Book Three: Chapter 4

Daehwi and Jisung have been utterly invaluable to Sakura since she first met them in Yuri’s room all those weeks ago. Not only do they know every alleyway and gunnel in the city, but they also seem to know everybody of importance. Whether they have gambled with them, fought with them, or drank with them, the pair know every face that passes, and can slip money into the right hands to find out almost anything. They are quick to find out where Lord Bolton is staying- his money would make him stick out even if his accent didn’t, they tell her. A girl who works in the kitchen of the establishment he’s staying in is able to tell them which room he’s in.

“We need to send him a note, to lure him out.” She paces around her solar, Hyewon watching her with a grim expression.

“How can we?” Hyewon makes her way to the writing desk to peer down at the letters. “We don’t know what language this is.”

“We’ll keep it short.” Settling at the desk, she pulls out a short strip of parchment and dips her quill into the ink. “Eunbi said Bolton was receiving letters with a red wax seal, so I had Harper fetch me one from the market.” She inclines her head to the red candle flickering on the writing desk.

“What will you write?” Hyewon bends over her to watch. “ Aegon’s Square, midnight ?” She quotes, and Sakura nods, holding the parchment down as she waits for the ink to dry.

“We’re going to set a trap.”

The note is slipped under Lord Bolton’s door by the kitchen girl, and all that is left to do is wait. Sakura sends notes to the many ladies expecting her company tonight, pleading wedding nerves and excusing herself. With their nuptials only two days away the ladies are more than happy to let her alone, and she is able to slip from the castle under the cover of dark with Hyewon by her side. They tread the now familiar path to Yuri’s lodgings, and the blacksmith welcomes them with flagons of mead and chicken which none of them touch. While they wait, Sakura produces the letters from their place within her corset to show them to Yuri.

The girl peers down at them, curious, leafing through the parchment, and then finally ask. “Why are they written in Braavosi?”

Sakura and Hyewon’s heads whip around to stare at her, their eyes wide, and Yuri looks between them with surprise. “What?”

“You know what language this is?” Sakura demands, the moment she can find her words again and Yuri nods slowly, still eyeing her warily.

“It’s an old form of Braavosi, I think.”

“Can you read it?” Hyewon asks, sharply, and Yuri’s frown only deepens as she glances over the parchment.

“Maybe. My mother taught me some Braavosi when I was young, but that was only the common tongue. This is ancient Braavosi.”

“Ancient Braavosi?” Sakura exchanges a glance with Hyewon. “Where did Lord Bolton learn to speak that?”

“Only really the old masters speak in it Braavos,” Yuri tells them, offhandedly, her gaze fixed to the letters. “The bankers and such.”

“The Iron Bank of Braavos.” Hyewon’s eyes are wide. “You were right, they’re all connected, Pike and Bolton and the Iron Bank.”

“But how?” Sakura sits heavily on the edge of the bed, twisting her hand fretfully in her skirt. “I feel as if we have every part of the puzzle but no clear picture. What can Pike and Bolton be offering the Iron Bank that they want?”

“And why is Bolton betraying the queen?” Hyewon mutters, darkly. “The Boltons were always slimy and power hungry, but to stoop this low…” She curses below her breath.

“Once I’ve studied these I’ll be able to understand them.” Yuri finally looks up from the letters, “The language is similar and I remember enough of my Braavosi to at least get an understanding of it.” Carefully, she folds the letters back together again and they both watch as she carefully plucks away a loose stone in the wall to slide them behind, utterly hidden. When she turns and meets their astonished gazes, she quirks a smile and says, lightly teasing. “You don’t think I’d trust anyone living in a tavern, do you?”

“ You live in a tavern.” Hyewon points out, but Yuri ignores her, settling next to Sakura on the bed.

“Tomorrow I’ll set to work decoding those letters, but for tonight we have other things to discuss.” Yuri looks between them both. “Daehwi, Jisung and I want to try to get Ivy and Benam out just before the wedding.”

Sakura stares at her, “But the wedding is in two days, Yuri.”

“I know, it’s soon, but if we can get them out just before the wedding all of the excitement and chaos will be the perfect distraction. The streets will be filled with people, and most of the guards will be posted on the roads to the Sept and at the castle anyway, no one will care about one woman and a baby in Flea Bottom.”

“ Pike will care,” Hyewon argues and Yuri purses her lips with frustration.

“But the guards won’t think to tell him until after the wedding and by then it’ll be too late. The guards don’t know their importance, they just think they’re guarding Pike’s mistress and bastard, at most.”

“What will you do with Ivy and Benam once you have them?” Sakura asks, watching as Yuri’s back straightens under her gaze.

“Daehwi and Maya, the kitchen girl at Bolton’s inn, they’re going to pretend Ivy is her sister and take them back to Maidenpool, where Maya’s family is. They have a farm just west of the town, no one will think to look for them there.”

“How will you get them out?”

“The guards will be distracted anyway, what with the celebrations beginning,” Yuri shrugs, “Daehwi and Jisung are going to create another distraction,” A fleeting smile crosses her lips, “It’s what they do best. They won’t even see me slip upstairs and sneak her out.”

Sakura stares at her, taking in the certainty in her features, and suddenly fights the urge to hold her. After so long trying to figure things out alone, it is an undeniable relief to have Yuri at her side and know that she can trust her. Carefully, she places a hand on the blacksmith’s shoulder and says, sincerely. “Thank you, Yuri. You’re invaluable, I hope you know that.”

An unaccustomed flush rises up Yuri’s cheeks, and she shrugs off Sakura’s hold with an embarrassed laugh. “It’s nothing.”

“I want to come with you, help you get them out.” Hyewon puts in, eagerly, and Yuri frowns at her.

“You have to protect Lady Sakura.”

“No,” Sakura shakes her head, holding out a hand to interrupt them. “Hyewon is right, you’ll need her more than I will. It will be a dangerous task.”

“When they’re safely on their way I can return and tell you.” Hyewon adds, and Sakura nods.

Carefully, she stands and brushes out her skirts, glancing out of the window at the moon high in the sky. “We should go and wait for Bolton.” She feels a flicker of anxiety slice through her. “And see if the queen comes.”

---

In the darkness, Aegon’s statue looks like a towering, faceless monster from its place in the middle of the cobblestone courtyard. It is mostly deserted at this late hour, but Eunbi doesn’t lift her hand from its place resting against the hilt of her sword at her waist, and beside her she knows that Chaewon is twitching to draw her sword or one of the many daggers hidden on her person. She had protested so fiercely to this adventure that Eunbi had thought she would go so far as to tie her down in her solar, but when Eunbi wouldn’t be swayed she had insisted on accompanying her with Ser Chaeyeon, despite Eunbi’s protests. They wear dark cloaks, the hoods pulled up to cover their faces, and linger in the shadows of a dark butchers shop. Lit by only the silvery light of the moon, Kings Landing appears cold and ghoulish.

Chaewon twitches at her side, and from the corner of her eye Eunbi sees Honour’s dark form prowling in and out of the shadows, his teeth flashing. The sound of quiet footsteps is all that warns them of the approaching figures, and Eunbi spins, reaching for a dagger as Chaewon begins to pull her sword from its scabbard, before they recognise Sakura’s face beneath the hood. 

“Sakura,” Relief flushes through Eunbi’s body and she is reluctant to admit that a part of her had thought this could be some elaborate ruse. Sakura’s eyes are alert with anxiety, her lips thin, and she offers a nod to both Chaewon and Chaeyeon. Behind her stand Hyewon Snow and, to Eunbi’s surprise, the Winterfell blacksmith apprentice Choi Yuri. 

“I’m glad you came,” She tells Eunbi in a low voice. 

“Will you explain any further?” Eunbi demands in a whisper, allowing Sakura to guide them all back into the shadows. “You’ve told me barely anything, Sakura.”

“Bolton should be on his way,” Sakura’s voice is pitched so quietly that Eunbi has to lean in to hear what she’s saying, their arms brushing together. “If the red wax is a sign from Pike, he’ll think that’s why he’s here. That should be all the proof you need.”

“You had a note sent to him?” Eunbi guesses, and at Sakura’s nod questions. “How did you know where to find him?”

Sakura casts her a smile that is not quite happy. “I know people in this city who can find things out.”

“I see,” Something flashes across Sakura’s face and Eunbi feels as if she has stepped over a lip without realising. There are depths to Sakura that she has only ever guessed at, and to see them splayed out so clearly here is disconcerting, skewing her worldview. 

“Look,” At Hyewon’s low instruction they all turn, like marionettes, to peer through the shadows at the hooded figure entering the square. His hand rests on a broadsword at his hip, and when he turns dread and shock shoots through Eunbi’s body to see Bolton’s face in the moonlight. 

She steps forward, reaching to draw her sword, but Sakura’s hand on her shoulder stops her. Their eyes meet and Sakura shakes her head slightly, and then steps out of the shadows before Eunbi can do anything to stop her. Beside her, Hyewon makes a strangled noise, and goes to follow, but Chaeyeon puts a heavy hand on her arm and they are left to watch in horror as Sakura steps into the moonlight. 

Bolton notices her in moments, drawing his sword with a terrifying hiss of metal and Eunbi’s heart thumps so loudly she fears it will attract his attention. Sakura pauses for a second, but no fear shows in her eyes as she draws down her hood and reveals her face to the stunned northern lord. 

“Lord Bolton.” Sakura’s voice is cold and low, but it carries across the courtyard with little problem. “You came.”

“You summoned me, Lady Sakura?” His grip on his sword slackens just slightly, though he still keeps the weapon raised. 

“Am I not who you expected?” There is a soft, lilting quality to Sakura’s voice that belies her words. 

“I-” Lord Bolton hesitates, “I didn’t know who to expect.”

“There’s no need to be so guarded, my Lord.” Sakura gives him a pretty smile, seemingly utterly unconcerned by the blade it his hand. “Lord Pike sent me to fetch you.”

“Lord Pike?” The northerner doesn’t miss a beat, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sakura laughs, and the sound bounces off the stone and brick to make it stilted and strange. “You’re playing coy, like a maiden, my Lord. Lord Pike said you may be suspicious of me, but how would I know to find you here if he had not told me so?”

Bolton’s brows twitch and Eunbi imagines that she can see the cogs turning within his head, judging and wondering at this pretty southern flower before him. She is practically vibrating with the effort of not revealing herself from the shadows; Sakura appears so helpless from here, armed with nothing, small and lithe before Bolton’s hulking figure. 

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Bolton questions with a scowl, but Sakura only shrugs. 

“You don’t, I suppose, but would I really talk about killing a king and overthrowing a queen if I didn’t mean it?” Though she knows that Sakura is keeping up her ruse, the words hit Eunbi to her core, causing bile to rise in .