~Adrianna Beesbury

  Deep breathes, Adrianna thought, just take some deep breaths. It did wonders to calm her down. Adrianna had done something similar when she went to the sept, but hadn’t thought about making common use of it until she saw Barret doing it.

  She opened her eyes and immediately felt an overwhelming urge to excuse herself to her room with her sewing supplies, a pitcher of wine, and some of those new nut-topped honeycakes Manrel had been making. All around Adrianna was a whirlwind of activity, servants rushing back and forth moving boxes and counting their contents.

  They were cataloging Honeyholt’s stockpile with her husband’s new decision in mind. When it was just a feast, they could expect a modest turnout. House Beesbury might have been wealthy for their size, and possessed an ancient lineage, but this was the Reach. There were dozens of other houses with similar ancestral claims, and while House Beesbury’s lands might be highly productive, their domain was simply small compared to even other minor houses. Match that with the fact that this wasn’t a wedding or other major event, just a majority debut, they didn’t have high expectations.

  But a tournament changed all that. A tournament would draw in people from all over the Reach, and potentially beyond. Knights would ride in seeking honor, glory, and the grand prize of 100 gold dragons. Nobles who would have never bothered coming before would change their tune once they learned there was jousts and fighting to be watched, no doubt some of them looking forward to betting on the results.

  And that was not even mentioning the veritable hordes of smallfolk that would pour into Honeytown. People from Oldtown to Brightwater Keep would make their way to Honeytown by ship to watch the tournament, and with them would come those folks trying to make some coins off the crowds. Merchants and peddlers, mummers and puppeteers, bards and singers, gamblers and pickpockets, all would descend like locusts upon a field of wheat. There would need to be some system set up to house them, food given to them on the feast day, and an increase in guard presence to deter any enterprising criminals.

  It was all so much to deal with. Adrianna loved her husband, and he did clearly explain why the choice was made. Adrianna agreed it was a good idea, a good chance to give Alan a bit more worldly experience and foster good relations with the wider Reach, but he could have given them a bit more time to prepare. Writing new letters alone would take a full day.

  Aside from just the food and other expenses, House Beesbury also needed to pay for the construction of a tournament grounds. It would be fairly straightforward, involving just clearing an area near Honeytown and building stands, but it would still take time and money. Lytton had said to spend as much as was needed, but all of Adrianna’s instincts from childhood screamed that she was wasting too much money on frivolities.

  But wasn’t that what her father wanted when he arranged for her match? That his daughter would be able to live a good life, unburdened by fears of destitution and ridicule? Adrianna sighed and continued supervising and directing the work.

  Once the room had been fully counted, Adrianna called a break for lunch. A servant had delivered a basket full of sandwiches and another with bottles of small mead, still slightly cold after just being pulled from the root cellar. Everyone lined up to take a sandwich and pour themselves a cup of the mead, and Adrianna was mightily tempted to do the same.

  There were just so many kinds of sandwiches she had not tried yet! One was stuffed with sliced meat and pickled vegetables, another seemed to contain a fully fried egg. There was a mash of fish and that tangy white sauce Manrel had started using, and more of those fried meat cuts. There were slices from airy white loaves, round flatbreads cooked in oil, and nonsweet buns topped with seeds. And every single one smelt delicious.

  Adrianna decided to remove herself from the temptation. There was indeed something she could do to pass the time. It was quickly becoming apparent that acquiring all the necessary supplies for the tournament and feast would cost more than Adrianna had in the strongbox in her room. She liked to keep it balanced, coins flowing out and in at a roughly equal rate. But an event of this magnitude required her to dip into the proper treasury.

  She sighed and exited the storeroom. Her slippers made little noise against the floor, not even as she descended past the living quarters and into the bare stone of the cellar. She descended, past the barrel room, past the single cell Honeyholt had, to the bottom of the spiraling staircase that just seemed to stop at a stone wall. She leaned in close, refamiliarizing herself with the space as she closed her eyes and ran a hand along the stone.

  She felt a bump, one of the bricks protruding out slightly, and pressed inward. Then, her hand went down to another brick which she pulled slightly out. A faint click could be heard from within the wall, and Adrianna took out the keyring she kept on her belt. She flipped through the different keys before landing on one that was almost twice the length of all the others. She stuck it into a gap between two bricks that lacked any mortar, then turned it a quarter circle.

  A much louder click came from the wall, and Adrianna pulled on it. The newly revealed door slowly swung open, Adrianna taking care to not let it build up too much speed. Letting a heavy stone door almost crush your hand against a wall is a mistake you only make once.

  Stepping into the opening, it went into a small room which was full of chests. They were old, with rusting lockfaces and creaky wood. But they were good enough to hold things, which is all they needed to do.

  Adrianna opened up the nearest chest, revealing a pile of gold dragons. If one was intrigued, they could find coins from as far back as King Aegon the Conqueror, and even a few golden hands from the old Gardener kings sitting at the bottom of the chest. But Adrianna wasn’t here for a history lesson.

  She took out a large pouch and started adding coins to it. One, two, three… she counted as she went, until the pouch was full enough that it started being a bit hard to carry. Adrianna closed the chest and exited the treasury, closing the door back up and taking the key out of the slot. She slung the bag over her shoulder and started trudging back up the stairs.

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  I hope this tournament works as well as Lytton hopes, because I don’t want all this climbing to be for nothing.

  ~ Barret Beesbury

  A chorus of “Sorry!” came from his friends as Barret was helped up to his feet by Henry. All four of them crashing into him at the same time had sent the five children tumbling to the ground, and while none of them were seriously injured, their clothes were pretty dusty and covered in the decomposing flowers that covered the ground.

  After standing back up, Barret returned to taking in his surroundings.

  “How did ya’ll find this?” Barret asked as he started slowly walking through the space.

  Behind his back, Barret’s friends looked at each other. “I kinda pushed the wall in the hideout and a door opened.” Robin said with a shrug.

  Barret nodded absentmindedly. His focus was still on the strange place he had stepped into. The flickering candlelight illuminated the cavern, letting Barret get a proper look at everything. But while there were plenty of cool stuff to look at, like the pale creatures that swam and crawled, or the strange flowers that lined the space, or the cavern’s centerpiece that he recognized as a weirwood tree from Maester Robert’s history lessons, what really caught his eye was the bees.

  Even though a swarm filled the air, there was no chaos, no mid-air crashes, no angry buzzing. Barret watched as the bees sped past each other, different groups streaming for the various types of flowers. As he watched the swarm, his friends circled around him.

  “We’re so glad you’re better!” Robin said with a smile as he stepped into Barret’s view.

  “You looked really hurt when we visited you.” Alice added.

  “Well, I’m all better now!” Barret said with a smile and flex of his arm, before wincing at the dull pain.

  Henry lowered his hand that had been poised for a slap to Barret’s back, a concerned expression on his face. “You sure you okay?”

  Barret smiled through the pain and nodded. “Yeah, it just kinda hurts sometimes.”

  William frowned but didn’t say anything. Instead, he pointed to the weirwood tree. Specifically, he pointed to one of its eyes. As everyone followed his finger, they saw the eye was leaking a red liquid eerily similar to blood. Insects and other creatures were lingering at the base of the tree, licking the dripping liquid.

  “Is that…” Robin said, slowly as if he didn’t want an answer at all.

  “It’s sap.” Barret said. “Maester Robert told me about it.”

  A collective sigh rose from the group, and they all took on relieved expressions. All save for William, who continued to stare at the weeping eye.

  Barret moved closer to the tree, taking care not to trample any flowers or creatures underfoot. Once he got close enough, a bee seemed to appear hovering in front of him at eye level. It buzzed and bobbed in the air until Barret stopped and stared.

  He raised a hand and the bee landed on his finger. It scurried around a bit, rubbing its antenna on Barret’s finger, before turning around and starting to shake.

  Barret let out a laugh as he watched the bee on his finger wiggling its butt at him. The rest of his friends came over to see what was going on and Barret was more than happy to show the bee off, getting a laugh from his friends as well. Eventually, the bee seemed to get tired and stopped moving so much. As it rested, Barret carefully gave it a few pats with his other hand.

  The bee buzzed and took off before anyone else got a chance to pet it. Barret watched as it flew into a large hollow in the weirwood tree’s trunk. As he followed, Alice called out. “Watch out, William found a hive in there.”

  Barret nodded and tried to pull himself up, but let out a cry of pain and almost fell onto the ground. Everyone rushed forward, and Henry helped Barret to his feet. “Ow, ow, ow…” Barret said as he rubbed his arms.

  “We’ll help you up.” Henry said as he turned and waved at Robin.

  “Huh?” Robin said before catching on. “Oh, yes. We’ll help.”

  The two of them took hold of Barret’s legs, as he steadied himself by holding onto the trunk. “3, 2, 1!” They both heaved and Barret was lifted high enough to peer into the tree’s hollow.

  Inside was a large hive, its wax walls stretching from top to bottom, side to side. It filled the space, and bees were constantly flying in and out. The wax was a rich gold, more vibrant than any he had seen before, and even with the faint candlelight it seemed to almost glint and sparkle.

  Barret reached a hand forward to touch it. The bees seemed to pay him no mind, simply moving around the obstacle. It felt smooth and warm, and buzzed with what almost felt like a heartbeat.

  Just then, Robin, who had never been the most physically capable member of the group, couldn’t strain his muscles any longer. He had not said anything because of how easily Henry was handling the weight, and that meant nobody was able to react in time.

  Barret came tumbling back out of the hollow, despite his attempts to grab on and stay up. Luckily for him there was a mass underneath him to cushion the fall. As that cushion, Robin might have had other ideas, but he was too busy being squished to voice them.

  The rest of the gang rushed over to make sure both of them were okay, and as Henry once again helped Barret to his feet Alice and William pulled Robin up. “Are you okay?” Alice asked, and Robin gave a dazed smile.

  “Yup. Totally.” He said, as blood started to trickle out from his nose.

  “Oh dang. Uh, okay, what did Robert say to do…” Alice muttered as she tried to remember their lessons from the Maester.

  As Alice helped Robin, Henry and William helped Barret. It seemed like he was spared the worst of the fall, only being very sore rather than very hurt. After making sure he was okay, their focus landed on the piece of comb Barret had torn out as he fell.

  It seemed to be all honey, the wax caps being of a smooth and almost white color. Combs that had eggs were usually darker. Some of the hexagons were broken, especially on the sides, and honey was dripping down Barret’s hand.

  The smell was amazing. It was strangely hard to pin down, not really reminding Barret of any flowers or fruit. Instead, when he smelt the honey it brought up images of comfort, of a warm blanket, of a kind hug, of telling stories by a fire.

  Henry and William seemed interested as well, and Barret snapped off pieces of comb for each of them. They popped them into their mouths and chewed, honey gushing out with each bite.

  Barret closed his eyes as he chewed the comb. It was, it was, it was…

  It was pretty good honey.

  Alice tapped him on the shoulder, snapping Barret out of his revelry. “What are you doing?” She said. Behind her, sitting on the ground with his head leaned back and his hand pinching the bridge of his nose was Robin.

  “Eatin ‘oney.” Barret said through the comb in his mouth.

  “Is it that good?” Alice asked. Barret nodded, and she extended a hand. “Well, give me some.”

  “Me too!” Robin called out with a nasally voice.

  “Yeah, him too.” Alice said, and Barret snapped off more comb for them. Alice brought it over to where Robin was sitting and they shared the comb.

  As Barret chewed, he started to feel better. The soreness left his body, and his legs that had been aching from the long walk started to feel better. That was just the power of a great meal, he guessed. Too bad there wasn’t that much of the special honey. He had taken a glance at the other hives in the branches, and they looked like normal beehives.

  Do I wanna share this with everyone? He thought. Or can this be our secret?