Chapter 117: What Happened to Varko?
Dreadfort Castle
POV of Domeric Bolton
Domeric sat at his study table in his solar, looking at the pile of paperwork kept in front of him that refused to go away.
Sending his aunt away from Dreadfort had its consequences. Namely, the duties that she had done so far fell upon him.
And he was not really a fan of paperwork. Not in the past life and not in this one. But then again, he doubted that anybody ever really liked paperwork. But it was just one of those things that came with advancement.
Regardless, he couldn't do anything else about it. His aunt had crossed the line when she let her hatred get the better of her and started sending barbs at Sansa who was innocent of the wrongs done by her parents. And she had to be punished for what she had done, even if it was just for show.
'At least Sansa should learn well under my aunt's tutelage.' he thought consolingly.
That wouldn't stop him from groveling at his aunt's feet when she came back. The sacrifice of his pride would be well worth the effort if he didn't have to do this blasted paperwork anymore.
A huge yawn broke him out of his thoughts. He turned and noticed Raksa lying down on his sofa, which looked rather small with her lying on it, with her belly up in a totally disgraceful manner as drool dribbled down her mouth and she snored loudly without a care for the world.
It was her turn to guard him outside the door right now.
She was usually much more obedient than this. But with both Varko and his aunt being absent…
He thought about waking her up for a moment and chastising her for her behavior. But then the thoughts of what happened to her before she came into his service came to his mind.
Raped at a young age. Thrown at the brothel of freaks for her unnatural height where she was once again raped repeatedly.
Then once she was 15 years old, she was thrown at the slaver pits where she had to fight for her life every day until the necessity for survival made her one of the fiercest warriors in those pits.
He looked at her innocent expression and realized that he truly couldn't bring himself to chastise her after what life had given her.
Plus, there was also the fact that he liked to spoil her.
Despite her large appearance, she had the mind of a child. An 8-foot-tall child but a child nonetheless. And he treated her as such. Spoiling her every now and then just to see the innocent smile on her face.
Feeling like the cool uncle that he should have been for his godson Ted as well as Rose and Hugo.
Huh… he never thought about it before but by spoiling her like this, maybe he was compensating for being absent from Ted's life when he really should have been there for the child.
He let out a sigh once again. He was doing that a lot these days.
His aunt's absence from the castle had left him with more work than he had anticipated. Not to mention that he was also taking out large chunks of his time to study the Valyrian magic as well as work on the ritual.
But even if being a cool uncle was good, he couldn't let Raksa grow lazy and pampered. The sight of an 8-foot-tall petulant child throwing her toys around came to his mind and he shivered.
Yeah. He really needed to instill some discipline in Raksa's life. And since he couldn't do it, and his aunt was absent only Varko could do it.
He took out the magical mirror from his bottomless pouch and called Varko.
A few seconds later Varko picked up the phone and the first things he noticed were the black eye, bruised cheek, and busted lip. As well as the huge stupid grin that Varko was wearing. The whole thing left him speechless.
For a second, he wondered if some Faceless Men had killed Varko last night and taken his face.
Because Varko… the Varko he knew was one of the greatest warriors in Westeros and no one could beat him like that. No one. And… Varko didn't grin.
Yeah… the whole grin thing was giving him goosebumps. That grin just… looked unnatural on his face.
"My lord," Varko said a few moments later, waking up from his stupor. And Domeric realized that Varko was back to his usual stoic self, though the bruises were still there.
But that couldn't happen. He had given a magical bracelet to all his subordinates and Varko had also his magical mark.
The bracelet gave him slight advantages against elements and physical damage. It also informed him if one of the people wearing it died.
And no… he would have known if one of his subordinates took out the bracelet as well. So now, Varko was still very much alive and well.
To be sure, he also checked Varko's magical mark and found nothing suspicious.
He wondered if he had imagined the whole thing. Maybe he should stop sleeping so little if this was the consequence of losing his sleep.
"Do you have some time Varko?" he asked. "Raksa is being unruly once again."
Varko smiled at that… he smiled. What the hell? "Yes, my lord. I'll be right there."
With that he cut the connection from the mirror and looked out the window, wondering if the sky was falling down and the world was ending.
Because Varko grinning and smiling was just as weird as Tywin Lannister smiling and grinning.
He shivered at the mental image of Varko grinning once again.
Something definitely happened. He just didn't know what it was. Well, he would find out in a while when Varko came here. It was probably a good thing, considering Varko's grin. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say he was trying to grin.
'Should I give my subordinates lessons in communication with people? Like how to smile. I think some practice in front of the mirror will solve Varko's grinning problem… or I hope so.' He thought while waiting for Varko.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.118: King Beyond the Wall
Ch.119: Ambassador