to be quite shocked. "This is a silly stupid childish mistake".

    "Done by the Queen Aerys of House Sunryder, Queen of the Glasslands and Protector of the Eastmen", she made a horrible eye contact saying this. As if Bennyt had forgotten about her title and position.

    "They belonged to your house for centuries. Your ancestors treasured them for centuries and you handed it to a stranger in a wink of eye. They'll curse you just like your mother. Don't do this. Stay away from them, for Gods' sake, for your people's sake. You shouldn't raise the latent rage of Eastmen. They've been hungry for revenge and if you become a part of them, you'll be a part of their revenge as well", he delineated.

    "I don't care a fig about their rage", she was being a bit dramatic. She turned her face to hide the grumpiness. She was not Aerys, she was becoming someone else. She used to care, she used to be scared, she used to pay attention. Now she was an imprudent clumsy little girl under the spell of Shannon Nohara.

     "They're spreading rumours about you. Ponderous rumours !", he said. 

      "As I said, I don't care", she muttered.

      "They presume you have begun to have some sort of affection for the Prince. They name it 'love'. Love, that ruined your father when he met your mother. Nobody liked her. She was an outsider, she didn't belong in Queen's Landing. And you know what happened henceforth"

     "What happened ?"

      'She knows it', he thought. 'Why's she asking ?' Aerys eyed him, awaiting for his answer. "Tell me, Ser", she said. "Tell me that my people cursed my mother, their Queen and she couldn't please my father. She couldn't give him sons, healthy ones. My aunt eloped with gold and diamonds and crystals. Glasslands began to shake as if it was stuck on the crest of a mountain. Tell me that today my house is going to end. Tell me that it's all because my father loved my mother more than anything even though half of his people were plotting against his love. He loved her, he wed her. He protected her until his last breath from all those curses and demons and assassins. That was love, pure love"

    "And it was the reason that you're the last Sunryder"

   "True", she said. "I'm the last Sunryder. I will reign like a Sunryder. My father took what he wanted because he was a Sunryder and so shall I. I care about my people, not about their rumours and curses".

   Bennyt couldn't speak further. If Aerys couldn't understand, then someone else had to. He started to leave. It was time he should give up trying to justify his thoughts to Aerys. 'She is a childish queen', he thought while leaving. He had to face Desmond again.

     "When does Ser Torrhen return ?", Aerys asked for the last time.

     Ser Torrhen of House Waynestark ! He had been away for a long time. Isabelle's sister Susan was presumably dying. Nothing could soothe a dying mother than her children. But it was past time she should have been dead. Ser Torrhen should be with him now. If Susan wasn't dying sooner, she could die later. And her son needed to return. "Soon", he said.

     The night, he thought of nothing. He believed nights should be peaceful, free of thoughts. He was tired of Shannon and his companions. They must leave the Glass Palace and return to their noisome chaotic capital Alphaville. The city of light, the city of sun ! For him and for many more like him, it was the city of dirt and beggars. But there used to be a time, when it used to be the home of Sun. And the Sunryders made it prosperous. Alphaville used to be the most beautiful of all, the Sunshine River flew on the edges of the city from White Hills to High Flora in the Roselands. The Sun Palace used to be spectacular as it was the residence of the Gods. Its walls strong and tall, gardens seemed like an illusion and smallfolk's livelihood as same as Highborn Lords and Ladies. When the sun would rise, the Sun Palace would seem it's giving birth to it everyday. And on setting, it would return to its mother's womb. The Kingswood was full of mysteries and strange creatures. The streams, howling wolves, chirping birds and rocky hills would hold the forest in high regards. And at the heart, stood the Temple of Divine, spreading spirituality throughout the city from the Sun Palace to the Pit of Martyrs, Master's Alley to Ilem's Lane. The Silk Valley had best garments and ornaments for highborn and lowborn as well. That was such a city ! 

    But the day Noharas set their foot inside the city, all the prosperity were gone and the city was nothing but a devastated land of ashes, corpses and frightened people. Some said the Palace might fall. All the strength vanished when the Sunryders were slaughtered.

    As for Queen's Landing, still the Sun rose from the hearth of the Queen's Bay. Making the Glass Palace shimmer and city to prosper. Last Sunryder was still drawing breath and was going to breathe until she'd be breathless one-day. Bennyt had to stop her, if not in his way, then perhaps in some others. After making sure that everything was perfectly fine, he called one of his servant. 

    Johnny brought a new servant for him to examine. A bit short and skin pale. Eyes blue like ocean and hair as bright  as a golden armour. "Finn", Johnny told his name.

    "Do you know anything about the Grand-Mistress ?", Bennyt asked.

    "Everyone knows something about her", Finn replied.

     Yes, she was quite famous. If for nothing, then only for being the Grand Misstress. "Where would you find her if I ask you something relevant to meeting with her ?", he questioned to Finn.

    "The Hall of Mastery ?", Finn was in doubt.

    "That is so", said Bennyt. "Run and tell her to send a raven to Eastcity. Tell her Ser Torrhen is being summoned to Queen's Landing at once. If he doesn't wish to return, all his titles would be handed to someone who would like to return to duty even if his mother's dying".

   "As you say, Ser", Finn said impatiently. He left like a hurricane and Bennyt insinuated Johnny to follow him if he's going in the wrong way.

    Johnny went up to the door and paused there for a while. He looked troubled, watching something steadily.

    "What is it ?", Bennyt didn't understand. "Don't tell that it's …."

     "Miss Natalie", Johnny answered and disappeared as Natalie approached.

     "The breakfast is being taken to the Garden", Bennyt told her, not wondering about the cause of her sudden appearance.

   "Yes, thank you", the Mistress spoke with a sigh, punctuating Bennyt's next words. She sounded like a queen. "Thank you for all your courtesies. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ! Food, Wine, Servants, Chambers and everything else. We are terribly grateful for your hospitality, Ser Bennyt".

     'You should be', he thought. 'Or why would I run myself like a horse to look after your pleasure if not for your gratitude ?'

    "But, I don't see a point", she raised an eyebrow. "Why would you feed someone else's cattle even if there's no promises made to compensate for your troubles ?"

    "That's very unlikely"

    "Yes, it is"

     "Don't trouble yourself for someone worthless"

      "Absolutely", Natalie flashed a smirk. "Get rid of your troubles, before it's too late and the knot of your hands becomes too complicated to free yourself from it".

     She wore grey that day, her hair covered in a hood. Kohl applied about her eyes, she smelled of lavender. Such a beauty to become untouchable forever ! And her words were of wisdom and truth. Bennyt had been asking that sort of questions to himself for several days. Yet, all of them had remained unanswered.

    "Why are we still here, Ser Bennyt ?", she said in her honeyed voice. "I've known you since my training years and you must have been the same. You are a clever man, you know. Even so, you've done nothing ! Why are your hands tied ?"

    "The Queen wishes to wait for someone's return", he replied. "She doesn't take any decisions in the absence of her closed ones".

    "Does she?", Natalie came closer and her words sounded like whispers. "Is there truly any decisions to be made ?"

     She smiled and bowed. "And again", she said. "We're so grateful that I don't even have words". That too was like a whisper. She turned around and began to leave. Bennyt had to do something. Something that might help him lessen his troubles.

     "I hope you liked our gift", he said. And Natalie stopped at the door. Bennyt wanted to see her startled, troubled face. But let it be, as the Queen had said, "I don't care".