#fuckyeahbaelish

Petyr Baelish Week  | Day Two - Costume Porn or King of the Ashes

Thursday, October 5th: One Relationship OR Ambition : Breeding Titles

Petyr Baelish Week 2017

King of the Ashes

Many of them screamed. It was a common theme in the underworld. Over and over again they begged for their mercy. They wanted nothing more than to be granted relief but Petyr wasn't one who granted mercy. In fact, he enjoyed watching those he couldn't stand burn. He enjoyed their pleas, begging him to spare them. Perhaps it was petty but Petyr wanted nothing more than to make those who felt that they were better than him, suffer.

When Petyr died, his own blade in his throat, he was sent as farther south than he had ever been. There was no real word for this kingdom. Only the most vial and evil would be condemned to the underworld. They are tortured for the rest of eternity, their souls turning to ash. Most of them burned in flames hotter than dragon breath and wildfire. Their skin never blistered; they were never granted that relief. It was the same for all of them; the same burning pain. Petyr found it unimaginative; boring.

It didn't take long for Petyr's silver tongue to gain him a place of power. There was no real king or leader in the underworld, only death; everyone just went into the fire. Petyr decided that it was best for the underworld to be ruled. Like Westeroes, he rose quickly, changing how those damned souls were tortured. He made their worst nightmares come to light. He got inside their mind and this time he didn't even have to use manipulation. A gift from those who found him suited to rule the underworld made slipping into the damned's memories and fears quite simple.

Soon enough, Petyr had a crown of bone placed upon his head. Once he had wanted the Iron Throne, now he had a throne made of bone and ash. Those he hated, he had their skin burned to ashes. The first he found were Joffrey and Ramsey. Both were burning, their screams sounding like music but Petyr knew it wasn't enough and thus he made every fear come true. Joffrey, watching in his minds eye, a thousand of Robert's bastards stealing the throne from him. Ramsey suffered every torture that he ever inflicted upon her; and Petyr still felt that it wasn't enough. Nothing was enough for Ramsey.

He searched the underworld for souls of those he knew and loathed. Yet, those like Ned and Catelyn were no where to be found. Their souls never touched the damned, but Brandon was there. Petyr made him relive the pain and humiliation that Petyr felt during that time when he beat him in that fated duel. Petyr couldn't lie and say that he didn't enjoy ever second of it. However, even that grew dull after a time.

So he waited.

Cersei was the first to come to him from the surface. She died in childbirth after giving birth to a son. Petyr found that ironic. After getting into her mind, Petyr learned of the prophecy that would bring about her end. He learned that she thought it was Tryion who would kill her and her children; and that is what Petyr made her see. He made her relive that prophecy as she interpreted it over and over. She watched Tyrion kill her children one by one, over and over again until he killed her. Then they all came. One by one, except for the one he craved. Years passed. It was almost a decade until a Stark daughter graced his threshold; except it wasn't the daughter he wanted.

“Arya Stark. I knew I'd see you one day.” Petyr drawled in a smart tone. Arya, who was completely confused from her death, didn't understand what she was seeing. Her hair was longer and her face leaner. She was still small but Petyr could see scars on her person that had not been there before. He slipped into her mind and saw how she got each one. He saw each person she killed, many of them he had tortured over the years. For a brief moment he considered tossing her to them but he had a better idea.

“I killed you.”

“Yes. You did. Slit my throat with my own knife. It was poetic in a way.” Petyr chuckled. He was over his death really, it gave him even more power than he had when he was alive. He enjoyed being king of the ashes. “I did hold it against your father's throat the moment I betrayed him. However, the moment you killed me, you practically placed a crown on my head and I guess I should thank you for that.”

“I don't understand.”

“You're in my kingdom now.” Arya froze, her eyes looking around as the ash and fire. She listened to the screams and the pleas. This was beyond nightmares. This was beyond hell. This was the kingdom where Petyr was king. Nothing was more terrifying than that. “Look around. Every nightmare imaginable is in my control. Those who infuriated me while I was alive or annoyed me in their death are at my mercy. Don't worry, your the first Stark, except your uncle Brandon, to grace my kingdom.”

“My parents?”

“Too pure for a world like this. But you, a faceless woman who killed hundreds of people on the orders of you sister.” He flashed inside Arya's mind again, glimpsing that beautiful red hair. It had been years since he had seen it. He had a brief visions of her in Cersei's mind as well as Joffrey's and Ramsey's; but those only infuriated him. These glimpses fueled him. His dead heart almost felt alive again. “Your death is highly interesting.”

“She betrayed me! She betrayed Jon!” Arya scowled. She was infuriated. Her sister had given an order to Arya, knowing full well that she was sending her sister to her death. Petyr didn't care about the betrayal or how Arya died, only that he could use it against her. He could use it to his advantage. “She was never the same, after you died. She withdrew. Locked herself away. It was as though she turned off her emotions. The first time we saw dead me didn't even faze her. She signed death warrants and it didn't even faze her. Jon tried to reach her but she had turned cold. It was like she could never stop mourning you.”

This caused a flutter in Petyr's chest again. Years passed and Petyr had thought that he would never see her again. He thought that her soul could never become so tarnished, could never turn to ash were she would be damned to his kingdom; but hearing Arya's words comforted him. Petyr would see her again and by all accounts, she would welcome that reunion as much as he would.

“I suppose it is time for your eternal damnation.”

“The many face god will be kind to me.”

“The many face god!” This caused Petyr to give a full laugh. “I never took you for the religious type. No, sweet Arya. There is no many face god. There are no such thing as old gods or new. No lord of light. There is only death and death can be cruel or kind. If you were cruel in life then your death would be merciless. If you were like your honorable father, I suppose you would have went somewhere far better than here.”

“And you? How did you convince death to be so kind to you?”

“Easy. I became death.” It didn't make sense to Arya. If the many faced god didn't exists, how was she able to change her face? “Magic.” Petyr replied to her thought, causing her to startle. “Yes little girl, I am in your head. You wore the faces of your victims because of magic. Thats all it was. Nothing divine about it.” He dug deeper, he saw her very first victim; the fat boy from King's Landing when she was just a child. He dug and dug and made sure she felt him in her mind.

“Stop!” Arya screamed, her hands gripping at her head. It was agony. “Please. Stop.”

“Very well.” He released her and she fell to the ground. “So, about that eternal damnation.” He looked at her. “I could make you feel that pain everyday. Or I could make you relive your father's execution over and over again; or I could switch it up from time to time. Want an invitation to the Red Wedding? You would have been the most welcome guest.” Arya said nothing. “No. Not that. I think I'm going to give you a second chance at life.”

“What?”

“Yes. I will give you temporary reprieve to return to the surface. A few weeks at most.” He cocked his head and smirked at her. “If you complete a task for me, I will be merciful. You'll never have to witness your family's death. I might even allow you to be reunited with them upon your return. If you fail, well I already told you what I could make you suffer.”

“And what would that be? This favor?” She was skeptical. She didn't trust Petyr. Never had. However, Arya wasn't foolish enough to think that she would win this. She killed him once but now she would be at his mercy. She ended his life but he held her eternity in the palm of her hands.

“Bring me Sansa.” Her name came out as a whisper. “Bring her to me, and I promise you'll see your father again, head intact. Perhaps your mother and Robb as well.”

“What will you do with her?”

petyr baelish week 2017; king of the ashes

According to ancient accounts the Great Fire of Rome was initiated by Nero himself. It seemed that Emperor started the fire in order to create room for his monumental palace, the Domus Aurea.

+

«If you want to built a build a better home, first you must demolish the old one»

A little something for Petyr Baelish week October 5th: One relationship.