Hey guys this chapter is a fast forward chapter. It'll have snippets of Harry's life.
294 AC – Dragonstone
~HARRY~
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose as a headache that had been building for hours assaulted him. Half a dozen old men stood in front of him, various ledgers and documents in hand. They all believed their issues more important than the next, while Harry thought all their concerns were inanely simple to fix. They were most times. But, his advisors were all trying to curry his favor, had been since his and Yara's business had taken off.
He wasn't there when she called a meeting of the Houses on the Iron Islands, only her words and letters to know how it went. The meeting was long, taking two and a half moons before they concluded. Yara had been most passionate about their venture and convinced four Houses to invest: Houses Harlaw, Goodbrother of Old Wyk, Botley, and Blacktyde. Apparently, it had something to do with throwing axes and insults.
It sounded like something she would have done and she had gotten results, so Harry didn't question her too much about it.
Harry had been surprised when House Greyjoy offered nothing; she was Balon's daughter. But, he should not have been surprised. Not every family was as close as his was. In fact, the relationship between Balon and Yara had gotten worse with her supposed betrayal to her blood. Harry did not know if Balon expected Yara to kill him for taking her brother's life instead of helping him start the business.
The lords contributed ten ships with men to crew and 5,000 gold dragons each. A small sum and amount of men, but it was better than nothing. An agreement of only a fifteen-percent tax as well as a promise to pay their initial invests within five years. Harry had promised to pay if the business had done well. He had Yara make it abundantly clear that their merchant fleet was a risk. There was always the chance that they all made no coin. That the venture could fail. The mention of risk and the promise of greater riches than they could make raiding, only made them all the more eager.
The greatest risks yielded the best rewards after all.
His father had reacted as Harry had expected, very pleased that he had a workable idea to make their House great. Also as Harry had predicted, Stannis had used managing a business as good practice for when Harry would be lord of Dragonstone one day. He had given Harry command of 30 ships and invested 20,000 gold dragons and sent word to hire learned men who knew of economics and commerce. Harry had been grateful at first, glad that he would have men more intelligent than him to not only start the business, but also keep it thriving. He had been happy until they had started to give him daily headaches.
There were always problems, problems that they should have been able to handle themselves. He had delegated their tasks to them, told them to bring him weekly reports at their meetings so they could go over important details. He also set time aside each day for ONE of them to teach him how they did their jobs, so he may better understand.
The first few moons had been well enough, with only a handful coming to him before the weekly meetings with issues. But, after six moons, they were at him like he was a steak and they hungry dogs. He had half a mind to dismiss half of them, so he would only have half the headache. But, the business was still too new. It needed constant attention. The kind of attention he was still not learned enough to give it himself.
In addition, Yara had brought up the fact that they could create more business if they reconstructed Dragonstone to become merchant friendly. They could set up a bazaar, rent the space to merchants who would rather trade in Dragonstone than transverse throughout the Seven Kingdoms. In order to make the area more hospitable they could construct taverns, inns, and brothels. They would have others run the business for decent wages, but Harry and Yara would own the business proper.
It was an idea Harry whole-heartedly agreed with, because after only a year business was good. They were well on their way into making Dragonstone an unofficial trading hub between west and east. Merchants traveling stopped at Dragonstone to resupply or to rest their sea-wary legs before making their way to the ports of King's Landing. He would still have need of his annoying advisors until everything was settled. Internally, Harry knew that it would only be a few years, but he still dreaded them. Thoughts of swinging his sword at them were becoming more graphic and more of a real threat.
They were quieted as the door to his study opened and Harry peered around one of his advisors to see why.
Yara.
She had only gotten more beautiful after they had gotten married. Her wind-chafed skin had cleared even more, partly due to them staying at Dragonstone to get their business off the ground, and her legs had gotten even longer. He was pleased to say that her arse had not lost any of its firmness after spending so much time on land. Hours a day at the training yard with him, Muirgen, and Mya made sure they all stayed in good health. Well, aside from the bruises. Her breasts had grown slightly, not becoming obscene, but slightly bigger than they were before. His hand was comfortably filled with them.
Harry and Yara had developed a friendly disposition towards each other and got along as well as a husband and wife could in their position. They trained together, ate together, discussed every matter relevant to their business, and fucked like rabbits. He would have been surprised that she was not with child yet, but knew that she routinely drank moon tea when he spilled inside of her. It was both their decision to avoid having children for the time being.
His mother had not been pleased when he had 'allowed' Yara to wear what made her comfortable or that he and Muirgen were teaching her to fight. She complained that it wasn't what respectable ladies did. But, Harry didn't care. He had given Yara his word that he would see her happy. If swinging around an axe and holding a shield made Yara happy, then so be it. Selyse was also put out at not having been made a grandmother yet. She thought her good-daughter barren, but Harry assured her that children were in their future. He avoided adding that it just wasn't in the near future. They already had a child, their company, and that demanded a lot of their attention.
When it wasn't on the business, it was on each other. A small reward to his mother that he and Yara got along well. She just could not wrap her mind around the fact he enjoyed a woman who acted like a man. He just told her he would see his wife happy and his mother would quit the subject for a few weeks, until Yara had done or said something that caused his mother to start again.
He often wondered how long the equilibrium Yara and him would last when she finally learned of Arianne. Harry knew it would only be a matter of time before Yara started to question why he went to Dorne so often a year and why he stayed so long. She hadn't yet and Harry was not going to volunteer the information for the sake of the peace they had.
Whenever he returned, she would have had her lust pent up for as long as he had been gone and would attack him as soon as he landed. His parents had been none to pleased by their public display of affection, but Harry personally thought they were just envious.
"Leave." Harry heard Yara command. The advisors blustered at being dismissed so off-handedly, before looking to him to correct her. He didn't, just leaned back into his chair and watched, no doubt in his mind at the amusement that would follow. They did not know how grateful he was for Yara's timely intervention.
"My husband grows tired of grown men looking to him to do their jobs. You are paid good coin to handle these things yourselves." She said, leaning against the wall.
"Keep find yourselves wanting and you will be cut."
"The word you looking for is 'released', my lady." A portly man sneering with thinly veiled arrogance. But, Yara just stood to her full height. Not as impressive as the man's, but she was certainly more intimidating.
"No, releasing you from your service never crossed my mind. I meant cut," She replied with a malicious smirk, fingering the axe at her hip lovingly. It took everything Harry had not to burst into laughter. Not because she looked funny, but because he knew she would do it. Maybe not kill them, but 'accidentally' take a finger, sure, that sounded like Yara.
"I won't repeat myself." Yara held open the door to his study and nodded at them to leave. They couldn't stumble out fast enough. Before the last one could even get fully through the door she slammed it shut, hitting the straggler in the rear, and earned an indignant yelp. He couldn't hold it any longer so Harry let out his laugh softly, pleased that Yara smirked along.
She rarely allowed herself to show her smile. Harry appreciated it when she did. His wife was beautiful on many occasions. When they trained in the yard, she was beautiful in her fury and determination. When they fucked she was passionate and uninhibited, wonton in with lust. When she sailed Yara had a contented kind of beauty, serene. But, she was so much more beautiful when she smiled. He may not love her, but he did hold some measure of affection for her.
"How did the trip to the Iron Bank go?" He asked after his laughter had subsided.
Their first year of business had just ended and they had left over coin. A percentage of their retained earnings went to his father and the lords of the Iron Islands who had invested, paying a small portion of their initial investment and their fair share of profits. The crews were paid by their respective lords, which meant Harry only had to pay the men of the Prayer. Another percentage they invested into having more ships built to further expand their business. The last of it was theirs to keep. Harry had suggested using what they had to make Yara her own ship as he had promised her before they were married. But, his wife was a smart one.
Yara had said it was better for them to use what money they had and invest with the Iron Bank. They would give loans to other merchants through the bank. The bank would invest their coin in solid ventures for a fee; while Harry and Yara got their initial invest with interest in a number of years to be determined by the bank and the loaning party. They would also buy property across the sea and rent the space to other business owners. It would create another source of steady revenue. Summer had lasted years and when winter came it would be just as long. Trade would be much more scarce when winter hit. A good source of steady income was a good idea.
Harry knew that his wife missed sailing, as they did not sail as much as she would have liked, and asked her to take the left over gold to the Iron Bank. He had expected her to take her time, enjoy the sea, and maybe even take a detour. But, she had returned much earlier than he had expected. Which was why he had not set a watch to look for her ship and why he was not down at the port to greet her.
He was jolted from his thoughts when his chair was slid across the stone floor of his study. Yara had dragged him from behind his desk to have enough room to straddle him. Her hands curled into his hair, a position it always seemed to find, and tilted his head just enough for her to capture his lips. It honestly surprised him. She had not been gone that long, a week, yet she tore at him as when he returned from Dorne after a moon's time.
But, he returned her harsh affections with equal measure. They had been together as husband and wife for a year and Harry knew what Yara liked. It helped that she was very vocal about exactly what she wanted.
"The bank, Yara." Harry said, moving to her neck to lavish it in his attention. He wanted her mouth free to talk.
"Ugh, it went well," Yara moaned as she gripped his hair tighter and steered him, "They took their fee. The bastards wanted another one when the sums were to be paid, but I convinced them to charge the borrower that interest." She pulled him away from her neck and again claimed his lips. Harry allowed it to continue for a few moments before pulling a way. No easy feat considering that she was easily making his loins stir, but he would rather get business out of the way than tend to it later. She was not pleased at him pulling away and yanked at him to bury her face into his neck.
"How'd you manage to do that?" He groaned as she bit at his flesh and ground against him through his pants.
"Told them they would make more money if the interest was against the borrow per year than a single fee against us." Yara replied between her attentions to his skin.
Harry dropped the subject, satisfied enough with the answer, and roughly groped at her arse and teat. It was not 'making-love' with them. Yara enjoyed fucking like she fought: roughly. It was a battle between them, one that led to a mutually agreeable ending, but a battle nonetheless.
She was not the type to moan meekly as if embarrassed or allow him his way. He had to take her, make her bend and move the way he wanted. And she did not make it easy. Yara clawed and fought just as hard, determined to be the one to dominate him. It wasn't out of humiliation. That's what made it fun to her.
Though, he could have gone without the marks that made it look like he had been attacked by a wild animal. After a night together, Harry was covered in claw and bite marks. But, he couldn't complain too much, as he marked her with bruises from his sucking and imprints of his fingers at her hips, thighs, and wrists.
"You're particularly amorous. What brought this on? You've only been gone a week." He asked, lifting her unto his desk. Yara wrapped her long legs around his and pulled him into her, hands on his arse with an appreciative squeeze and grin.
"What? Can a wife not want her husband?" She challenged, ending her question with a gnashing of her teeth against his bottom lip.
"Now shut the fuck up, I'm busy here." Yara growled. Harry chuckled, but ultimately surrendered.
He wanted her happy after all.
295 AC Dorne
~ARIANNE~
Her back was to her bedmate as he rained down kisses on her shoulder. She could feel it through the thin silk she wore. Arianne should have been more in the mood, been more up to the occasion. He was adequate, attentive to her needs and always enthusiastic. However, the longer she went on with him, the more she found him lacking.
She wanted to lie to herself. Say that she was just getting bored with him, that he was no longer pleasing to her. And it wouldn't have been a total lie.
He did not longer please her.
The stirring she felt for him had muted. She could still come to orgasm with him; use him as she saw fit to bring herself pleasure. But, as time went on her eyes had to be closed more often and he had to be quieter and quieter. If he so much as grunted too loudly, then she would have to start over. Her fantasy would be shattered as reality came crashing down on her.
It had been many moons since Arianne figured out why he could not please her anymore.
He's not Harry.
It was a truth she hated.
Not that she blamed him or even herself. They were creatures of their circumstances. Harry would always be a Baratheon and her father would never agree to such a union. Even, if he did it would have been too late. Harry would rule Dragonstone one day and regardless of what her father said, she would rule Dorne. Neither of them could give that up. And she would never ask him to. His love for his family was too high for him to even consider it.
There was also the pesky fact that he was already married.
Arianne could have cared less that Harry was married. He never brought up work and never mentioned his wife while they were together. When they were in Dorne, they could be as lovers were. Nothing mattered but the two of them. But, that did not mean she missed him any less when he was gone.
She knew he had to go, accepted it long ago, but that did not bother her any less. He did the best he could juggling his life on Dragonstone, his business, and her. She truly knew that. Arianne knew he came as often as he could, but it was hard to be satisfied with him visiting only a few weeks every few moons.
She wasn't jealous of the Greyjoy. The girl could never compare to her when it came to looks from what she had heard from rumors, never compare to her in the bedchambers, because she was Dornish for the sake of the Seven, and the squid would never truly have Harry's heart. She couldn't. The girl was of salt and iron. Rough. Harry needed someone soothing and warm.
He needed her.
But, Arianne knew she would be lying if she did not admit that she was slightly envious that Harry spent most of his time with the Greyjoy.
Arianne pulled away from her bedmate when a knock came at her chamber door. She pulled the silk dress around her shoulders up, ignored the puzzled sound from her company, and opened it.
"Hello, cousin. What brings you here?" She greeted her cousin Tyene politely as she could with her troubling thoughts. The blonde girl's smile dropped slightly at her fake smile.
"Well, I had a present for you. But, I don't know if I want anymore considering the rather poor welcome for your favorite cousin." Tyene teased with a pout.
"Cousin, I love you and normally, I would love to banter, but I do not find myself in the mood at the moment."
Tyene peered over Arianne's shoulder and saw the man on the bed. She could see her cousin struggling to contain her smirk. No doubt Tyene thought Arianne about to lie with him. She wouldn't have been wrong minutes ago, but there was no more inclination left in her to do so.
"I can see why," Tyene said before lowering her voice, "Since you seem to be busy, you probably won't have time to read this."
She held up a roll of parchment so close to Arianne's face it took a moment for the princess to notice the seal. When she did, Arianne snatched the letter from her cousin's hands like a snake. As she was about to open it, Tyene coughed slightly and nodded towards the man on her bed.
"You may go, Damien. I no longer have need of you."
"What? Are you all right? Has something happened?" Ser Damien Sand questioned, confused. It was sweet, but Arianne did not have the patience for it. She merely held open the door and shooed him out, not bothering to answer his questions. He went, but disgruntled and half dressed. Not that it mattered to Arianne. He was a convenient distraction, a person to satisfy her. Nothing more. If he did not want to come to her anymore after that, then she could always find another.
If I even want another.
At the start, Harry was forbidden fruit. He had only been asked to stay with them out of decorum. It was expected for her father to invite visiting lords into his keep. Harry had walked in, smiling brightly and looking pretty. He was beautiful when he smiled at her with his eyes shimmering. Then, she had seen him in the training yard.
It was like watching a wild animal fight, ferocious yet methodical. Arianne had not remembered a time when someone younger than Obara had put her through her paces. He quickly became a puzzle she wanted to solve. A contradiction: furious and calm. Gentle, yet so dangerous. That fact he was the most forbidden thing, a Baratheon, only made him all the more appealing. She had not lied to him when she had said she wanted him as soon as she saw him. Arianne did, if only to bend him to her will. The irony of their situation…
She had never expected to fall in love with him.
Love, she snorted internally, what a sap I have become.
"What does it say?" Tyene asked over her shoulder, after closing the door.
Arianne scanned the message, Harry's pretty scrawl strewed across the small raven letter. As she went word after word a smile could found itself widening on his face. A smile that did not go unnoticed by her cousin who poked her in the side. She squeaked in surprise, whipping around to glare at her cousin.
"What does it say?"
"He sails to Dorne." Arianne said carefully rolling up the letter.
She should have been happy he was coming back. And she was, but knew that even as he came, he would have to leave again. Arianne wanted to smack herself. She was the one who had initiated it, told him that they could go on the way they did. Their separation was supposed to help her let him go, while enjoying him the times he was in Dorne. But, all it served to do was make her want him more. It was knowing that no matter how hard she wanted something, people where keeping it from her. It made her crave it even more.
She could have any man or woman in Sunspear, but the one she yearned for would never truly be hers. It nearly drove her mad. She wasn't supposed to be the one yearning for him. He was supposed to want her when he discovered what a frigid shrew his wife was, lose himself to his passion when around Arianne.
The gods damn irony…
Arianne wondered if her father felt how she did when her mother had left. She wondered if it wasn't his disease that kept him from taking other women to his bed, but his heart. Sex was a great thing, but he abstained from it even though his gout was manageable. Her uncle Oberyn had many bed partners, many lovers that he shared with Ellaria. He was so confident and powerful, a man she could look up to. But, she was starting to question of whether or not it was her father, her ever-loyal father she should have been looking up to. He stayed true to her mother even though he could have had his pick of any woman in Dorne. Arianne had never understood that.
But, she was beginning to.
295 AC
~MYA~
Mya looked to her liege lord, standing at the bow of the ship as they sailed back home. He had spent nearly three weeks in Dorne, spending every waking moment with Princess Arianne and the Sand Snakes. It was not the first time she had gone with him and Mya knew it would not be the last.
She could not help think him hypocritical.
Harry was a good man, a good lord. He had bought her weapons and armor and with Muirgen's help, taught her how to use them. He never complained about her asking him to train even when he was really busy; Harry always made time for her. She was his squire and he taught her things she needed to be a good knight.
That's where his hypocrisy came in.
For someone who took honor and oaths so seriously, Harry had a funny way of showing it. He had a wife waiting for him at Dragonstone, but he still took trips to Dorne to spend 'time' with Princess Arianne. She knew she owed him her loyalty and it was given, but that did not mean she didn't judge him for his actions. It did soften her opinion slightly to know he was conflicted about his choices. He always stood at the bow of the ship when they sailed back from Dorne, always wanting to be alone with his thoughts. Mya had to give him that much.
"What is rolling around in that head of yours girl?" She nearly jumped out of her skin when Muirgen approached her unheard. For such a tall and strapping woman, she was oddly quiet.
"You said that we do not judge, but can question our lord right?" Mya asked, still remembering how Muirgen acted the first time to Dorne. She was very careful about speaking against Harry after the incident.
"Aye, he won't begrudge us our questions. Encourages them even, always looking for a different angle he is. Ask your question and speak plainly." Muirgen replied, sitting on a crate of Dornish wine.
"Harry takes loyalty serious yes?"
"Aye."
"Then how can he continue to lay with Princess Arianne when he is already married? Does that not go against the vows he took before the gods on his wedding day?"
Mya turned to prepare herself for the onslaught that the taller woman would no doubt give her. There was no one more loyal to Harry than Muirgen, no one who would take it as an affront to their own personal honor if someone spoke ill of him. Mya couldn't blame her, she respected Harry too, would be loyal to him for all he had done, but that didn't mean she didn't have her own opinions or questions.
She was surprised when Muirgen just smiled understandingly.
"He doesn't believe in the gods, so what good are the vows he makes to them?"
That had not been the answer Mya had been expecting.
"What about honor and loyalty?" She struggled to ask, not quite wrapping her head around Muirgen's first answer. The woman just laughed at her second question.
"How exactly has he compromised his honor?" Muirgen asked with an amused grin.
"Well, he…he's lying with a woman not his wife," She sputtered before lowering her voice. The men of the Prayer were also loyal to Harry. They would not like her questioning him when it was only over the fact that Harry slept around. Some of the men probably did too. They would see it as nothing to gripe over. Sleeping around was just what men did.
But, she didn't buy that. Harry spoke of honor, loyalty, and duty. He forsook all three every time he 'visited' the Princess of Dorne.
"What of it," Muirgen shrugged, "I do not know of him promising Yara that she would be the only woman to grace his bed. She is a Greyjoy. They are no strangers to saltwives. Not that Lord Harry thinks of Arianne as such, but the sentiment still stands."
"But-"
Muirgen shook her head at the young squire and moved over on her crate to have the girl sit down. She waited until Mya did to continue.
"I can understand your thinking, but you are disillusioned with tall tales they speak of knights. The only vows that Harry has made to his lady, the only ones that matter, are that he would see her happy. He promised her gold, power, and his best to see her happy. Does she not look happy when you see her?"
Mya thought about the question. Yara did look happy. She had more privileges than other ladies. She sailed, had equal say in the business she shared with Harry, and trained, as she wanted. There was nothing that Yara would want that Harry had not given to her. Mya could only nod her head, not accepting that his behavior was acceptable.
"So how has he broken his honor or his loyalty to her? He completes all the duties expected of him as a husband. To be honest he does more. He actually cares for her happiness. But, you must remember that for all of it, our lord is still human. He has feelings of his own. He has affection for Yara, but he cares for Arianne as well. Yara is his duty and he completes it well. Arianne is where his heart goes . Denying one's heart tends to cause grave wounds that one could never recover from. Can you honestly say that you would do differently?"
Mya's throat became dry at the question. She could not honestly say. A part of her wanted to say 'yes', to say that she was better than that. Better than Harry. But, even as she thought it, Mya knew it was a lie. She could not say for certain.
. They were the closest things she had to matters of the heart. Muirgen was her family and she had sworn both of them to Harry. That was why is was so hard for her to not see him as perfect, for him to not hit the standard she had set for him.
Harry had always seemed so…just and confident. But, with every trip, he fell even lower in her eyes. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but did it anyways.
At least, that's what Mya had thought.
She was not so sure anymore. Muirgen's words had made sense. It wasn't as if Harry had chosen to marry Yara and abandoned her. He was forced into his marriage. He did his duty for family and the peace of the realm. But, even so, he did care for her and took care of her. They held no love for each other, was it so wrong that he sought love elsewhere?
Mya ran a hand down her face. She had started resolute, but her beliefs came into question.
"Do you think he'd stop seeing the princess if his wife asked him to?" She asked, not knowing what else to do. Muirgen looked to roll the question in her mind for a moment before shrugging.
"I don't know for certain. Our lord is stubborn, but dutiful. If she asked, I have no doubt it would cause him mental anguish. But, ultimately, yes, I think he would do his best to stay away."
"What? He would fly across the sea and trip into the princess's bed?" Mya scoff, which had Muirgen laughing so hard she needed to lean on something lest she fall to the deck of the ship.
"You know what your problem is girl," Muirgen asked as she righted herself, "you have this standard that you hold our lord to. He's to be some paragon of virtue, chivalry, and that other tripe that children hear."
"Is he not supposed to be? He speaks of-" Mya was cut off as Muirgen waved her hand dismissively.
"All great men are just men, just as we are just woman. You think all those stories, the people in them did not have shortcomings, did not have vices. History forgets such things in the name of greatness. Even Balor the Blessed had something wrong with him I'm sure." Muirgen said casually, as if she did not serve him like he was a paragon of knighthood.
"And that is okay with you? You, who serve him more faithfully than most septons worship the Seven, are okay that he is just a man?"
Muirgen's face grew severe at Mya's question, humor gone from her.
"I know Harry is just a man," Mya had never heard Muirgen refer to Harry as anything other than her Lord, she knew the subject had just become serious, "But, he's a better man than most; a more loyal and honorable man than most. He has done more for the people around him than most. Aye, our lord is not perfect. No one is. But, he is closer to it than any other I have ever met. I am not so old, but even I know that when you have something better than most, you do not let it go for what you believe to be greener pastures. Think about were you would be if not for him. Truly, think and show me that space between your ears is not empty."
Mya did not have to think. She knew where she would be if Harry had not taken her in. At best, she would work and toil for a wage. It was something she could see herself doing, maybe enjoying. It was the worst that Mya did not like. At worst, she would have resorted to whoring for coin, for food, and shelter. That was something that Mya could not see herself doing, but she doubted many whores aimed to have that life.
"I see you know. So, answer me this. You prefer that or this," Muirgen said, waving her hand to the ship, "You have traveled, you learned to fight, you own good armor, and live in a castle. You have never gone hungry or thirsty. How many bastard girls do you know can say the same?"
All she could do was nod. She knew the answer: a handful at best. Bastard girls did not become squires or knights and certainly did not become ladies. They became wives to farmers, to blacksmiths, to fishermen, or became whores. It was hard to see all that since Mya had become a squire and would one day become a Dame, just like Muirgen.
One day.
"You have fallen into a trap than many more intelligent that you have plummeted into. You choose to see everything wrong, rather than all the good."
"It is easiest the see the mar of blackness, no matter how small, against the white." Mya said. Muirgen smiled at her analogy.
"Aye, nothing is immune to dirt and dust. If you truly notice all that, then take a step back. Sometimes we must step back to clearly see how astonishing something is."