Dragons and Thrones: Rising Tensions – Breaking of Bonds

Chapter 9 of my crossover story, enjoy.

Reviews

Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; glad you liked them, of course Arya is now stuck in a frustrating situation.
Boris Yeltsin: Yeah, that's true :)
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Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin. Dragon Age belongs to Bioware.

Solas

The Elven Mage, Solas let out a slow careful breath. Following everything that had occurred during the Venatori siege of Winterfell, including the kidnapping of Bran Stark and Solas rescuing him with the help of Meera Reed, he was yet to meet the actual Lord of Winterfell.

'Lord Eddard Stark is yet to return from the war front, yet from what I hear, he is on his way back.' Solas pondered to himself. 'I can only wait until he returns, to explain to him my purpose here...I wonder, the source of that strange magic I've been detecting, I am certain now who it is, but I must ensure that this will be...peaceful. I would rather avoid any...questionable actions for now.'

He continued to think, but it was difficult for him to do so, due to there being so many people talking. Politely excusing himself from Robb and Bran Stark, his hosts, he stood from the table and left the Great Hall. Seeking somewhere quiet to be alone with his thoughts, Solas made his way out of the entrance hall too and finally, found refuge in the stables.

The grooms and stable boys were all busy elsewhere, the horses remained calm as he walked past. He stopped at the end of the stables and sat down on a low stool, his back to the stable doors.

Closing his eyes he began to ponder, enjoying the peace and quiet as he sorted out his thoughts.

As he considered what happened he noted. 'The question now is...how do I go about this? Lord Stark is hopefully the same as the other people I've met here. Things are not perfect, but my people have a...greater life here, than anywhere else I've seen.'

He couldn't deny he was surprised at what he saw. It was confusing, especially after seeing so much subjugation of his people. With a sigh he ran a hand over his shaved scalp and narrowed his eyes. He had to think things through, after all, this certainly put a new perspective which could affect his plan. Nevertheless, he had other things to consider too.

'I was guided here, the Fade showed me the way. I now know my purpose of being here, but I need to ensure that I can fulfill that purpose, without causing discord here.' He noted to himself.

It was at that moment he realized he wasn't alone, someone was present in the stables, approaching him slowly. Instantly every nerve, ever muscle, every sense was alert and he quickly leapt up, spinning around, his staff ready.

He stopped, the figure was no threat, it was simply a young woman, seven and ten, with brown hair and eyes. Her eyes were currently wide and she seemed startled, frightened even, no doubt due to his reaction.

He slowly relaxed and put his staff away. He did his best to be calm and reassuring.

"I am sorry if I frightened you." He said reasonably. "I have had to live my life constantly looking over my shoulder, therefore I could never be too careful."

She smiled softly and nodded. "I...I understand; but, you'll be safe here, the people of Winterfell will make sure of that."

Solas sighed. "Maybe, maybe not...I'm sorry, you are…?"

"Oh, I'm Jeyne Poole." She replied at once, noticeably blushing. "You, probably met my father, Vayon, the steward?"

Solas nodded; he recalled meeting the man, briefly.

Jeyne tilted her head as she stepped a little closer. "What did you mean by, maybe, maybe not?"

"The castle is safe, the people here helpful...but don't forget what happened during the siege...to Bran?"

Jeyne nodded slowly. "Oh, yes, that was terrible. But you saved him and helped us all."

Solas couldn't help but be uncomfortable, his caution returned as he noted her obviously being impressed.

He shook his head. "I did not do so alone, do not forget that Lady Meera helped me save Bran."

She sighed but nodded.

"Yes, that, that's true..."

There was silence for a moment; allowing Solas to gather his thoughts.

Finally after a moment of silence Jeyne spoke.

"I'm sorry, I'm making you uncomfortable." She said. "Let's talk about something else."

Solas raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

Jeyne thought for a moment. "I was wondering; you can do magic right?"
He nodded.

"Great, perhaps, perhaps you could...do you think you could teach me, any of your spells?" She asked excitedly.

He sighed and shook his head. "I am sorry, that will be impossible. Magic is not something that can simply be taught and is also very dangerous...You have to be born with it and it requires incredible discipline and caution."

She started at that but then nodded. "I...I see...You're not like any Elf I've ever seen?"

Solas allowed himself a small smile. "Is that so?"

"No, I've seen the Elves that live with us here in Winterfell and some of those Elves that live out in the woods...Dalish?" She explained, he nodded to confirm the name.

Now he understood. "I am not surprised; the City Elves, the ones who you see living in Winterfell; they allowed themselves to be subjugated by humans and ended up enslaved, even when freed from slavery, they were still treated as worse than dirt. They forgot what it truly meant to be Elves. So too did have the Dalish however, they go around claiming they are 'True Elves', that they honor the ancestors and refuse to give up their freedom."

He shook his head, darkly at this.

"They are deluded, insulting the ancestors when they claim to honor them, using half-forgotten rituals and marking their faces with vallaslin, the tattoos on their faces, to show freedom, when those very tattoos were used in ancient times to mark slaves."

He sighed and looked over at Jeyne again, realizing he was getting carried away.

She was looking at him with wide eyes, and actually seemed to have moved closer to him. A little too close he felt.

"I am sorry, when I get talking about history...I get carried away and..."

Jeyne bit her lip. "That's, that's alright, I just...That sounded remarkable; but what about you, are you not…?"

Solas shook his head. "I am neither Dalish, nor a City Elf. I...walk a different path."

Jeyne seemed disappointed by his vague answer but he did not elaborate, that was all he could reveal. There was a brief pause before suddenly, apparently acting spontaneously, Jeyne moved even closer and, before Solas knew it, her lips were against his.

He nearly stumbled back in shock at this but recovered himself. Hi shock left him unable to resist at first, but he quickly recovered and pushed her off. She stumbled back, staring at him.

"You should not have done that." He said at once.

She shook her head. "What, no, Solas I…Please, I..."

He turned away. "This cannot go any further; you must forget what happened. It would be heartless and cruel for something like this to continue."

Jeyne let out a gasp of dismay, tears in her eyes. She shook her head again, but when he did not reply, she turned and fled. Solas sighed; this was going to get even more complicated it seemed.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.

Well, well, all I can say here is, while it won't be a pairing obviously, first Beric, now Solas, seems Jeyne has a thing for older men :)