-Chapter 102-
-19th day of the 3rd moon of the year 301 AC-
-POV Ronnet Connington-
"I don't understand," said Ronald, slightly nervous.
"I wasn't as present as Alynne and Raymund when you were still a small child, but I know you well enough to tell when you're hiding something from me. So I want to know what it is," I said, looking him straight in the eyes.
"I… don't…" he tried to say, attempting to lie to me, but he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence because I asked:
"Who killed Tommen?"
Ronald swallowed nervously, then said:
"I don't kno…"
"Don't lie to me," I said, raising my voice, which suddenly stopped him.
"Do you realize that I could ask literally any knight, and they would all give me the answer I'm looking for?" I told my son because I wanted to hear the truth from his own mouth.
Ronald hesitated, then finally said:
"Don't kill her, she…"
'So it was her after all,' I thought, now understanding why that bitch had left this hidden message in her letter.
"I'm not going to," I said, interrupting him, before continuing after taking a deep sigh of helplessness:
"She's my sister."
'And that's exactly what she tried to do before dying,' I thought, realizing that she wanted me to kill my own sister in a fit of rage.
"You knew," said Ronald, understanding that I was already aware of what Alynne had done.
I shook my head, then said:
"Not exactly. I had strong suspicions, but I didn't think she would ever do something like that to me."
'I never thought she would go behind my back,' I added in my mind.
Ronald lowered his eyes because, in his letter, he had clearly stated that Tommen was about to surrender, but someone had finished him off, without mentioning who, pretending it was a stray arrow.
I only had suspicions, because no one would have dared to shoot an arrow near Ronald unless they were absolutely certain not to hit him.
And the only archer in our army, besides me, capable of doing such a thing was Alynne.
But I had no testimony, even though I was almost certain.
'The person responsible for my death is also the one who killed my little lion. Keep that in mind.'
"You remained a bitch until the very end," I thought.
"What?" asked Ronald, confused, making me realize that I had spoken my thoughts out loud.
"I wasn't talking about you," I said, shaking my head before gesturing with my hand:
"You may go."
He bowed slightly, probably due to the lingering fear he had felt, before quickly leaving my solar, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
'What do I do now?' I wondered, returning to where it all began, but without the taste of victory that was supposed to fill my entire being.
'All that's left is a gaping hole.'
---
-3 days later-
-22nd day of the 3rd moon of the year 301 AC-
-POV Aurane Velaryon-
"So, ready to breathe the putrid air of the capital every day?" I asked Bronn.
He responded with a slight smirk:
"Fucking Lannisters. If they had followed our King's advice, at least we wouldn't have to taste shit every time we open our mouths."
I smiled, agreeing with him without saying anything, but there was one who had been silent ever since she learned she might never see her home again.
"Don't worry, he'll do what he said," I said, addressing Asha.
She cast me a cold glance without a word, then dug her heels into her horse, making it move slightly faster, creating a small distance between us.
"Your wife isn't very friendly," I said softly to Bronn.
"It's because of her brother. Ever since she saw his cock in a box, she hasn't been the same," Bronn said in a tone that was rarely serious.
"It's also because she's afraid of losing the Iron Islands," I added, far from being naive, knowing full well they feared their islands would be incorporated into the Crownlands, just like the Westerlands, the Stormlands, and the Riverlands.
'And even part of the Reach, if I'm not mistaken,' I silently added.
"It's normal for her to be worried. Ro… I mean, His Majesty King Ronnet had first promised me the Stepstones, but he changed his mind. So now she's afraid that, since we no longer serve a purpose, he'll abandon us," Bronn said without mincing his words.
"I don't think the King would do such a thing. She's still alive," I said.
"A lot of Lannisters are still alive," Bronn said in a darker tone.
I shook my head, then retorted:
"Those who are free left the territory a long time ago, you can believe me."
"Speaking of which, how do you think he'll react to that idiot letting Myrcella go?" Bronn asked, turning around.
"By letting go, you mean providing her with all the necessary help," I said, doing the same as I observed Prince Oberyn advancing behind us, accompanied by his nephew, his face closed.
"I don't know. It'll depend on his mood and the effect the princess's arrival will have," I said, glancing at the carriages carrying the Sand Snakes, Prince Oberyn's lover, the king's unofficial mistress, and his bastard daughter.
---
-POV Ronnet Connington-
"Big brother?" asked Alynne as she entered my solar.
"Hmm," I muttered, wondering how I was going to start this conversation while keeping my composure.
"You had something to tell me?" she asked.
That sentence made me instinctively react, so I turned around and asked, piercing her with my cold gaze:
"Isn't it rather you who has something to tell me?"
Alynne swallowed with difficulty but neither tried to deny it nor lie to me. Despite that, her silence annoyed me… No, it infuriated me.
"You know you had no right to do what you did," I said in a low, dangerous tone.
"It was Ronald…" she said, quickly realizing how I had discovered the truth.
'Even though I was already almost certain she was the culprit,' I thought.
"I'd like to remind you that I'm not blind!!" I said, abruptly raising my voice, silencing her.
"Listen to me," she said, raising her hands before quickly continuing:
"I had to do it. You wouldn't have been able to."
"AND THAT would have been MY DECISION!!" I shouted at her, unable to control my voice, venting all the frustration and anger I had accumulated over the past few days, obsessing over this matter in my mind.
Alynne looked at me and said:
"I'm not ashamed of what I did. I did it for our House. No matter what you think, the Lannisters would have betrayed us at the first opportunity…"
"Stop…" I said before sighing, not wanting to hear any pre-prepared excuses.
I continued:
"I entrusted the mission to kill or submit Tommen to Ronald, not to you. He chose to spare him, and Tommen was ready to kneel. You had no reason to kill him."
"You would have done the same if you weren't so obsessed with that woman," Alynne retorted in a rather aggressive tone, letting the griffon in her resurface.
"Q..."
I widened my eyes at what she had just said and tried to respond, but this time, she silenced me by declaring:
"No, it's your turn to listen to me now, Ronnet! I accept that doing all this behind your back was ugly, but ask yourself honestly: would you have had the strength to kill them both?"
I didn't answer because her question was rhetorical, and she continued:
"You would have slaughtered all the Lannisters with great pleasure, but the thought that this viper might hate you is completely unbearable to you."
I frowned, but she didn't stop and went on:
"You could have killed them all when you had them cornered in the throne room, no matter what you say. But at that moment, you realized that you couldn't bring your blade down on her neck… And guess what? Neither could I."
I narrowed my eyes when she said that, but I let her finish her speech:
"I don't hold it against you, but we've come too far for Cersei, of all people, to stop us and send us back to the time when the Conningtons were the laughingstock of everyone. When our family was stripped of everything and ridiculed by the entire realm!"
She paused for a few seconds to catch her breath, then said in a more measured tone:
"You want to punish me for doing what you were incapable of doing? Fine, go ahead. Do as you please, punish me, kill me, but stop deceiving yourself. You weren't able to do what was necessary for our House. Otherwise, you would have faced Tommen yourself on the battlefield instead of sending Ronald."
"Are you implying that I'm a coward who sent my own son to do what I couldn't accomplish myself?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"Nooo," she said, drawing out the word before continuing:
"You're far from a coward. You simply knew that Ronald would never kill his best friend if there was any chance to avoid it. And you also knew that, despite the brief arrogance of our late king, he had a good heart, unlike his mother. A heart that would have made him bend the knee."
She paused for a moment before concluding:
"You knew perfectly well that the most likely outcome was for Ronald to defeat Tommen and for Tommen to kneel. In fact, it's probably even what you secretly hoped for. So secretly that, even now, you struggle to admit it, even though they are dead."
"Do you have anything else to say?" I asked coldly, struggling to contain myself.
"No. I've said everything I had to say. Do what you want," she said.
I narrowed my eyes for a long moment before finally saying:
"Get out."
I watched her walk away until she left my solar, then I let myself collapse back into my chair, mentally exhausted.
Alynne knew me well, and she had struck every sensitive chord in her scathing yet passionate speech.