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The Redfish (Edmure SI) chapter 103
🕑 Added 2023-07-28 15:01:54 +0000 UTCBloody mess
Edmure POV
When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by darkness. The cold stone touched my back as I slowly sat down along the wall. Few torches illuminated the hallway and the bars of my cell. I slowly got near the light and checked on my wounds. My arm hurt like hell but was well bandaged and cleaned, so I didn’t fear an infection settling in. The bandages were new too, changed not long ago.
“You finally awake,” A voice coming from a cell before me made my bones rattle.
I didn’t respond, as I felt parched. It would not be easy to speak for me right now. And I had nothing to say to that bastard. Instead, I banged the bars of my cell to get attention from the guards. I felt pain all over my body, mostly in my back, probably because I was sleeping on a stone floor. But I was starving, too, and smelt terrible. Still, I wore a clean tunic and pants, meaning someone changed me.
“You have been out for almost two days,” The voice continued to talk as I continued to bang the bars of my cell.
I ignored him and checked my environment. My cell was small, but I had enough room to move around. The bars holding me were iron, and the lock looked sturdy, too, it would be impossible to break it. There were no windows, but it was still quite chilly, so I was probably in dungeons under the Great Pyramid. That would explain why that bastard was here. It took about seven minutes for the guard to arrive, so the exit was quite far away but not too far for the sound not to be able to travel.
“Water,” I said, feeling pain in my throat with each syllable.
The guard was dressed as Unsullied, so Daenerys was still in power. Hearing my plead, the guard took a flask from his belt and tilted toward me. I opened my mouth and gulped down the water he poured, almost choking several times before I was satisfied. In the process, I even cleaned the dust that settled on my face and hair.
“Feeling better?” The voice from the cell before my cell asked after the guard left.
“I feel much better when I crush your head into nothing but a bloody mess, Euron,” I answered.
“You might not have a chance to do so, as the little Queen has already promised to feed me to her children,” Euron replied. “But don’t worry, you will follow me soon enough.”
“So, they found my true identity?” I asked.
“Oh, they suspected it, but I confirmed,” Euron answered. “I told them everything they wanted to hear about how you used the Queen to set your grudge against me. And how you were planning to kill the queen afterward. Too bad you didn’t foresee my plan and were caught. How tragic. You were so close, Edmure.”
“Thank you, I won’t need to explain myself then,” I replied, not even a bit disturbed by his words.
There was no way anyone would believe Euron’s words. I would need to meet Daenerys first to determine how she felt about me. But she did bandage me and saw that I wouldn’t die before throwing me into the dungeon. The guard didn’t say anything to me and gave me water, meaning he was instructed to take care of me. So, Daenerys didn’t see me as an enemy or at least an enemy she hated.
I was too weak and exhausted to do anything but wait for Daenerys. She had many questions for me, and I had to think about how to answer them to gain her favor. I still had the Tattered Prince, and nobody knew his connection to me. Even Asha and Tyrion didn’t know of our deal, so even if they told everything they knew about me to Daenerys, it wouldn’t be enough to cover all the grounds.
Still, I had to wonder what happened to them. Daenerys probably have seen some connection between me and them, but it probably wasn’t enough to distrust them too much. Tyrion was too clever to give himself up and tell something he didn’t need to. Asha could greatly help Daenerys, so she was probably fine as long as she could deny her involvement with Euron.
Aegon was dead, Euron was behind bars, and the Golden Company was probably scattered, trying to flee the wrath of Mother of the Dragons. But things might not be as they seem. I needed to wait to see how Daenerys looked at. With hatred and resentment or something else? And I still needed to convince her to help Shireen protect Astaport and eliminate Yunkai and Volantis. Then I needed her to agree to no aggression pact with Jaehaerys, and my job would be done.
I was by the end of it. Soon, I should be able to return home and see my family once again. Without Aegon and Euron, my home should be safe until Winter settles in. How many things have changed back home without me? Jaehaerys wasn’t a fool, and he had lord Jason on his side, so he would have done well even without me. Oberyn probably has already tried to convince Arianne to forget me and remarry. But I knew how stubborn Arianne was.
Footsteps interrupted my thoughts. I looked out to see shadows nearing my cell. I heard many footsteps coming toward me, but only a few shadows reached me. Three men and one woman soon got to me. Ser Barristan stood close to Daenerys, Daario was not far behind, and Grey Worm was checking the dungeons but still kept his eyes on his queen.
“You rushed quite quickly,” I said. “It hasn’t been long since I asked the guard for water.”
“Ser Oscar,” Daenerys looked at my lone eye. “Or should I call Lord Edmure Tully?”
“You know my name,” I replied. “But do you know who I am?”
“What kind of question is that?” She asked.
“I am Lord Edmure Tully, Lord of Riverrun, Lord Paramount of the Trident, Hand of the King, the Redfish,” I answered.
“I know who you are, Lord Tully,” Daenerys didn’t seem impressed.
“Then why am I still in this dirty and dark cell?” I asked. “If you know who I am, I demand proper accommodations that befit my title.”
“I liked you when you were pretending to Oscar,” Daario pointed his blade at me. “But it seems you are misunderstanding something, Lord of Trident. You are no guest of ours but a prisoner.”
“You wish to wage war on Westeros for the Iron Throne when you don’t even know proper manners, Queen Daenerys?” I ignored Daario and turned to Daenerys. “A highborn should be taken care off, even if he is a prisoner. You should teach her those things, Ser Barristan.”
“Ser Edmure, you have lied to us, and we don’t know your true intentions. We have no choice but to keep you secure,” Ser Barristan replied.
“It has more than ten years since you knighted me, Ser Barristan,” I said. “Yet you are refusing even to accommodate me properly. You should know that your Queen’s actions will have consequences. So, why are you here if you didn’t come to release me?”
“I came to confirm your true identity, and now I learned it,” Daenerys said. “There nothing else for us to speak.”
“Why is he still alive?” I asked, pointing at Euron before Daenerys left.
“His time to be judged will come just like yours,” Daenerys replied before leaving.
“Can’t wait,” Euron replied as Daenerys left.
“Neither can I,” I said.
“Oh, I didn’t expect that,” Euron said. “Why would you blow so hard? Did you expect she would meet your demands? Have you learned nothing from Aegon?”
I ignored him and sat down to rest. A guard came soon after to give me bread and more water. I gulped them down almost immediately. And I asked to be brought something warm next time. Daenerys should understand that I refused to speak with her now because I would be talking as her prisoner, not someone equal to her. I couldn’t have it any other way.
She will keep me here for a few days to try to break me. But I could tell she was anxious about me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come so soon to meet me. My hypothesis will be confirmed if the guard brings me something warm to eat. I will rest and plan how to approach my negotiations with Daenerys until she comes to me. Even though I had no power here, I still represented the Seven Kingdoms. I couldn’t be looked down on.
…
While waiting for the next meal, I watched the guards patrolling. From the sound at the end of the hallway, I could tell there were always at least two guards. After about a day of watching them, I noticed that guards only patrolled the dungeons every three hours. There were always two patrolling; I didn’t know how many were by the exit.
“Hey, you know you ruined my plan that I worked very hard on,” Euron spoke again. “Before we die, I just wanted to say we are even now. Don’t you think?”
“I don’t care what you say,” I replied, still resting against the wall. “Unless it is screams of pain, please be quiet.”
I could tell that Euron was desperate. He kept a calm façade but could not escape since his plan failed. He doesn’t have anything left and is destined to die soon. But I couldn’t wait for it. Just looking at him boiled my blood in rage. His talking like that angered me even more, and it was probably what Euron wanted. I wonder if he wants me to do something reckless by agitating me.
When I was getting hungry, a guard came with a bowl. I couldn’t tell what was inside, but I knew it was hot from the steam coming from it. Taking the bowl, I quickly ate almost half the soup that was given to me. It filled my stomach and warmed me from the inside. The guard watched me, and seeing that I had his attention, I spilled the other half of the soup on my wounded arm.
“Ahh!” I screamed as it burned my wounds.
I quickly undone my bandages as the guard yelled at the other guard to come. Soon the other guard came with keys and unlocked my cell. As expected, Daenerys has given strict orders to ensure I am fine. The dungeons were to scare me and make me lose my composure so she could use it against me. It was clear she needed me but didn’t want to show it.
As the cell was unlocked, I managed to untie my bandages. The guards quickly came to me and checked the wound. As one held a torch above me, the other had two hands on my arm, checking burns on my injuries. While they were distracted, I smashed the bowl on the first guard’s head before tackling the other guard to the ground.
After a bit of struggle, I managed to down the two guards and used my bandages to tie them up. Taking their keys, I locked them in my cell. With a torch I took from the guards, I walked to Euron, who watched the whole thing with a smirk. He thought I would try to escape, and he could do the same with the commotion I caused.
“What are you doing?” Euron’s smile disappeared when he realized that instead of escaping, I went to his cell and unlocked his cell.
“I told you I would feel much better after I crushed your head.”
Realizing what I would do, he quickly tried to stand up against me. But I could tell that he was injured too. Yet he didn’t possess the rage to suppress the pain as I did. I kicked him to the wall before bashing his head with the torch, knocking him down. I enjoyed his screams as I burned his face with the fire from the torch while holding him down with my other arm.
After, I started to feel tired and heard footsteps approaching us in a hurry. I stood up before Euron as he clutched his face. Then I kicked his arms away to reveal a blistering mess of the face. I knelt to him, looking into his eyes. I took his head into my hands and started bashing his head on the stone floor. I didn’t care for the yells and footsteps coming behind. I didn’t stop until only a bloody mess was left of Euron’s head.
