Chapter 39

You were sadly unable to piece together the Answers you sought from your little Conversation, but you felt like it wouldn't really matter, seeing as your Parents were already working on it. You were however quite unsatisfied with how focused they were on fixing their secret little problem, for they were leaving half of their Duties undone to the Side. Which obviously increased the time you had to invest into your own Projects as well, though it's mostly your fault it's still annoying.

Your Idea of selling the Riches of the Rock might have done all kinds of Wonders to Lannisport, but replacing it all was a Logistic struggle that required the attention of both of your Parents. And of course the Purchases were going through your Guild, meaning you quickly got the Job to make sure no one would tempt their Luck with all the priceless Goods standing around the Docks. Which of course included the countless Vassals of your Family, who naturally weren't all too pleased about the show of open mistrust.

Logically speaking, it was obvious that you would sooner or later get work you didn't like thrown your way after you spent Years nurturing the trust of your Parents. It was after all a great and safe way of testing how you would fare if work you had no Interest in was entrusted to you, for what Man would nurture a genuine Grudge against a little Girl doing as she was told by her Parents. Yeah, you could see the Logic of entrusting this Job to you, though that hardly made the reading of Report after Report any more fun.

So rather than going about it like your Parents did, you just threw the stuff into the nearest Chambers and created a few Statues to guard them, before anyone began their work in the third Week of your Appointment. And so you efficiently restored your Ability to do things you liked while the Sun was still up, at least for a time, but you guessed it wouldn't be too much of a problem with how your Parents weren't focused on the matter anyway, so you decided you would take some time to see the Fruits of your Labour yourself.

Lannisport was quite lovely to behold, the many Colours of Autumn mixing with the White of the Houses beautifully, and that all with the refreshing Temperatures expected of a light Winter. You actually found out that this would normally be it, no Snow, no death, no nothing, just a bit of cold Air, and that would really be it for the full eight Years of Winter, this far in the South. In a way, your new Home is just weird like that, having four greater Seasons of eight Years which then also appear each Year with varying intensity.

These Rules apply for each Season except of course for the Winter, for when the proper Winter strikes the Continent it's entirely up to Lady Luck if one will see anything but Snow in its first couple of Years. Which no one seems to put to the Question anymore, but you honestly can't blame them, seeing as you also don't understand what's truly going on. The Gods just seem to have their way with the World, meaning the Logic of Mortals isn't really applicable anymore, for no one, you included, even knows if the God of Fire, for example, cares anything about anyone interfering with the Summer.

Thinking about it, most People would know even less than you about these matters, and that despite them having lived Decades in this World controlled by the Gods, it wouldn't come up in the Day-to-Day Life after all. And Truth be told, you also wouldn't care if it wouldn't affect you as it does, though you do wonder what the mild Winter will do to the Faith in your Lands, or more precisely, you're curious if your Family could make use of the Changes. Now that everything is as perfect as it could possibly be made, the People would surely have some time and Gold to spare for the Gods, and who knows, perhaps the creation of more Followers could actually gain you the Favour of the Gods, well, one can always dream.

You guess it is as good a time as any to poke the Gods and see what happens, so you send a little Message through your Lions to let your Parents know where you will be for the coming Week, and of course where you stood with your Duties. It would take quite some time for the next Shipment to come, seeing as the Ironborn activity meant that the Ships needed to secure the next Convoy were lets call it occupied.

Now officially free, you found yourself praying to the Seven, reciting each Prayer you learned throughout the Years in what by now most likely counted as their main Temple on the western Side of the Continent, and your List of Prayers was all things considered surprisingly extensive. You never were a Woman of God, or Gods for that matter, but you also never had anything against belief in a higher Power either, which seeing as you liked to study Cultures before you conquered them meant you were quite proficient in appealing to them, not that you ever used it for anything.

Luckily, most of these Prayers were easily changed to fit the Faith of your Family and the Realm at large, meaning you had more than enough Material to annoy the Gods for a bit. They couldn't really be any worse than the one who already introduced himself so very skillfully, or at least you hoped they wouldn't have any Elementals to annoy you back. Being as kind as you were, you decided to ask for something straightforward, namely the good Health and Fortune of your Family, so truly something simple and understandable.

So with your Mind made up about what you were actually praying for the last few Hours, the Week passed by with nothing but Prayers and Water, until you perhaps an Hour before you planned to return to the Rock noticed the little Girl beside you. Thinking back on the moment she first joined you, you realise the Gods were already fed up with you before you even decided on what you were actually praying for, most likely having trouble ignoring Prayers coming from another World, yeah, you totally won't abuse that in the future.