The Blackwood Manse

He had put the instruments in the boiled water to clean them. Now he took them out, reached into her mouth with a pair of pincers. The moments that followed were full of agony as he gripped, twisted and pulled. And then, as Yara was instructed to fetch a basin, Vira's mouth was filling with blood.

"Spit," he cried. "Spit the blood out so I can clean the wound."

Yara soon fetched a clean cup with a dose of milk of the poppy.

"Not too much," the dentist advised. "She will need it again later. Now, listen, both of you. The wound must be washed with warm water, boiled and salted, after every meal for a week. Don't chew on that side of your mouth, and take milk of the poppy twice daily if you need to. For now, you must wad up a clean cloth and press it to your mouth to stop the bleeding. Do this as long as you need to. A few hours at least."

Yara helped Vira lie down on a nearby sofa before she went to pay the dentist. He reiterated his instructions and left them alone. Yara stood by Vira, worried. "Get some sleep," she advised. "It will help."

The steward ushered her inside. The stone-and-timber manse was spacious and airy inside, with polished dark wooden floors.

"Yana Snow of White Harbor, my lady," the steward announced as Yana entered a reception room. He bowed and departed, and Lady Vira rose to greet Yana with a smile. She was also dressed in soft wool, partly for the comfort it provided and partly because Vira ran her household and her personal expenses on a tight budget, a habit she learned the hard way in her home village. It was a gown of soft blue wool, plainly cut but richly embroidered around collar and sleeves, and her glossy dark locks tumbled loose about her shoulders. The swell of her belly was very evident, as she was six months along in her pregnancy.

"I am so glad you could come," Vira said warmly, walking over and clasping Yana's hand. "What is this, my lady? Oh, you shouldn't have." Vira unwrapped the gift and admired the dragonscale ornament. The dragons shed their scales seasonally, but Vira had never seen the scales put to such creative use. "Thank you, Yana. I shall have to wear this some time. How has your dragon settled into the Pit?"

She led Yana into the dining room. A small dinner for two had been laid. It consisted of lamprey pie, mashed yellow turnips in butter, oxtail soup and ale. It was not the most expensive menu, but Vira only went to such extravagant expense when she was entertaining a high lord and his wife. The dinner that had been prepared tonight was plain home food, but well prepared, and much more to Vira's own liking than expensive dishes like jellied calves' brains and pale amber wines. She had suspected that Yana, who was common-born like Vira, would prefer this menu as well.

"About three more months," Vira smiled, as the pie was carved and served. While ale was poured for Yana, Vira made do with well water. "I hope you haven't had any trouble settling into your new life. What was your childhood like, did you grow up in the Manderly castle or in the town? I was a little overwhelmed by the strangeness of these nobs and their funny ways, and to be honest I don't know if I'll ever feel entirely comfortable with their Valyrian ways, but luckily I had a friend in Lord Maekar, who guided me through it all. You must tell me if you would like help as well. I understand how bizarre the Targaryens are, and how strange the life of a lady must feel."

"I'm glad you like them. Have some more." The maid served Yana more of the mashed turnips. "The yellow ones probably don't grow as abundantly in the cold North. They're not something we had often in our village either, for that matter, and I grew up in the crownlands. In what capacity were you employed?"

The maid look startled at being thanked. It was a kindness that she had not come to expect from the true highborn, who never deigned to notice the servants and treated them like furniture.

Vira listened thoughtfully to Yana's answer, and there was a new, speculative look in her eye. "Oh, me?" she said, ladling more oxtail soup into her bowl. "We owned a mill in one of Lord Rosby's villages. My mother and I ran it mostly, since my father wasn't the most responsible man, though bless him he had a good heart."

"I have no idea what goes on at court," Vira shrugged, washing down her meal with cold water. "Many lickspittles live only to curry favor with the dragons, but I barely know who those are." The meal was cleared away and the dessert course was served. It consisted of freshly baked honey biscuits and blueberries in cream. The honey biscuits would have been scorned at a lord's table, but they were a childhood favorite of Vira's, mostly because they had been a rare and expensive treat that she had only indulged in at village festivals and holy days at the village sept.

"Have you given some thought as to how you will serve the crown, now that you are in King's Landing and not White Harbor?" Vira continued. "You must try those biscuits. All my servants are from my home village, you know, and this is the kind of food we loved to eat."

"I love people with an odd set of skills," Vira said, smiling with pleasure at Yana's enjoyment of the honey biscuits. "Your wandering days are over, at least for the time being."

"Don't speak in terms of contracts anymore, my dear," Vira said gently. "I used to think as you did - it's how we were raised. But you're blood of the dragon now, and that means our friendships are a little more...genteel. Though yes, I do reward my friends for their loyalty and services. And I always have a need of a girl like you."

"What you did for Lord Manderly, I should think," Vira said with a smile.