Chapter 101

There were few things in your life that you enjoyed as much as being useful, but despite your secret passion for good and honest work, you couldn't help but wonder if your little mistress had made it her new goal to grind you down to your bones. It from time to time actually felt like she forgot that people have some limits to the amount of work that they can perform that simply couldn't be breached, as even the most talented of people still required a few hours of sleep to properly function.

But it was as usual far harder for you to say, no, to the young lady than it was to endure another night without sleep, since she in a way led by example whenever Lady Joanna permitted it. Which was probably the only thing that allowed your colleagues to swallow their complaints whenever their workload suddenly tripled, for while squires and the like weren't famed for their endurance, they still had some pride as men. And being outdone in terms of endurance by an eleven-year-old girl was quite a bit beyond what grown men could accept, even if everyone in the Rock knew that Lord Tywin's oldest daughter was anything but an ordinary little girl.

Though you supposed that they would still complete as much as their bodies permitted even if things changed so that they could freely complain to their heart's content without wounding their pride. The young lady was just far too dangerous and impulsive as that any of your colleagues would have dared to test their luck with her, so much so that you outright failed to even imagine how such an exchange might have looked. For while she held onto many endearing but silly notions that knowingly ignored that social status was still a thing that existed for good reason, that she apparently saw you, a commoner, as a friend didn't mean your little mistress was all that silly herself.

The undeniable truth remained that she was a monster best left undisturbed, a monster that could on a whim create beings of stone with unmatched power that had proven themselves invulnerable to everything the Rock's armourers had created for just that task. A monster whose desire for gold had drawn tons of it out where there should have been nothing left but stone, that on top of everything else had at the age of eleven already the blood of tens of thousands on its hands without a care in the world.

Yes, despite the massive workload her new project in the Vale had thrown at all the servants that could read and write, you still remained confident that there was not a single soul in the Rock that would have decided a few sleepless nights were worth a confrontation with her. Especially since the aid House Lannister planned to send to the Vale would have been an even greater logistical nightmare than it already was if it wasn't for the young lady's offer of help from the Goldenstars Merchant Guild that provided the right connections.

Or so you thought till you came across your three little charges as they complained about the amount of tasks they were given as you silently entered her chamber. The boys had been extraordinarily moldable just like your mistress had promised when she gave them into your care, but it seemed like they had ended up surprisingly brain-dead despite your best efforts. And for a moment you actually feared for their lives as you saw her annoyed reaction to the noisy complaints of your little charges, till said fear turned into confusion as she simply patted Antos on the head.

"You dorks know that I can hear you just fine, right?"

"If you got assigned more than you can handle, that's already plenty of reason for me to take back whatever you think you can't handle yet."

"It's not like I would benefit if you truly can't finish your workload, so there's no need to deafen me like that."

"Apologies, my Lady."

"Apologies, my Lady."

"Apologies, my Lady, the lack of sleep makes it hard to think things through from time to time."

"No worries, as long as it's in private some slip-ups here and there aren't the end of the world, though it would be great if you dorks finally learned that you don't have to apologise every two minutes."

"Besides, I thought you had decided a few days ago that Anton would be the one to speak for you as long as nothing important came to your minds, I know you well enough to see when you're sorry, no need to apologise thrice."

"We're sorry, my Lady!"

"We're sorry, my Lady!"

"We're sorry, my Lady!"

"Sigh, your apologies are accepted, you dorks, now get back to work and finish what you can, so I know your limits the next time I assign you something."

"And you, Dallin, what are you here for, have I overburdened you as well?"

"No, my Lady, I'm as always happy to be of some help to you, though it appears like most of my colleagues have reach their limits for the time being."

"Well, I'm glad you're still up to the task then, I had no idea I had overburdened those three dorks to such an extent, so I simply wanted to make sure you were still alright."

"Though speaking of being up to the task, what do you think of our efforts in the Vale, will these colleagues of yours be up to it?"

"I knew that two simultaneous undertakings outside the Westerlands would put a bit of a strain on everyone, but it's quite hard for me to judge how far away they still are from breaking down, if I'm being perfectly honest."

"Hmm, as things stand we probably won't be able to keep up with the strain for much longer than half a year, if even that, the amount of aid you decided to ship to the Vale is just too hard to procure, my Lady."

"It's not like I decided this alone, Dallin, I was simply the one who proposed it, which I don't regret, even a weakened Vale still has its uses."

"It wasn't meant to be an accusation, my Lady, all of us know that these efforts might very well change the balance of power once the knights of the Vale restore order to the lands of House Arryn."

"But while we understand and trust House Lannister's ultimate decision, the fact that we can't supply Lord Tywin's army and a tenth of the Vale at the same time indefinitely still remains, which I'm sure you already know, my Lady."

"The way you formulated that just now sounded a bit promising, Dallin, can I take it that it would be possible to supply the Vale indefinitely if we finished our business in the southeast?"

"Sigh, would it still change anything if I said it didn't?"

"Hehe, you know me so well, so how much would it lighten our burden if we managed to half the troop commitment in the coming weeks, my Friend?"