The Redfish (Edmure SI) chapter 114 (Patreon)

Keeping Promises

Edmure POV

Daenerys wanted to hold the meeting with Shireen as soon as Asha returned. I was surprised that they spent the whole day in the meeting. I expected Daenerys to give Shireen her demands, and if she failed to meet those demands, she would start threatening Shireen. I don’t know what they have spoken of, but they looked satisfied with the meeting.

“What do you think about her?” I asked Sandor Clegane, who guarded me.

“About who?”

“Shireen, what happened when you came to Astapor?”

“I was only following Lady Arianne’s orders,” He replied. “I came to Astapor to investigate your whereabouts. The little queen was quick to meet me. They thought I was still serving Lannisters, so they kept me close. So, I think the little queen is too clever and cautious for her age.”

“That's what happens when children aren’t given time to grow up,” I replied. “They grow too fast.”

Sandor only grunted at me. I smiled and walked up to Tyrion, who was also observing the interactions between the two queens. He didn’t have much work to do after we dealt with the Great Masters and the Golden Company, so he spent most of his time going to finances. Per his words, they were stable.

“I am returning home,” I told the dwarf. “There is nothing for me to do here anymore.”

“Aye, it has become peaceful,” The dwarf replied. “So peaceful that even the court intrigue is becoming tedious. There are no stakes anymore—no interest in hidden meanings behind words. All that is left is meaningless babble.”

“And yet you aren’t going to go with me, am I wrong?”

“You know me as an old friend,” Tyrion answered. “This is the kind of life I was born into. I can’t leave it. I know I will not be welcomed into King Jaehaery's court.”

“You would get stabbed,” I said.

“Or worse,” Tyrion agreed. “And I might get stabbed here too, but I enjoy this intrigue. I have something to do. I mean something to others. Tell Jaehaerys I haven’t forgotten our travels, and he should take care of himself.”

“I will send someone with the information I get of your wife, no matter how little it might be.”

“Part of me fears you will find her,” Tyrion replied. “Can you send a message for my brother too?”

“I will have someone to go to the Wall,” I agreed.

“Raven is enough,” Tyrion replied. “It is a short message, but only for his eyes.”

“Anything else?”

“I miss Arbor wine,” Tyrion answered. “A few barrels would be nice, and a barrel or two of dornish wine would go a long way.”

“Sure, I will send three barrels of each,” I smiled back at Tyrion. “But two of them will be poisoned.”

“A worthy price to pay, I would say.”

It irritated me that I couldn’t win against him with my words. So, I left him. It looked like Queen Daenerys was still busy showing around Queen Shireen, and I didn’t see a chance to talk to either of them. As I turned to leave, my hair fell over my eye. I tucked the strand under my ear. While I touched it, I found it a bit greasy, and as my hand moved to my face, I found rough patches of beard.

Finding a bronze mirror, I took a long look at myself. I didn’t like what I found. I couldn’t show such a face to Arianne; the burns on my face were ugly enough. The least I could do was clean up. And after the long voyage home, I would even look uglier. Would my children even recognize me at that point? I should start to pay more attention to my appearance. I wasn’t former slave Oscar anymore, but Lord of Riverrun, Edmure Tully.

…

The sharp blade of the barber moved along my neck as my hair fell to the ground. He carefully moved along my face to not cut into the burned scars. I could tell that the barber was nervous from the sweat running along his face. But his hands were steady, with no hint of tremble on them. It was impressive as any other man would buckle under the stare of Clegane.

“I will miss your fiery hair,” Asha came in without announcing herself, and I had to motion Clegane not to draw his weapon. “It was long and luscious. You looked like a prince of flames.”

“Do you know, Asha, what stops the barber from cutting one’s neck with the blade he cuts the hair?” I asked, and she stayed silent. “A blade under his neck.”

“Should it mean anything to me?”

“No, you are a woman. You don’t shave your neck, and from how your hair is cut, I guess you do it yourself,” I answered. “You wouldn’t understand the danger a simple haircut could possess.”

“Get to the point.”

“The point is that I have to do my search for the barber I choose. I have to make sure that he doesn’t have any debt, that his family is safe, and that he didn’t start working a week ago waiting for me,” I replied. “So, knowing how much research I do on my barber, I would like to ask you to think how much research I do on my enemies.”

“I came here because…”

“Because you are going to Westeros,” I finished her words. “As an envoy for Queen Daenerys and security for Queen Shireen.”

“How possibly?”

“How could I know that when you only finished your meeting and came straight to me? It simply by the time you found me, my men found everything they could why you would want to find me,” I answered. “And I am telling you this because so far, you had to deal with a man who didn’t have anything and was alone. Not you will have to deal with the real me. A man who isn’t desperate and doesn’t need anything from you.”

“Impressive,” Asha replied. “Even scary, but not as scary as three fire-breathing dragons.”

“No, I could never compete with these dragons in any way,” I agreed. “But I don’t need to, as I only want to warn you that if you ever again try to put one of your men on my ship. You will be surrounded by mine in your ship, alone in the deep sea.”

“Again, scary,” Asha replied. “But again, not as scary as three fire-breathing dragons, so next time, I would be careful of what you accuse me of. We wouldn’t want a misunderstanding to start an unfortunate war. And it would be an unfortunate war for you, Lord Tully.”

“I see, so the man didn’t belong to you,” I replied. “Very well, I have him killed, and I thought as a sign of good faith in the future, I would give him back with only a warning.”

“He wasn’t there to spy on you,” Asha gnashed her teeth. “You know us, Ironborn, we get too much to drink and mix up the ships.”

“Of course, a common mistake.”

As Asha stormed out of the barber shop, the barber finished his final touches on me. Looking at the bronze mirror, I nodded in satisfaction. Leaving a few gold coins on the countertop, I stood up and left with Clegane following close behind. It felt nice to have control in my hands once again. Even if I had minimal support, it was enough for me to play with someone like Asha.

The girl was clever but didn’t know how this game was played. She had to gain ten more years of experience to play with me on the same stage. And by that time, I should have already done everything I ever needed and could retire from this game. And even if she still tried to play with me by then, I had Arianne to cover my back.

…

The Tattered Prince was an old man, but his skill with the sword didn’t wane with age. He wasn’t as good as Ser Barristan Selmy, but his years of experience made him a tricky opponent even for me. I knew something about dirty fighting, but the Tattered Prince was an expert. I almost lost the spar because his sword hilt was longer than usual, and he moved his hand among the hilt for me to misjudge the range of his attacks.

“Hoh,” The Tattered Prince took a long breath at the end of our spar. “If only I were ten years younger. Even if my bones keep up, it seems my lungs are giving up.”

“So, what will come of the Windblown now?” I asked. “Will you stay in Meereen and serve Queen Daenerys?”

“The wind doesn’t stop,” The Tattered Prince replied. “I could stay secure in my position. My men are satisfied with it. But here is little gold to be earned. I travel where the wind carries me, and once I stop chasing the wind, I know I am dead.”

“You know I pride myself with knowing people,” I said. “I know you saw the opportunity with me at Astapor to profit more and take care of your competition. You were using me as I was trying to use you.”

“Too bad, you too much of use of me,” The Tattered Prince responded with a smile. “But even so, I will not forget the price you promised to pay me.”

“I pride myself on knowing people,” I repeated. “If I don’t, I find out everything there is to them. Yet I wonder how much I will be able to find about you. Who are you? Apart from being the prince of Pentos who chose not to be sacrificed by the Magisters of Pentos and run away. Will I even find your name?”

“We fought together,” The Tattered Prince stated. “Why do you care about who I am now?”

“I don’t,” I replied. “But I need to know you. Why do you want Pentos? You said you are an old man now. Even if you took control of Pentos tomorrow, how long will you hold it? Ten years? Twenty?”

“Even if it is for one year, I want Pentos.”

“And I am inclined to give it to you,” I replied. “But I will make an immeasurable investment in doing so. I can’t let you take to burn it into the ground. So, I will be straight with you. I will give you Pentos for as long as you want, but it will always be my city.”

“I had no contractor break his promise to me for years,” The Tattered Prince said. Gone was his smile. “Do you know why?”

“Because you cut their feet and feed them it?” I asked.

“No, because they can’t afford to make me their enemy.”

“But I can,” I replied. “I can have an army of a hundred thousand men to come after you if I wish. Yet, I wouldn’t do so because I don’t want to make you my enemy.”

“Everything I have, I took with a sword and a horse,” The Tattered Prince said. “I denied my fate, time and time again. You want to know why I want Pentos. Very well, I will tell you. I want all the Magisters who chose me as their Prince to know that I have returned. I want them to see me and tremble in fear. I want them to know that the city they were to sacrifice my life for is no longer theirs.”

“You are lying,” I replied. “I don’t see the desire for revenge in you. Trust me, I know what wanting revenge feels like. And I know what it feels to want to come home.”

“Heh,” The Tattered Prince let out a short laugh. “You do know people. When they chose me as their Prince, the last one’s blood hadn’t even dried out. The woman I loved begged me to run away. She begged me never to return. But I promised I would. I promised her that I would return with an army. But no matter how big of an army I could buy, Pentos could buy a bigger one. After five years of traveling from one battlefield to another, I discovered she had my child. A son. And I also discovered they were killed when the Magisters found out about her.”

“What was your son’s name?” I asked.

“Artos,” The Tattered Prince replied. “Don’t take me wrong, I want all responsible dead. But I only wish to keep my promise to the only woman I loved.”

“You will have an army bigger than Pentos can buy,” I said. “They will be armed with the best swords and armored in the best armor that can be made. I will keep my promise to you. But I must say, I don’t like Pentos as a name, so could you give me a favor in naming the city.”

“What do you want it to be named?”

“I found Artos do be way better.”