LOVE AND DUTY
Alright now readers, this is chapter 10 to this collaborative story being created by Boris, Assassin, Marina and me!
Now all the action to this story has been finished, and this is the more 'soothing' and laid-back part of the story. There are only a couple more chapters left to this story, so I hope you all look forward to the finale to this story!
Now for those that are wondering what the overall theme of this story is, we've been thinking and it's been confirmed that aside from the Drama and Romance parts to this story, the story has an overall friendship theme to it, and in retrospect, the story's theme could be described as showing everyone how much can be achieved by working together, just like how all four of us have been working together to create this story. The theme to this story could be in part, influenced by how all four of us have been growing a strong friendship amongst each other and we have learned more about each other and our connection has strengthen, thus resulting in us coming up with such well written materials for this story.
Well with all this explained, we hope you all enjoy this chapter and look forward to the last couple of chapters left to this story readers!
DISCLAIMER: All characters of Totally Spies belong to Marathon Media and all characters of Game of Thrones belong to George R. R. Martin. The character Andrew is owned by me, and Robert is owned by Boris Yeltsin.
Now like all the previous chapters, the prefaces to this chapter will be displayed at the end to show who contributed with what. For now, enjoy the chapter everyone!
AT WINTERFELL:
The next morning felt a bit dull in Winterfell. After all the danger everyone had been through, waking up after the heat, when everything had cooled down, always had that impression of boredom. Humans could really adapt to anything. This peacefulness was the norm and yet, it felt out of place, not that it wasn't appreciated though. Sam herself could feel all of this, at Lancel's place. The young woman had decided, at the last minute, to accompany Lancel and to give Dorna a hand if he needed help. And, after all, her belongings were there.
Aside from that, Arya had left the group, heading upstairs to the bathroom to work on the surprise she had planned, with Alex accompanying her as requested, in order to help her out. While at first, nobody else had thought anything of it, they had begun to notice that the two girls had been up in the bathroom for a rather long time. Whatever this surprise they had planned was, it was clearly taking some time to prepare, and was clearly keeping them busy…
-Start of Flashback-
Arya grinned as she pulled out what she needed, and Alex's eyes widened as she saw what Arya was pulling out of a small drawer that had been cleverly disguised between two actual drawers in the chest of drawers which held Arya's clothes. She showed the objects to Alex and then explained.
"So you see, this is what my little surprise should look like." She remarked.
"Oh my god, this sounds like it's going to be awesome and fun," Alex giggled.
Arya smirked at that. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it..."
Alex smiled in response to that as she could hardly wait for it to begin.
With that, they left the bedroom and headed for the upstairs bathroom, ready to begin...
-End of Flashback-
Meanwhile, on the couch, Andrew and Gendry were shown kicking back and being lazy together. This was to be expected though, considering all the crap they had gone through for the past couple of days. All the drama and fiasco that had unfolded by Cersei was all over, and Lancel was cured of the intoxication, thus making for a fairly relaxing and relieving experience. True, Arya and Alex were getting things ready for the former's surprise, but they could at least take the time to relax and loaf around together on the couch…as best friends. Still, they were wondering what was taking their girls so long.
In particular, Andrew had stretched on the couch and spoke.
"Hmmm...you know," Andrew yawned. "I wonder what's keeping Alex and Arya…"
Gendry nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah, it feels like they've been gone for a couple of hours at least."
"Now that you mention it Gendry, they have been gone for a long time." Eddard agreed.
"Too long," Cat added worriedly. "Gods, I shudder to think what kind of foolish prank Arya is trying to pull this time…with the help of that girl Alex too."
Ned sighed. "You may be right Cat, knowing how Arya tends to behave, we should expect anything."
Cat nodded in agreement with her husband.
Sansa was also confused.
"Why Alex though? She didn't hit it off with her when she and the other Americans first came here."
"Well now she did," Andrew confirmed. "From how they had had each other's backs during this whole scenario, from that lake accident, all the way up to the fight with Cersei's goons, it's apparent that they both became best friends and Arya trusts Alex enough to have her help out with this surprise she has in store for us."
Gendry nodded in agreement. "Yeah I mean we've all seen how they finally bonded and became best friends. It's no wonder she's helping Arya out with this...surprise, whatever it is."
"Normally I hate surprises, but for her, I'll make an exception." Clover told them.
Robert grinned, hugging the blonde.
"That's my girl. Besides, I'm sure we'll love it."
Everyone else nodded as they were willing to accept that particular reason.
"In any case, what should we do while we're waiting?" Jaime asked so suddenly.
After a few minutes of thinking, Ned and Cat shared a smile as they both seemed to come up with the same idea.
Cat spoke up first. "I have an idea; why don't we hold a feast here at Winterfell, a celebration to thank the WOOHP agents for all their hard work, looking out for Sansa and Arya and all the others and helping to put an end to this nightmare."
Ned nodded. "I quite agree, I think that would be an outstanding idea. I'll call Robb and Jon and ask them to come around. We'll see if Bran and Rickon can make it home to take part too."
"Yes of course." Cat replied with a smile before turning to Tywin, Jaime, Myrcella and Tommen. "You are more than welcome to join too of course."
The others in the room thought that a feast was a perfect idea to celebrate.
"You know something," commented Andrew. "I think a feast would be a perfect idea to commemorate our achievement. It'll also help with easing out all this tension that we've been through this past couple of days."
Gendry smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. I'm all game for it, should help us relax our body and soul, after all we've been through, and finally bring the tension down."
Robert smiled.
"Great idea, it'll be good to celebrate all the work we did."
"Yeah, and lighten the tension." Clover agreed.
"Excellent idea," Sansa cut in.
"Capital. They're right. It'll be good to get rid of this rigidity." Jaime commented.
"That is a very smashing idea!" Tommen agreed.
Myrcella managed a nod, smiling.
"That suits me just fine." That came from Tywin.
Ned and Cat shared another smile, liking the enthusiasm of the others.
"Well, we should also invite Kevan and his family over too." Ned remarked.
Cat nodded. "Yes, especially since Lancel was involved in all this mess."
So Ned went to the phone and called Kevan.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Hello, Kevan, its Eddard Stark. Listen, we were talking to the others, and Catelyn and I felt that we should hold a feast here at Winterfell, to celebrate all this madness being over and to thank the WOOHP agents for their work. We wanted to invite you, Dorna, Harys, and your children...especially Lancel, to the feast."
Kevan replied cheerfully. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. It would be good for us all. I'll talk to Dorna and the others. I'm sure they'd gladly come."
Eddard smiled and replied. "Oh, and Sam is naturally invited too. She is one of the agents too after all."
"Yes, of course. I'll let her know." Kevan replied. "Alright, we'll see you later, until then."
"Yes of course. Bye." Eddard said at last before hanging up.
XXXXX
AT LANCEL'S HOME IN KING'S LANDING:
The man turned to look at his family. Genna had dropped the youngests at their brother's place at their own request. While they hadn't been fully informed of what was going on, the few elements they got to know had made them worry and they had yearned to see their big brother. Janei was on Lancel's laps, a book in hand, and she was pointing to him where all the unicorns were hidden. The smile his son had on his lips brightened his tired face. Willem was helping their mother out with the dishes. Dorna had also made sure none of Pycelle's poisoned mixture had remained. As for Martyn, he was chatting with Sam, more than delighted to have someone he could relate to. His father-in-law was sitting quietly, enjoying this family scene.
"Is something wrong, Honey?" Dorna asked as she entered the room.
"Quite the good news actually. Everyone, a moment, please."
All eyes were instantly set on him.
"We are all invited by the Starks for a feast in Winterfell."
The twins' excitement made him smile.
"Lany, what's a feast?" Janei questioned her brother.
"It's a huge party where people gather to eat yummy things." He explained.
"Yay!"
Her cheerfulness made him smile even harder, causing Sam to smile too. Lancel the caring brother was a side of him she was discovering a bit more and, like so many sides of his, she grew to love it.
"A feast?" Dorna mused.
"They feel it's a good way to celebrate the end of the nightmare we've been through. It's a way to thank Jerry and the WOOHP as well."
"I am not surprised Eddard and Catelyn thought of that. I'll bring some extras."
"I'm sure they got it all covered, dear."
"Even more so, I know Sansa loves lemon cakes. I could bring some homemade treats."
"Your lemon cakes are the best." Lancel complimented.
"Lemon cakes? Yum!" Sam added.
Sam listened as everyone chatted away before she froze. A feast in Winterfell, among two of the biggest families in the country and she had nothing to wear…
XXXXX
Back at Winterfell, Eddard put the phone down and turned to Catelyn.
"That's all set. They accepted the invite and are happy to come," he told her.
Catelyn smiled, thrilled by this news.
"Knowing Dorna she'll be more than thrilled to attend." She commented. "She'll likely do something to contribute to the feast too."
"Yes; that does sound like Dorna." Ned agreed. "If it's not extra dishes she'll certainly bring Lemon Cakes; knowing they're Sansa's favorite."
Cat nodded. "Very true."
After a brief pause, Ned spoke again.
"I'll see if I can get a hold of Jon and Robb, and invite them around."
Cat agreed. "Of course, I'll go and get everything set and ready the table; and the food of course."
They both nodded and went to take care of their respective tasks, ready to begin.
Meanwhile, Jerry, who was also residing in Winterfell with the others, was also intrigued by the idea of a feast being held for them in their honor; not only to show how grateful they are for their achievement, but as a way to celebrate in response to the chaotic chain of events that followed in Westeros, no thanks to Cersei.
"Why, I think that a feast would be a tremendous idea for us to acknowledge the peace and prosperity that was brought back into Westeros," Jerry remarked. "Not to mention it would be a proper token of appreciation given to us from the Stark House and the Lannister House."
"I love the idea. We'll get to try new foods, and bond with everyone from the families we haven't met yet. It'll be great." Clover gushed.
Robert kissed his girlfriend's cheek.
"You bet, babe. Besides, it'll give Sam a chance to bond with her future in-laws. Mrs. Samantha Lannister, now that's a nice ring to it."
Clover cracked up laughing at that.
"Yeah, this is all true," Andrew complied. "All of us shall take part in this feast, including Alex and Arya when they do show up after this surprise that Arya has planned is finished."
Gendry nodded smiling. "Yeah, sounds good to me, can't wait I'm starving."
Andrew nodded in agreement to that. "Oh yes, I'm all for a feast, just as long as I don't have to eat any of those Dornish Peppers again."
"Oh yeah, me too," Gendry agreed, grimacing at the memory. "Hopefully we won't have to eat those peppers."
They both shivered at that, both recalling how the peppers practically burned their mouths back at the restaurant.
"Count us in, too." Myrcella told them.
"Right, we can help with cooking, getting anything you need, the works." Tommen cut in.
"Allow me to join in." Jaime commented.
Tywin grinned.
"Well, I'd say this all meets with my approval."
At that moment, with everyone standing up and heading off to find some way to contribute to the feast preparations, even Tywin, as well as getting things ready for it, Arya and Alex were still upstairs, in the bathroom, they knew it was nearly time and were planning on heading to Arya's bedroom soon enough, as Arya needed to change clothes, it wouldn't be long now, they were sure…
Several hours had passed, in that time the guests arrived, the food was prepared and everything was accounted for, the feast now being ready. The table was all set and placed with a table cloth covering it and the food and beverages already set up. It had been a struggle finding what to get for Arya and Alex, since they still hadn't arrived but a short talk through Arya's closed bedroom door where they simply told Cat what they wanted soon sorted that. As such everything was all set, everything having their chosen meals set at their respective seats.
Andrew and Alex had mutton, hard cheese and melon with diet coke for Alex and half a cup of vodka for Andrew, although a glass of coke was also set up. Arya and Gendry had chosen roast beef, venison, potatoes and peas, with the same drink choice as Alex and Andrew respectively.
Meanwhile, Eddard and Catelyn had chosen similar food to Arya and Gendry but with carrots and mushrooms too, along with Arbor Gold wine for their drinks.
Concurrently, Robert and Clover had joined the Stark parents in having Arbor Gold, while having roasted bread, mutton, figs and oysters for their food. Tywin, Myrcella, Jaime and Tommen had chosen split lobsters and pork with barley bread and for their drinks had all chosen Dornish wine. Kevan, Dorna, Harys and Jerry had all chosen wine for their drinks, while Sam and Lancel opting for fruit juice instead. But all had the same food, salted pork with hard cheese, plums and roasted bread.
Nearby, the remaining guests, which included Robb, Jon, Bran, Rickon, Martyn, Willem and Janei, had opted for the same food; pork and chicken with sides of grapes and potatoes. For drinks, Robb and Jon had Arbor Gold, Rickon and Bran opted for strong tea while Martyn and Willem had cokes, and finally, Janei had grape juice; her personal favorite.
In addition to all this, the Lemon Cake brought by Dorna was also set up for dessert, something which brought a smile to Sansa's face; it was her favourite after all.
Kevan, Dorna, Sam, Lancel and Harys, along with Martyn, Willem and Janei had shown up about an hour ago, making good time and doing what they could to help, as had Bran, Rickon, Rob and Jon. It was the WOOHP agents' first time seeing the last three and they noted that, like Bran, Robb and Rickon seemed to take after their mother most in appearance, with auburn hair and blue eyes. Jon meanwhile seemed to take after the Stark side of the family, with dark hair and grey eyes.
Everything was present and ready to begin on the feast, all of them eager to begin, looking forward to the great meal before them.
Feeling entirely satisfied by what was in front of them; everyone decided to give their comments of approval.
"I must say, this looks like a finely nourished and well-prepared feast planned for all of us," Jerry was the first to comment. "This is simply a divine and first class prepped banquet for everyone to enjoy."
"Yeah, Jerry is correct on that," Andrew agreed with a stoic smirk. "Looks like Thanksgiving came early this year. This is definitely a jollification in the form of a HUGE dinner."
Robert grinned.
"He's right. Everything looks amazing, reminds me of the kind of food you'd see at a state dinner."
Clover smiled, kissing her boyfriend's cheek.
"He's got a good point. Bright side, we make new friends, and try a lot of new foods that aren't so easy to get back in the States."
"Well a lot of us helped, so I'm sure it'll be great." Myrcella chimed in.
Tommen smiled.
"Shall we?" He asked, ready to toast Ned with his drink.
Tywin smiled, ready to raise his own glass in a toast.
"I'm certain we'll all enjoy it."
"That, we will." Jaime put in.
"Wow, this dinner looks amazing." This came from Rickon.
Bran managed a nod from his wheelchair.
"Yeah, this smells delicious."
Sansa managed a smile as she sipped a bit from her drink.
"You'll love it, I'm sure."
"Sansa's told us a lot about these new friends of hers." Robb put in.
Jon cracked a smile.
"Excellent work uncle, not to mention everyone else," He commented.
"Yeah, this meal looks...fantastic." Gendry remarked, agreeing with Andrew as he grinned, observing the food.
Smiling at that Ned spoke. "I'm glad everyone approves. It was certainly worthwhile doing this, just to see everyone so happy."
Cat nodded. "I quite agree. This is all wonderful, and I'd like to thank everyone for their help too."
Lancel had a small smile when he saw Sam's eyes lighting up as she discovered the feast under her eyes. He didn't know how Americans feasted but he was certain Westeros could give them a round for their money.
"This is impressive!" She stated.
"And this is only the beginning." He replied.
"Everything looks perfect, Catelyn." Dorna commented.
While Kevan and Harys didn't reply, their smiles were enough for everyone to understand they shared her feelings.
"Will you help me with the meat, Lany?" Janei asked her brother.
"Sure!" He said.
"With your wheelchair?" Willem sounded worried.
"I have strong knees." His older brother joked.
"Lany?" Sam wondered.
"All three of us nicknamed Lancel that way when we were still too young to be able to say his name properly. It remained." Martyn explained.
Sam seemed particularly interested by that as they all continued to examine the food for several moments.
XXXXX
Meanwhile, upstairs nearby, Alex was observing everything that was going on downstairs and noticed that everyone was accounted for…except for herself and for Arya, but that was all going to change in a matter of minutes. Feeling like she had fulfilled her duties given to her by Arya, Alex quietly went back to Arya's room to report to Arya about everyone being present.
Once she made it to her room, Alex opened the door, poked her head through the entrance and then called out to her in a loud whisper.
"Psst, hey Arya, everyone is present and accounted for downstairs," Alex whispered loud enough for her friend to hear her. "Now is the perfect time for us to go downstairs and show everyone the surprise that you planned for everyone to see."
Arya's room was dark due to the lamp having been switched off, the curtains still drawn, but while details were still not able to be seen, Arya could just be made out inside.
"It's about time," she whispered, snorting quietly, eyes alight with glee. "Everything's all ready then?"
"Uh huh," Alex nodded. "It also looks like a delicious feast is going on downstairs too."
"I know, we'll focus on that in a bit, eat soon." Arya replied. "But first, it's time for the big reveal. Just remember, do exactly like we rehearsed, alright? Don't want anything to go wrong."
"I won't screw this up Arya," Alex smiled. "Well, I'm going to go downstairs to tell everyone the big news about the surprise you prepared for them."
Arya grinned as she put the finishing touch on her surprise. "I'll join you soon."
With that Alex left the room and headed downstairs, Arya trailing behind her, ready to make her move when it was time…
XXXXX
Back downstairs, after observing the food for several minutes, Andrew decided it was best to ask the appropriate question.
"Well uh, do you guys suppose we should sit down and enjoy the food?" He asked them.
Everyone nodded yes with anticipation.
"Well, let's sit down and dig in."
Without any rebuking comments, everyone got to their chairs and started to take their seats.
Before everyone could sit down though, Alex rushed to the scene and quickly got everyone's attention by shouting.
"Ahem, can I have everyone's attention for a second," she called out to them, causing them to halt their positions. "I have some fairly important and big news to announce to you all!"
Andrew gave his girlfriend an encouraging smile; a sign that showed that Alex had the floor and the spotlight was all hers for the moment. Alex cleared her throat as everyone stared at her patiently for her to give the big news to them.
Smiling at Andrew's encouragement, Alex then spoke.
"Well, before we sit down and enjoy the feast, I think it's worth telling you all that this is the moment you have all been waiting for," she clarified. "The surprise that Arya had planned for all of you to see has been completed and she would like you guys to feast your eyes on her new appearance before you feast your mouths into that delicious food!"
Everyone now looked curious about Arya's new appearance and what she looks like. Alex just about wrapped up the announcement.
"It's worth saying that the old Arya is gone, and the new Arya is here to stay," Alex wrapped up. "So without further ado, I'd like to introduce to you all; the new Arya Stark!"
Alex then sidestepped out of the way, with her arms out to direct them to the surprise Arya planned. With that, Arya finished coming down the stairs and almost immediately two things stood out. First was that she had changed clothes, now wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with a white tank-top which featured a shredded hem, a pyramid and eye design, which only a few present knew was supposed to be the illuminati symbol and simple scuffed sneakers. The other thing that drew their attention was the fact she had her hair wrapped in a towel. But not for long as once Arya was fully in the room she removed said towel with a flourish, revealing her surprise; her dyed streak of hair was gone, replaced with the entirety of her hair being dyed the same butterfly blue as the singular streak from before. This drew a storm of reactions, notably the guests seemed rather impressed; Martyn, Willem, Tommen and Myrcella especially seemed to find it amazing. Robb, Bran and Rickon all stared in amazement, while Jon smiled lightly.
"Arya..." Cat gasped, almost in dismay. Gods, she has gone even further now...
I...honestly don't know how to feel about this. Ned thought to himself, shocked at his daughter now going entirely punk on them.
Yet her dying her hair entirely blue, which actually went well with her usual accessories, was preferable to her pulling some huge prank on them all.
Sansa's own emotions were mixed on the issue.
She's gone punk… She thought.
She felt she could handle the new hair, however. At least it hadn't been any sort of massive prank on everyone.
Gendry on the other hand, really loved and admired Arya's new hair color and appearance. He grinned widely and laughed lightly.
"Nice, I love it," he said. "You've finally completed that badass look."
Arya smiled at that, her cheeks turning slightly pink due to the comment, being left speechless for the moment.
"Yeah Arya," Andrew deadpanned in a joking manner with a smirk on his face. "With blue hair like that, you should change your name to Marie."
Arya rolled her eyes hearing that. "Yeah, very funny, I get it."
There was a momentary silence after that, while Arya shook her head at the reference to the 'cartoon program'.
Finally, Bran spoke up. "Um, Arya, did it really take you that long to dye your hair? We were expecting some huge prank from you and Alex given how long it took."
"Actually no, we finished dying my hair ages ago," Arya laughed. "We were just waiting until everyone was here, isn't that right Alex?"
"That's right Arya," Alex nodded and giggled.
"I wasn't planning a huge prank this time." Arya confirmed.
With that everyone relaxed and nodded, now over the shock and coming to accept Arya's new hair color.
Cat sighed but then nodded. "Well, I guess I can accept it, it's going to happen anyway."
"So long as you're happy Arya, I'm fine it." Ned agreed.
Sansa smiled a bit.
"I can work with this; your new hair and all," she told Arya.
Bran smiled. "It's a good look for you Arya, nice."
Rickon then spoke up. "Yeah, it looks so cool."
"You never cease to surprise us," Robb then added. "But that's fine with me."
Jon grinned and nodded. "I have to agree especially with Bran, it's a good look for you Arya."
Arya and Alex nodded in response to that.
Afterwards, Alex's tummy started to rumble. It seemed all that prepping and hard work led to an appetite being developed.
"Uh oh, it looks like I have quite an appetite," she pointed out. "I only had a small breakfast this morning, so I am quite eager to take part in this feast."
Arya smiled lightly in agreement, especially when her own stomach rumbled too.
"I'll second that, I'm famished too. Let's hurry up and sit down so we can eat." She remarked.
With that everybody did just that, sitting down, all ready to get started on the feast before them.
Once they all sat down, several 'thank you' comments were exchanged from all across the table for their respective plates being made and placed in front of them. A couple of people, in particular, ended up thanking them in different languages.
"Merci," Andrew and Sam thanked in French simultaneously.
"Muchas gracias," Alex thanked in Spanish.
"Danke Schön," Robert told them, thanking them in German.
After the rest of the thanks were told off-screen, everyone started to dig in and the feast has officially begun…
XXXXX
Andrew and Gendry were shown holding their half a glass of vodka in their hands as Andrew spoke first.
"I'd like to make this a personal toast between me and my Westerosi best buddy Gendry," Andrew remarked. "For all the achievements we made together as a team and for the growth of our friendship."
"You said it, Andy buddy." Gendry remarked with a grin.
With that, the two of them raised their glasses to each other and spoke at the same time.
"Cheers."
They then clink their glasses together, and then they drank, gulping their vodkas down simultaneously and let out a sigh of relief upon finishing.
"Wow," Andrew gasped. "I must admit, this vodka isn't half bad."
He nodded. "It grows on you the longer you live in Westeros."
"It most likely would." Andrew commented admirably.
Gendry nodded in response and they resumed their meal, drinking some more and eating their food.
A few minutes later, Andrew went and helped himself to some hard cheese that was on his plate. He examined it and made the observation.
"Hey, this is white cheddar cheese." Andrew brought up.
He then went and ate a piece of it. After he was done, Gendry looked curious upon seeing this.
"You like that kind of cheese?" Gendry asked curiously.
"I do," Andrew nodded before bringing up. "In fact, at my home back in Beverly Hills, California, I happen to have this pet tortoiseshell cat named Jumly that enjoys eating pieces of white cheddar cheese whenever I give it to her, along with pieces of meat that I end up giving to her as well."
Gendry smiled. "Wow, that's…very interesting."
"It's more than interesting," Alex started gushing. "I've been to Andrew's house at least once before, and I must say that Jumly is the sweetest and cutest cat that I have ever met!"
Arya also smiled, replying warmly. "Sounds like it to me."
They all smiled and resumed eating their meals.
Robert and Clover were eating their own meals, though they hadn't touched their wines yet.
Clover found the bread and lamb to be excellent. Neither her nor Robert had had lamb in some time, not since a dinner both had had at a hotel while posing as a couple as part of a mission. The both of them also enjoyed the figs, not having had them before.
When it came to the oysters however, Robert began to spear them on his fork with gusto, as Clover looked uneasy.
"Ugh, oysters…seriously?" She groaned.
"Is there something wrong?" Sansa looked concerned for her blonde friend.
"Is it about the contest?" Robert queried.
"Robby!" Clover yelled, seeming embarrassed.
"What…What contest?" Sansa questioned.
"I got her to be part of this oyster eating contest. There was a $10,000 grand prize. Anyhow, she couldn't handle them; vomited most of them back up when she was finished. She did come in second place, got the second prize; $5000."
His telling the story made Clover angry enough to elbow him hard in the ribs and fix him with a glare that, if looks could kill, would've done so.
"No. More. Eating. CONTESTS!" She told him, teeth gritted in rage.
"Gods, we have several eating contests, but I haven't heard of one involving oysters." Sansa told them.
"Now you know why." Clover managed, returning to her normal attitude once more.
A memory then came back to Clover, as well as a way to get back at Robert for telling her friend about the oyster story.
"You think that's crazy, you should see him when he's playing cards. He sucks!"
"Darlin," Robert warned, but he was too late.
"How bad is he?" Sansa asked, curious.
"He's okay at Black Jack, but when you try getting him to play poker...well you can kiss a lot of your things, if not all of them, goodbye."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, like this one time, he bet this watch I got him for Christmas, and he lost that to some WOOHP agent from Canada when Jerry had us working with the Canadian branch on a joint mission." Clover explained.
"Worst decision I ever made..." Robert told them shamefully.
"Honey its fine. Besides, you were smashed. Too much brandy." Clover told him, recalling that he had been drunk; having celebrated at a bar with some of the Canadian agents after they'd completed their joint operation.
"Thanks babe." He told her, leaning in to kiss her, which resulted in a kiss from the blonde in return.
"That must've been a nightmare for you." Sansa told Robert.
"It was." Robert agreed with her as he got to work on the second to last oyster on his plate.
As he did so, another memory came to him.
"Speaking of other WOOHP branches, I was friends with another agent; Brian. He's an American like me. He was from the Ohio branch, and was born completely blind, having lost his retinas."
"Gods…"
"Yeah, Jerry helped him adapt to it very well, though." Robert told her.
Clover smiled, remembering meeting him.
"He's a great guy. Last we heard he had a daughter with this ex Russian WOOHP agent; Irena something."
"Did he retire after the wedding?" Sansa asked.
"Yup, that's right."
Sansa shrugged along to that as they continued eating.
Everyone was enjoying their meals when Jaime felt he should mention something about Jon the Americans didn't know.
"You know, Jon's a cousin to the Stark family, from Ned's side."
Robert and Clover were both surprised.
"You're kidding." Robert managed.
"Is this a joke?" Clover felt like choking.
Jon, defending himself, jumped into the conversation.
"Nope, my mother was Uncle Ned's sister."
"Wow, so like, what do you do?" Clover asked, interested.
"Special forces," Jon explained, showing his insignia which to Robert, looked like the rank of a captain.
Sansa smiled at her cousin.
"He's right. Met a few of the other officers he works with, one of them wants to be a medical officer; Samwell Tarly. His father's a high-ranking officer."
"General?" Robert inquired.
"You got it." Sansa told him.
"Yes well, this is a time for all of us." Cat said with a soft smile.
Ned nodded. "Yes, we're glad you could make it Jon. This is what we're all about; being a family."
Robert and Clover both grinned, understanding what he was getting at.
"Well, since the whole family's here, shall we continue?" Robert suggested.
"He's got a good point there." Clover explained.
Sansa then noticed neither Robert nor Clover had touched their wines.
"Aren't you gonna drink?" She asked.
Clover flinched while looking at her wine glass.
"I don't know. I never had wine before." She told her, feeling nervous.
"Relax darling. I'll drink mine with you." Robert told her.
That did make Clover feel better about it.
Both raised their glasses, about to help themselves before Sansa got them to halt.
"Hang on." Sansa told them.
"What is it?" Clover asked.
"A fair warning to you both: wine from Westeros has more alcohol then wines from the States, so it's strong stuff."
"We'll totally be careful." Clover assured her.
That being said, both of them gulped down their wines at the same time.
"Well?" Sansa was curious.
"I love it. Can I get another one?" Clover asked.
"Same here," Robert told her.
Gods, I do hope they don't be irrational with that stuff. Sansa thought, knowing this wouldn't end well, but nonetheless, she gone with the flow anyway as both Robert and Clover went and had a second glass of Arbor Gold wine.
While that was going on, it was shown nearby that Andrew and Gendry had finished up their half a cup of vodka, and they had switched over to Coke just like what their girlfriends were drinking. They didn't want to overdo it with the alcohol like Robert and Clover were doing, so they decided to settle with cokes for drinks.
At a nearby table, Tommen, Myrcella, Jaime and Tywin were eating and making small talk.
"Army pants and flip-flops…?" Tommen asked his sister, referring to an outfit she'd bought.
"I thought it was a trend." She caught his look.
"Well, I saw Marissa Frey wearing them."
"Oh brother, I've met her, she's about as smart as-" He started while faltering, trying to find the right words.
"…A sack of hammers?" Jaime took a guess.
"Yeah, that's right."
Tywin laughed.
"Met her myself, rather dense. She's rich, but not a lot of brains."
"So, I have stupid friends, big deal." Myrcella told them, giggling.
Jaime then noticed Gendry and Andrew had finished their vodkas and figured they were up for another drink.
Taking the bottle of Dornish wine to their table, he placed it before them.
"Care to try this wine? It has spicy Dornish peppers as part of it." He told them, hoping that would catch their interest.
Both Andrew and Gendry flinched at that and grew wide-eyed at the thought of Dornish peppers. As a result, they both scream simultaneously.
"NO!"
This got everyone's attention as they were all giving the two of them very cautious and weary gazes, wondering why they reacted the way they did. Feeling rather humiliated by that, they both stuttered, getting red in the face from embarrassment and reiterated.
"Uh, what we meant to say is uh…we would like to pass on the Dornish wine if you wouldn't mind." Andrew struggled to say due to the discomfort he was feeling, as was Gendry.
Gendry nodded. "Yeah, Andrew's right, we'll pass...thanks."
Jaime stared at them in an awkward manner.
Seems they've had a run in with Dornish peppers before. He thought.
"Suit yourselves." He told them while shrugging, before heading back to his own spot to join the others.
"Lany, can you help me please?"
Sam watched with a small smile as Lancel grabbed his sister's plate, placed it near him and took her on his knees before he cut her meat, allowing her to eat more easily.
"Janei doesn't bother you Lancel?" Dorna asked him.
"I'm fine, really." He assured her.
"Don't worry Mommy! I'll give Lancel plenty of food."
Mother and son shared a laugh. Sam continued to watch. The fact that Lancel loved children was as clear as the day. He was always beaming whenever he had to take care of his little sister.
He'd make such a cute dad one day. She thought.
"Want some lamprey pie?" Willem offered as he passed the plate
"Sure, I'll try it!"
Willem grinned as Sam took a bit, her eyes lighting up in delight.
"This is amazing! Why can't we have nice things in America?"
He chuckled.
"You have pecan pie. That makes us even."
Several minutes later, Andrew took notice of a dish of frogs that was being served on the table. This got him baffled; while he heard that certain cultures took frogs as an exquisite delicacy, he never imagined frogs being served whole. Having frog legs was one thing, but the whole thing made him shiver. Still, letting his curiosity getting the better of him, he felt like bringing it up with Gendry.
"Hey Gendry, are those frogs being served," he asked while pointing at the dish, resulting in Gendry nodding to confirm it. "I had no idea people could eat frogs whole like that."
Gendry smiled and explained. "It's a particular taste; more common amongst those who live in The Neck, known as the Crannogmen. Mr. Stark is friends with one of them; Howland Reed and both Howland's children, Meera and Jojen are good friends with Bran. The Neck used to be swampland; it's been developed and all but there's still swamps around. The Crannogmen; particularly the Reed family, have lived there for many, many years."
"Wow, that's interesting." Andrew remarked, resulting in Gendry nodding as a result.
Hmmm, I guess there is a lot more to this country than I thought. Andrew thought. I wonder…
It was then another thought hit Andrew. He knew that it was a rather delicate specialty in France, but he wanted to know from an expert that had some knowledge on cultural cuisine; from a Westerosi resident no less, so he decided to double check for himself. Getting a good look at Dorna, he felt that she could know something about it.
Huh, perhaps Dorna Lannister might know something about it and can confirm it to be true. I'll just have to ask for myself.
Andrew then decided to get Dorna's attention.
"Uh excuse me, Mrs Lannister," he started. "Is it alright if I can ask you something?"
"Just call me Dorna dear," she said sweetly. "And sure, what is it that you want to ask me?"
"Well, I just want to confirm that this is true, but is it true that the French love eating frogs; specifically frog legs?"
Dorna smiled.
"I am not sure if they love it, but it is true that they eat frog legs. It's part of the culinary culture. They also eat snails with garlic butter and horse meat."
"Ah that is interesting," Andrew smirked. "I just wanted to know for sure."
Dorna smiled politely as they went back to eating their respective dishes.
As the feast went on, Robb, Bran, Jon and Rickon took note of their American guests.
"Such a lovely meal as always," Robb said, grinning at his parents. "As for our guests, I haven't met them before."
Rickon nodded, sipping his tea.
"I've worked with Americans before, but not these Americans." Jon pointed out.
"Actually, I did meet Clover over lunch." Bran told them.
"Oh? What's she like?" Robb asked.
Bran explained the blonde as best he could.
"I don't recognize her friends though." He told them.
"Care to tell us a bit about yourselves?" Jon encouraged.
Andrew, Alex, Robert and Clover realized that they wanted to know more about them, such as what business they have in Westeros, and why they were sent to this location to begin with. Feeling like an explanation was required; Andrew was the first to speak.
"Hmmm…where to begin," Andrew started. "Well to start, we were sent to Westeros as part of a mission abroad."
"Yeah, we were sent here in order to solve a murder case of one of the biggest businessmen in the country." Alex jumped in.
"The whole thing was part of some massive conspiracy plot, with Cersei Lannister at its head," Robert broke in. "She was ruining people's lives, even members of her own family for power, nothing else."
"Well, at least we stopped her before it got too crazy. That and we had a lot of help." Clover told them, grinning at Sansa.
"I was happy to help. After all, it was a bit personal for me." Sansa managed.
The others nodded, guessing Joffrey had been involved somehow.
"Same here for my protégé." Sam added. "Though, out of respect for his privacy, I won't say more about it."
Lancel gave her a grateful smile.
"And apart from the mission, it was nice to visit a country we had never been to before. I learnt a lot of things being here."
"And sending you all here for this mission was a good idea. You achieved your goals and on a personal note, you made me proud." Jerry commented.
Jon, Robb, Rickon and Bran were all intrigued and interested by that. As Robert and Clover helped themselves to a second glass of Arbor Gold wine, Andrew decided to get to the point.
"Yup, the bottom line here is we all had a great time here in Westeros in spite of all the drama that unraveled from it, and we really enjoyed it here." Andrew stated.
"Andy's right," Alex said sweetly. "This whole experience last from the moment we set foot in Westeros, all the way up to the point where this feast was planned and prepared for all of us."
"I agree. It's been pretty amazing." Arya remarked. "As for the feast, well…mom and dad planned it all, with some extra help of course, so naturally, it's amazing."
Gendry nodded at that, smiling at his girlfriend's comments.
"I'm glad you think so Arya. We had fun putting this all together." Cat said.
Ned nodded. "Yes, we're just happy everyone is enjoying themselves."
Arya grinned at that, realizing her comments had been absolutely right.
Sansa grinned.
"I agree. I made some new friends and they saved my life," she turned to Robert and Clover. "Guys, what do you think?"
"Four for you Glen Coco," Robert yelled. "You GO Glen Coco!"
"Who?" Sansa asked.
"Hey, can we have another glass of this?" Clover managed, despite her slurring.
"Same here Sandy." Robert told her.
Gods, they're confusing me with other people. I warned them this could happen... Sansa thought.
The rest of them were startled and surprised by their sudden slurs and noticed the wine was taking effect as the two of them slammed down their third glass of wine, as the rest of them continued to eat dinner…
XXXXX
Eventually, everything finished up their dinner and soon began to sit back, relaxed. Andrew and Gendry even patted their stuffed bellies that looked like they'd ate a beach ball whole.
"That really hit the spot." Gendry sighed after belching.
"You said it, buddy old pal," Andrew sighed too after belching.
They both smirked and ended up belching again simultaneously before placing their arms on each other's back, like the true comrades they were.
"I hope everyone saved some space for dessert!" Dorna announced.
She excused herself for a few minutes and came back with a large platter of fresh and home-made lemon cakes.
"Yay, lemon cakes!" Janei cheered.
If Lancel didn't say anything, Sam could see he was dying to dig in.
"This is very kind of you, thank you!" Catelyn said. "These are Sansa's favorite!"
"A little birdie told me so." Dorna smiled.
"She's right. I have them when I can." Sansa said, grinning.
She turned to Robert and Clover.
"You two want any?"
It wasn't her best idea though, as both had finished their third glass of wine, looking very drunk at this stage.
"I love lemons, they're so saucy." Clover slurred.
"Cakes…So tight, so sexy…" Robert managed, his own speech slurred.
Either Sansa was hearing things, or was Robert's Southern accent thicker due to the wine?
Clover grinned.
"You naughty boy, you need to be punished," she told Robert. "Mama spank!"
"Cakes…so beautiful…especially on the backside..." Robert managed.
"Hot and saucy…" Clover commented.
Sansa hoped to Gods no one was filming this. If so, she'd kill them. She looked mortified at how idiotic her American friends were acting.
Clover then broke out into gibberish, something about something called 'fetch', whatever that was.
Stop trying to make 'fetch' happen! Its never gonna happen! Sansa thought the line sounded familiar, something from a movie Arya was a fan of, something Girls. She couldn't remember the name.
"99 bottles of wine on the wall, 99 bottles of wine," Clover started singing with her voice thick from the wine.
"Don't sing! Dogs howl when you do!" Robert managed then sang what was meant to be his line.
"Take one down…pass it around..."
His line was cut short, as he fell face first onto the table, even starting to snore.
Everyone gasped. Tywin walked to Robert's side of the table, inspecting the man.
"Yup, just as I thought, he had too much Arbor Gold. The hangover's going to be hell for him when he wakes up." He said, chuckling a bit.
Jaime turned to Andrew and the others.
"Most of us only drink on special occasions. You know; birthdays, which we call them Name Days here, weddings, holidays, and so on."
Sansa couldn't help but laugh.
"Gods, I warned them how strong the wine here could be."
"Shall we work on sobering him up?" Jaime asked Tywin.
"Of course, what did you have in mind?"
"How about Winterfell's strongest black coffee and an aspirin," Jaime told him.
"That's an excellent suggestion."
After that was said, Tywin lifted Robert by his arms while Jaime grabbed him by the legs, as they got him to the kitchen.
Shaking his head; smiling Ned called out.
"Asprin's in the top cupboard, just to right as you go in."
Cat then added. "You'll find the coffee in the cupboard opposite, above the kettle."
Tywin soon found what he needed.
"Found them, and thanks." He told them, as he and Jaime entered the kitchen, both still holding onto Robert.
"Hey! Don't start without me! I wanna go to the party!" Clover yelled, before falling off her chair, landing on her back on the floor. She began to kick her legs, laughing hysterically.
"Looks like she could use some sobering up too," Sansa said, turning to her cousin. "Jon, if you would?"
"Of course..."
Both lifted Clover, Jon by the legs, Sansa by the arms, attempting to get her into the kitchen.
Clover squirmed however, and was also babbling.
"I am going to fuck you up!"
"Clover, relax, it's us." Sansa told her.
Clover giggled at the redhead.
"I'm tired and I wanna go to bed, mama."
"Clover, cool it!" Jon told her.
She was squirming almost like she was a baby or something, she was that drunk…
While they were in the kitchen getting them sobered up, Arya shook her head, watching Tywin, Jaime, Sansa and Jon dealing with the knocked out Robert and defiant Clover.
Scrunching up her face Arya muttered. "This is why I don't drink wine. Last thing I want is to end up like Clover."
"I agree with that Arya," Alex shuddered in agreement. "It would be nuts if I was drunk like that."
"Yeah, that would be true," Andrew remarked before changing the subject. "Anyway, enough about that; what do you say we help ourselves to some dessert?"
"Sounds like a good idea to me." Gendry agreed.
Alex and Arya nodded in agreement as they and the others enjoyed themselves to some dessert while Robert and Clover were in the kitchen being sobered up by Tywin and Jaime, and Sansa and Jon respectively.
XXXXX
As that was going on, Jaime, Tywin, Jon and Sansa were attempting to get Robert and Clover sober. Robert accepted the coffee and aspirin easily.
"Too much wine," he heard Tywin say to Jaime.
"When he returns to the states, I'd recommend he stick to beer."
"I agreed, they're not as alcoholic as wine." Jaime told his father.
Clover on the other hand, was being difficult.
Clover spotted the mug and pill and took a sniff.
"Is that coffee?"
"Yeah and some aspirin too," Sansa told her.
"Wha…?"
"To get you back to normal."
"I don't wanna be sober." Clover whined.
She did tell me she came from a rich family. Sansa thought, laughing in her head about how Clover was acting like a spoiled brat, though she knew the wine was also playing a role here.
"My advice, stick to beer." Jon told the blonde.
"No!"
Clover then splashed the coffee down the front of Sansa's outfit. Sansa screamed, mortified.
"Mama's all wet." Clover told her, babbling as though she were an infant, then she started to laugh hysterically.
An annoyed Sansa returned to the dining room with a chuckling Jon in tow.
"Your friend's drunker than her lover," she explained to the others, showing them her coffee stained clothes.
The others noticed how soaked Sansa was, and were struggling not to laugh, something Sansa picked up on.
"Clover did this to me." She managed.
"Yeah, Clover managed to splash her with coffee while also refusing to become sober." Jon spoke up.
The others looked in understanding as Sansa then announced.
"I'm gonna shower up and change before I have some lemon cake."
That is exactly what she did as she headed upstairs to take a shower and clean up.
As she showered after finding some dry clothes to change into, she thought over the trouble Clover had given her.
She acted like I was her mother, she was that drunk. Gods, I'd hate to see that girl she mentioned; Mandy, I think her name was as drunk as that. It'd be worse, I'm sure of it.
Soon, she was in fresh clothes and ready for some of the cake. She made her way back downstairs afterwards.
"Well, I'm washed up."
"Great. I saved you some cake." Jon told her, helping her to her seat.
She soon dug into the slice of lemon cake with her fork, as Clover was babbling away in the kitchen like either a drunk or a baby. She was ignored however, just needing time to cool off as the others continued to enjoy their dessert...
XXXXX
About an hour later, everyone had finished the cake. Jaime and Tywin entered with a shaken Robert with them, who apparently was forced into sobriety.
"Whew, we finally got Robert all sobered up," Tywin sighed, wiping his forehead."We had him take a hot shower to help him out too." Jaime explained, dabbing at Robert's forehead before guiding him to a recliner.
"Wow that is good news. Now he can rest for a bit." Myrcella said.
Tommen agreed.
"Good idea."
"Now if we can just get Clover to snap out of it." Sansa groaned.
Everyone's attention was soon on a still drunk Clover, who seemed to be trying to navigate the stairs. Sansa could see where she was about to step.
"Oh Gods, grab the can! Grab the-"
But it was too late. Clover fell head-first into a garbage can that had been set up for her, in case she vomited, which, she'd already done.
"I said grab the can, not land on it!" Sansa yelled, sounding irritated.
The others only stared at the scene, save for Robert, who was still shaken up from being sobered up, was trying to get as much sleep as he could. Everyone else shook their heads and sighed at this display.
"Wow," Alex commented. "I sure am lucky that I didn't drink that stuff that she and Robert had."
"Yeah," Andrew slowly nod in agreement. "I'm glad that I only had ½ a cup of vodka tonight."
Gendry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right there Andrew. I'm glad I only had half a cup of vodka myself."
"I definitely don't wanna be in Clover's shoes right now." Arya muttered, shaking her head and rolling her eyes...
Everybody heard her however and they all nodded in agreement as they sat back and relaxed after their big feast and dessert.
At that moment, surprising everybody, there was a sudden knock at the front door. Ned and Cat shared a look; a look of confusion.
"Who could that be at this time?" Cat wondered aloud.
Ned nodded and called out. "It's unlocked, come in!"
In a matter of seconds, the front door opened up and the person to have stepped into the place was none other, than Margaery Tyrell, whose surprise appearance seemed so sudden that it resulted in everyone gasping at who had just entered.
"MARGAERY TYRELL!?" Every resident of Westeros that was in the room at that moment found themselves screaming in unison while the WOOHP spies (save for Clover, who was knocked out) were confused as to who this wonderful lady was. Jerry could have sworn that he had heard of Margaery from somewhere before, but he wasn't quite certain of the matter.
With a surprised look on his face, Tywin walked right over to the woman.
"Miss Tyrell. This is a surprise, what brings you here?" He asked.
"News travels fast." She told him.
"You heard about all that happened with my daughter, then?"
"I did, thanks to Sansa here."
The others turned to Sansa, who tried to hide her face in embarrassment.
Sansa smiled, looking sheepish.
"I may have text her about it hours before, along with the other stuff that had happened up to this point. She would've loved to come, but something came up and she couldn't make it."
Margaery jumped in and vouched for Sansa.
"She's right. I was due to come, but some business matters came up at the last minute, and I couldn't make it."
Unsure of what to say, everyone else went along with the explanation.
Sam looked at the newcomer and she couldn't help being in awe facing her. Margaery got the beauty, the sassiness and apparently the brain too. Rather tall, Margaery was very thin, with an oval-shaped face and heart-shaped lips. Her long dark chestnut hair was tied in a bun and under it, the rest of her hair fell on her back. Her eyes were striking too, between pale blue and light grey. She seemed to be minimalistic when it came to make-up: her skin was flawless and all Sam could spot was some light pink blush, maybe a small amount of mascara. She looked every inch of a queen.
"Who is that?" She whispered.
She wasn't deaf, she knew her name was Margaery Tyrell but who was she and why was everyone so surprised? Lancel took her hand; she leant to him so he could talk without being heard.
"This is Margaery Tyrell. She's the granddaughter of Olenna Tyrell. You could say Olenna is my uncle Tywin, just older and from the opposite sex: cunning, ambitious and clever. They come from the Reach; a region that provides food for most of the country. The Tyrells are almost as rich as my family. And fun fact, her brother dates Robert Baratheon's younger brother Renly. Talk about the world being small."
"How did she meet Sansa?"
"In King's Landing. Sansa was still dating Joffrey when Margaery arrived. Joffrey quickly ditched her for the new girl but Margaery insisted on becoming friends with Joffrey's ex."
"The girl deserves a medal."
"Cersei always hated her. She thought Margaery was her grandmother's pawn, sent to have Joffrey wrapped around her finger and get a hold over the Lannister and the Baratheon's power."
"Is she ambitious?"
"She never hid she was. But unlike Cersei, Margaery doesn't want to crush people to achieve her goals."
Lancel seemed used to this kind of gossips because he managed to stop just in time as Margaery was approaching them. He offered a smile.
"Hello, Lancel!"
"Hello, Margaery."
"I had heard you were unwell. I hope you recover soon."
"I'm well on my way. Have you met Sam already?"
Margaery turned to her, grinning.
"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Margaery." She said, extending her hand so Sam could shake it.
"Samantha Simpson, but you can call me Sam. The pleasure is shared." She replied, shaking the hand.
After the handshake, Tywin got her attention.
"Don't get me wrong. It is lovely to see you, but why are you here, exactly?"
"A few last minute touches for the wedding, though with all the chaos, I'd imagine things may be pushed back a bit." She explained.
Everyone gasped, even Robert, who almost fell out of the armchair he was sleeping in, having woken up. Sam, however, was in awe of the brunette, her green eyes shining with admiration for how well she was handling things.
"You'd be correct. A lot has happened recently, so much that I almost forgot about it." Tywin explained.
Myrcella jumped, almost spilling her drink.
"Gods, of course..."
Strangely, Tommen kept silent on the issue.
As the others were taking this in, Andrew was particularly curious; he had no idea that a wedding was taking place. Combining that with how he had to admit Margaery was a very beautiful and elegant looking young woman, Andrew had the feeling that whoever is going to be her groom is gonna be one hell-of-a-lucky man to get hitched with her. Wanting to know who the lucky dog is, Andrew got her attention and decided to ask.
"Uh Margaery, if you don't mind me asking, just who is it that you're going to be marrying," he questioned her with such perplexity.
"Yeah," Alex was also curious. "Who is the lucky man?"
Margaery smiled and answered their question honestly.
"Well you two, the lucky man that I'm going to be marrying goes by the full name; Tommen 'Baratheon' Lannister," she answered casually.
This caused everyone except for Tywin and Myrcella, to gasp and look shocked at this unexpected plot twist.
Robert managed to stand, though looking shocked at the news. He managed a power walk to Tommen.
"So, you and Margaery are the ones getting married?"
"Correct."
"I don't get it. All this time, you were prepping for your own wedding?"
"Technically I was. It was for both me, and for Margaery."
"Why not clue me in on it?" Robert asked, both curious and a bit peeved.
"I wanted it to be a surprise." Tommen explained.
"Well, it worked." Robert told his friend, grinning. "I'd be honored to be a guest."
Several minutes later, Margaery spoke again.
"If you don't mind, the wedding will have to be pushed back a few days," Margaery told Tywin. "A good 10 days at most from now."
"Given all that's happened, I understand." Tywin explained. "You've already met Robert, remember?"
"I did. I met him during the lunch we had."
Robert grinned at her as he remembered something.
"Ma'am, I take it you haven't met my other team-mates?"
"I have not." Margaery shook her head.
"Allow me to introduce them to you."
He gently took Margaery's hand and brought her to see them.
"You've met Sam, I believe?" Robert directed her attention to that admiring redhead.
"I have."
He then pointed to Andrew and Alex.
"This is Andrew Peterson, and this is Alexandra Vasquez."
He then pointed to Clover, knocked out and slumped in a chair.
"And that's Clover Ewing. She's my girlfriend."
"It's a really nice pleasure to meet you Margaery," Andrew bowed in a rather humble and modest manner.
"People usually just call me Alex, and I'm Andrew's girlfriend. Anyway, it's really nice to meet you," Alex gleamed excitedly.
"It's nice to meet you two too," Margaery smiled sweetly towards them.
Margaery then got a good look at Clover. Her blonde hair was in tangles, among other things, as well as the glazed look in her eyes.
"What happened to her?" She queried.
"She had too much Arbor Gold. She and I both had some. I was willing to get sober."
"I take it she wasn't?"
"Fought like an animal, or little kid, I'd guess." Robert explained as Clover snored, the smell of the wine still on her breath, as well as the coffee.
Margaery cracked up at that.
"I'm sure when she wakes up she'll feel like she was in the Running of the Bulls."
"Yeah, or like she got kicked by a horse," he told her, chuckling. "Anyway, there's one other person I'd like to meet."
"Of course, lead the way."
He then led her to Jerry's seat.
"Margaery Tyrell, this is Jerry Lewis. He is the director of WOOHP."
Both of them shook hands.
"Ah, I've heard of WOOHP several times." Margaery told him.
"Miss Tyrell, it's an honour to be in your presence." Jerry explained.
"The same goes to you too, sir."
"I haven't been knighted." Jerry told her, grinning as they shook hands for a couple of moments.
After she shook hands with Jerry, Margaery came up with an idea.
"Say, I was just thinking," she remarked suddenly. "As we said, I'd like to invite you guys, but...since Sansa and I are good friends, I'd like to invite the Starks to the wedding too. I'd love for you to attend."
"You…you're sure?" Cat gasped equal parts shocked and delighted.
Feeling the same way Ned added. "It would be our pleasure."
Rickon grinned. "Wow, that'd be cool, right Bran?"
"Sure would. We're gamed." Bran replied also grinning.
Robb and Jon shared a look before Robb spoke up.
"Well, I'd gladly come, thank you."
"Likewise, this is very generous of you." Jon finished.
Smiling wider now, Margaery turned to Gendry.
"Of course you are also invited too." She said cheerfully.
Gendry grinned in response. "It would be an honor to be there."
"Seriously," Arya groaned before sighing. "I'll be coming too, so long as I don't have to wear one of those sickly prissy dresses and can keep my hair as it is."
"Yeah, I would love to go to the wedding," cheered Alex. "It would be a lot of fun, right Andy?"
"You bet," Andrew nodded. "I think it's a rather splendid idea for all of us to attend the wedding."
Sansa grinned.
"I'd love to go to the wedding, and Clover would love to go as well." She said, before pointing to the still knocked out Clover.
"I must say, I am feeling nothing but gratification for attending a wedding," Jerry exclaimed. "It would be my duty, fulfillment and privilege to attend your wedding too."
"Wonderful, I am rather impressed," Margaery expressed joy and thrill. "I am overjoyed to know that you Starks and Americans have accepted my offer and the opportunity of a lifetime."
They all smiled with pleasure as Margaery turned her attention directly towards Sam, looking like she had a proposition for the redhead.
Margaery turned to Sam.
"I'd be delighted to have you come along too, Sam. I assume you were the one protecting Lancel?"
"I was."
"Then, you protected my future cousin in law, once removed. I'd be honored to have you."
"As I'd be delighted to see what a Westerosi wedding looks like!"
"Will you have a princess dress?"
All eyes fell on Janei, her bright big expressive eyes on the fiancée. Margaery smiled.
"I sure will! But the prettiest princess will be you."
Janei grinned and giggled, making Lancel softly smile. Sam's mind was racing. She had managed to do something about the feast. But she definitely had nothing to wear for a Westerosi wedding. She'd definitely need to ask Lancel about them and how they went.
A few minutes after Margaery talked to Sam, Cat cleared her throat.
"Well, I'm glad everybody enjoyed the feast, as well as the dessert." She smiled in gratitude to Dorna as she said the last part.
Ned nodded and then added. "Leave the cleaning up to us, the rest of you just stretch out, relax and chill."
Dorna immediately got up.
"My definition of relaxing and chilling is helping out whenever I'm invited somewhere. I'd be happy to give you a hand."
"Aunt Dorna is right." Jaime agreed.
"Yep, with more hands, it'll be clean in no time." Myrcella added as Tommen also gave a sign that he'd be willing to help too.
Defeated, Catelyn let them join her. Kevan sat by his brother's side and the two started to talk. Sam was too far to understand what they were discussing. Martyn was on the sofa, reading to Janei, with Willem listening nearby. Margaery had joined Lancel.
"Come and join us!" She told the American redhead.
Sam sat with them as a result.
"So, how is a Westerosi wedding?" The American asked.
"Pretty much like an American one," Lancel replied. "You have to be married at the town's city hall first. Then, if you want a religious wedding, you can do it. But be warned: in Westeros, we have so many faiths you could lose count!"
"Really?"
"Oh yes!" Margaery laughed.
"The most common faith is the one I follow, the faith of the Seven Gods. If you get married following this faith, you get married in a Sept. I know most people in the North keep with the Old Gods; they were worshiped before the Seven came around. They get married in front of a heart tree; the symbol of their religion. Back in the year 300, many people married in sight of the Old and of the New Gods, meaning two ceremonies."
"Are there other faiths here?" Sam inquired.
"Yes, but I'll be honest, I don't really know their culture very much..."
"I know the Dothrakis used to have feasts that lasted for days and killing people was a good omen actually. A Dothraki wedding without at least three deaths was considered a dull affair." Margaery explained.
"Do they keep with this?" Sam wondered.
"I'm not sure. But you wouldn't' meet many dothrakis here, they live across the Narrow Sea." She replied.
"You also have the faith in the Lord of Light," Lancel added. "And the Drowned God; He's worshipped in the Iron Islands."
"I wish I could take a year to come here and study your culture, it's so fascinating!" The spy sighed.
"If you do, you're welcome to stay at my place." Lancel offered.
As Sam, Margaery and Lancel continued to chat amongst each other, Robert really felt the need to sit down and relax; especially after the whole mishap with the Arbor Gold wine that he had consumed.
Robert turned to Robb, Jon, Bran and Rickon.
"If you fellas don't mind, I'd like to lie down. It should help me to relax after having too much of that wine."
"That works for me." Robb told him.
"It suits me too." Jon commented.
"I wouldn't mind relaxing." Bran explained.
Rickon nodded.
Soon, all four of them were on a large couch, with Rickon helping Robb to get Bran from his wheelchair.
"To be honest, I'm glad you're staying longer." Robb told Robert.
"Oh?" Robert was confused.
"We'd like to get to know more about you." Bran told him.
"Yeah, such as your relationship with Clover," Rickon commented.
Robert grinned.
"I'd be happy to."
As Robert got to talking to Sansa's brothers and cousin about himself and his relationship with Clover, Sansa wondered what she could do to help. The still knocked out Clover caught her eye.
I better get her cleaned up before the hangover kicks in. She thought.
"I'll get her to my room after I give her a hot shower. That should help with her hangover when it comes." Sansa explained.
She then managed to lift the blonde over her shoulders, surprised at how light she was. Her arms were around her neck like a necklace.
Her breath got the redhead's attention.
"Ugh, wine breath…" Sansa explained, trying not to gag.
She then carried Clover upstairs. Clover, on Sansa's back, started to mutter something.
"I want a sausage, mama…"
Here we go again… I wonder if she talks in her sleep often. Sansa thought, smiling a bit.
She soon got her to the bathroom and got the hot shower ready.
"You'll need this sweetie, trust me." She told Clover as she gently put her into the tub, treating her like she was a toddler…
XXXXX
Back downstairs, while Sansa was getting Clover washed and tidied like a toddler, Andrew and Gendry were wondering what they should do together.
"Well Gendry, since the feast is all done as is the dessert, what do you suppose we do now?" Andrew queried.
"Hmmm..." Gendry mused for a moment before grinning. "I know what we could do. It's a perfect idea. C'mon, it's up my um...guest room here."
Andrew looked shocked upon hearing that. With his cheeks turning red, Andrew decided to ask.
"Uh, w-what do you…have in mind, G-Gendry?" Andrew felt beads of sweat dripping down his forehead as his cheeks were rosy red, wondering where Gendry was going with this, and what he wanted to do with him.
"You like video games?" Gendry queried.
At that question, Andrew sighed in relief as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"Oh, well yes, I do like video games."
With that, they stood up and Gendry led the way to his room and as he did so he mentioned.
"You know there's actually a game you could help me with. We'd make a great team, so why don't we be video game partners?"
Feeling a lump in his throat, Andrew felt like that would be a great idea.
"I would love to have that," he gulped.
Gendry then asked. "So, you know about the latest...Time Crisis game?"
"I'm somewhat familiar with that game." Andrew replied.
"Great, we could play it together."
"I would love to play that game with you." Andrew said modestly, resulting in Gendry smirking towards him.
With that, they reached Gendry's room and he closed the door behind them giving them some privacy.
"Let the fun begin." Gendry remarked.
"Whew," Andrew let out a gasp that sounded warm before he replied. "You said it."
And they started to play the video game together side by side on the same bed…
XXXXX
While their boyfriends were in Gendry's guest room playing video games, Alex decided that she'd love to do something with Arya. Casually approaching her with that optimistic smile on her face, Alex proceeded on asking her.
"So Arya, now since we showed everyone your surprise new appearance, and since we've eaten the feast and dessert, what do you suppose we do together?" She asked her punk bestie.
Arya thought to herself for a moment, before a smirk slowly found its way over her face.
Hmm, now that's a thought…could be the best thing possible…I'm sure Alex will enjoy it. She thought to herself before speaking. "I have an idea for something we could do. C'mon, it's up in my room."
"Alright," Alex asked innocently. "What do you want to do in particular?"
"We should listen to music together." Arya replied, still smirking.
They began heading upstairs, Alex barely able to contain her excitement.
"That's awesome! What kind of music are we going to be listening to?" She asked her.
"It's sorta a cross between rock, metal and punk; one song in particular." Arya explained.
"What's the name of the song you have in mind?"
They reached the door to Arya's room before Arya triumphantly announced the name of the song.
"It's called Don't Mess with Me, and Brody Dalle sings it."
"Wow that sounds awesome. I look forward to listening to that song with you."
Entering Arya's room, closing the door behind them for some privacy Arya walked over to her iPod and the attached ear-buds.
It was at that moment Alex came up with something she'd love to do with Arya.
"Hey Arya," she queried. "Is it alright if we can do something together?"
"Oh, what's that?"
"Is it alright if we can headbang together while rocking out to the song?"
Arya couldn't help but laugh, smirking again. "That's actually a pretty cool idea since this is a great song for that."
"Thanks Arya," Alex smirked while chuckling. "Now let's rock out!"
"Oh you got it." Arya replied in agreement.
With that, they plugged in the earbuds and Arya turned the song on and they began enjoying the music, headbanging like a couple of metalheads listening to heavy metal or like two punks listen to punk rock…
XXXXX
While Alex and Arya were rocking out in Arya's room and Andrew and Gendry were playing their video game in Gendry's guest room, everybody else was downstairs. Most of them were taking it easy, like Sam, Margaery and Lancel who were talking together, as were Kevan and Tywin while the Lannister twins and Janei played. Robert was still talking with the Stark boys while Sansa was actually busy getting Clover sobered up. Meanwhile, her parents and Dorna were busy cleaning up in the kitchen, aided by Tommen, Myrcella and Jaime. All of them were looking forward to the wedding in the next couple of days and they could hardly wait to have fun. Their joy was hard-earned after such a harrowing mission and there was promise now of more joy to come…
END OF CHAPTER 10
Well, that's it for chapter 10 readers! With the story almost finished, we hope you enjoyed the chapter everyone!
Now as we promised, these are the prefaces that we each wrote for the chapter:
Boris Yeltsin:
Like before, I came up with dialogue for Robert and Clover, as well as Sansa, Jaime, Tywin, Tommen and Myrcella, and for this chapter, I also came up with dialogue for Jon, Rob, Bran and Rickon. The idea for the oyster eating contest being brought up was from me, and references a video clip I saw on the show TruTV Present's World's Dumbest. I also came up with the conversation on how awful Robert is at Poker. Brian, the blind WOOHP agent I came up with is inspired by me and how I am in real life. I came up with the bit for Jaime to mention how Jon is a cousin to the Starks through Ned's side of the family. I also came up with Clover and Robert being drunk from wine, and Sansa's warnings. Some of Robert's and Clover's lines, about Glen Coco and Fetch were based of lines from the comedy film Mean Girls. I also came up with most of the slurs for the drunk Robert and Clover, and had help from Parent12D with the lemon bit, a getting crap past the radar moment. I also came up with the idea for Robert to be sobered up via black coffee and aspirin, and for Clover to act childish when Sansa and Jon try to help her sober up. The bit with 'grab the can', came from a video I saw from TruTV Present's World's Dumbest, where a drunk guy, Scott had something similar happen to him after drinking too much. Lastly, I had the idea for Robert to have a hot shower to sober up, and Clover's sleep talking is a call back to an earlier chapter.
Assassin Master Ezio 91:
Well, once I again I worked out the parts for Arya, Gendry, Ned and Cat, I also came up with the surprise for Arya to display, the dyed blue hair, which, along with her new outfit were once again both inspired by Life is Strange, specifically Chloe Price. The dyed blue hair also drew inspiration from Arya's actress, Maisie Williams who once dyed her hair blue. I also helped Parent12D in regards to the frogs during the feast, explaining about the Neck and the residents of the neck. I came up with the video game for Andrew and Gendry to play as well in the guest room as well as the song for Arya and Alex to listen too along with their rocking out. I also handled most of the ending part as well as the usual proofreading.
Marina Ka-Fai:
So, for today's chapter, apart from my usual Sam/Lancel parts, I also took care of Lancel's three siblings, how Margaery and Sam interacted with one another. I provided help with proofreading, as usual. I also gave a hand regarding some world building: the sept, the dothrakis, Margaery's family explained, the French meals explained by Dorna (I was asked to because I actually am French) and with avoiding some continuity errors, such as explaining Sam went home with Lancel, instead of just having her appear out of nowhere.
Parent12D:
For this chapter, I handled my regular duties with handling Andrew and Alex's dialogue, as well as helping my comrades with their parts when they need it. Also, as listed above, I came up with the double entendre joke with lemons and cakes for Boris Yeltsin to work with and sneak in some adult humor at that part under the radar. I also worked with Assassin master ezio 91 on the parts like Andrew and Gendry drinking half a cup of vodka, Alex and Arya working on the surprise the latter wanted to show to everyone, both Andrew and Gendry shouting NO when offered Dornish wine, etc. Also, I came up with the idea that Andrew and Sam should say thank you in French (which Marina Ka-Fai approved of), Alex saying thanks in Spanish, and Robert saying thanks in German (which Boris approved of too). I also decided on Andrew and Gendry playing video games together alone in the guest room of Gendry, and also for Alex and Arya to rock out to the song of Assassin's choice, as well as wanting to have Alex and Arya headbang like a couple of metalheads. Also worth mentioning is the part where Andrew jokes that Arya (because her hair is entirely blue) should change her name to Marie. This part is a reference to the character Marie from Ed, Edd n' Eddy, whose hair is entirely blue. Lastly, aside from proofreading and handling the production of this chapter, the cat Andrew owns named Jumly was inspired by a tortoiseshell cat that I had own named Chumly, and the part where Jumly would eat pieces of white cheddar cheese and pieces of meat, was also inspired by how I always gave my cat pieces of white cheddar cheese and meat and she would always eat it. I had wanted to do this because my aforementioned cat Chumly had died over a month ago, on January 2nd, 2019.
Well with all of this having been announced, we really don't have much more that we want to say for this chapter. There really isn't much more to this story left as there seriously is only a couple of chapters left. Even though this has been fun for all four of us, it's unclear if us four writers will be doing another collaborative story together. We hope that it can happen in the near future, but until that happens, we humbly hope you'll enjoy the rest of this story, and we hope that you'll look forward to the next chapter!
Now only if you like, please be sure to leave behind a review for this chapter to let us know if you really like this story, or if there's something wrong with it and if we can do something to improve on said issues that could be present in this chapter. It's not important to us, so it's up to you readers.
With all that said and done, that's all we have for now! We hope that you'll enjoy the last couple of chapters left, and until the next one comes up, take care and thank you again for reading readers!