Cersei had watched the gradual shifts in Robert from the day he had last held court and she noted every change with a cold and calculating eye.
He remained a drunkard and as loud as a horn and yet he had begun to limit his drinking to the late hours of the night.
He had mostly turned away from his usual whoring and he seemed to use the administration of the realm to distract himself from the memories of Lyanna Stark or so he might have thought.
Cersei scoffed to herself as she considered that and she knew in her heart that he had never truly loved the Stark girl.
He was simply a man regretting what he could not possess and he was still the same Robert beneath the surface.
His old tendencies always resurfaced in the dark of the night when the wine took hold of his senses.
He had stopped hurting her because he had mostly stopped visiting her bed and she still saw him whoring and drinking at night even if it was less frequent than the moons before.
A sharp knock on the door of her solar pulled her from her bitter musings.
"Enter," she commanded and she took a long sip of the sun tea she had purchased from a merchant from Goldmere.
One of her guards entered the room with a short and very well-dressed man following behind.
Two more servants followed them and they carried ornate boxes in their hands though they remained standing by the door.
The short man had black hair and brown eyes and he wore a heavy silk coat that reached to his mid-calf and it was decorated with intricate gold engravings.
Cersei found her gaze captivated by the gold necklace he wore which bore a symbol fashioned from glittering jewels.
"Queen Cersei, it is a true pleasure to be in your presence," the man said and he gave her a slight and graceful bow.
"A pleasure to have your acquaintance. I thank you for accepting my invitation, Master..." Cersei trailed off with a slight tilt of her head.
"Ah, pardon me, Your Grace. Please call me Hadrien, just Hadrien. I am only a humble merchant after all," Hadrien said and he offered her an easy and practiced smile.
"Master Hadrien it is then," Cersei said and she gestured toward a seat. "Please sit."
Hadrien took his seat with a nod and he looked at the cup of tea in her hand and smiled as the aroma reached him.
"Sun tea. It is a refined choice. Please allow me to present some to you as a gift," he said and he gestured toward the young man standing by the door.
Cersei nodded to her guard and the soldier allowed the young man to enter the solar. He handed the box to Hadrien with great respect and then retreated.
"Thank you," Hadrien said to the boy before he bowed and returned to the hallway.
Hadrien handed the wooden box to the Queen and she opened it to find an exotic aroma immediately filling the room.
"Thank you, Master. You are most thoughtful and generous," Cersei said with a genuine smile and she knew it would have cost her nearly a hundred gold dragons to secure this much sun tea from any other source.
Hadrien simply smiled and waved away her thanks. He was a merchant from Nightshade and such tea was abundant in his homeland and it cost him very little to procure.
He sat patiently and engaged in the formal small talk of the court while he wondered exactly why the Queen had summoned him.
"I must admit, Master, that I have called you here to learn more of Nightshade," Cersei said directly once the pleasantries had passed.
"What would the Queen wish to know?" Hadrien asked and he tilted his head with curiosity.
"What is it like?" she asked and her voice was uncharacteristically vague.
Cersei did not have a specific question in mind and she had been thinking of Ra and the island of Nightshade ever since she had learned that Ra had a brother named Zeus who was said to be just as imposing of a warrior as Ra himself.
She wanted to know of the land as did the rest of the Westerosi nobility and she was simply the only one willing to be so direct.
During one of the rare conversations she had shared with Ra he had told her that the people of Nightshade respected those who were direct.
"Prosperous would be the word to describe it," Hadrien said after a long moment and he truly did appreciate her lack of guile. "From what I have seen in the rest of the world, if you were to visit Nightshade, I think otherworldly is the word you would use."
"I had that very feeling when I had the privilege of meeting Ser Ra," Cersei admitted.
"A privilege indeed. He has been a dedicated protector of Nightshade for a very long time and I heard he had ventured out to see the world and offer his help," Hadrien said and he turned his gaze toward the window.
Hadrien and the people of Nightshade respected the Custodians of their land and most knew their names by heart even if most had never looked upon their faces.
It was said that the Custodians were all brothers and the sons of the beloved Sun Dragon of Nightshade, a gold dragon called Luxarion.
"I see you have great respect for him," Cersei observed and she studied the merchant's face.
"Indeed. He has earned it for all he has done for our people," Hadrien replied and he did not bother to hide the respect in his voice.
"Could you tell me more of him? I have been curious ever since I learned he has a brother," Cersei asked and for once she allowed a glimpse of genuine emotion to show.
"Forgive me, Queen. I have never met Ra or any of his brothers. I have only heard of them in the legends and stories of our home," Hadrien said and he shook his head.
"He has more brothers? Are they all like him?" Cersei asked and she could not hide her bewilderment.
"I couldn't tell you, Queen Cersei," Hadrien replied and he saw the disappointment flash in her eyes.
He always kept the interests of Nightshade at the forefront of his mind and he knew that if he told Cersei there were enough Custodians like Ra to challenge an entire kingdom on their own it would cause the nobility of Westeros to panic.
Such a revelation might even cause problems for Ra as the lords might restrict his movements or harass his family out of fear.
Cersei's lips thinned at his response and she took a long moment to consider the implications of what he was saying.
"I understand," she muttered and she adjusted her posture and donned the cold and regal mask she always wore.