Rise of Silverpine chapter 29
I do not own ASOIF or Warcraft
Jaime and Myrcella were in her room, the girl rummaging through her trunk, all her belonging stuffed inside. The usual Lannister guards were dismissed by the former kingsguard, the duo having to prepare in secret for their quest. The older man still had trouble fully comprehending everything, a part of him almost somehow believing that any second now the girl before him will give up, yet that hope dwindled as every second ticked away slowly, the small smile not dropping from Myrcella's face.
"Am… uncle… turn around." Almost silently said the princess, snapping Jaime out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" he responded, confused, not having really been paying attention, his eyes looking yet not seeing.
"I need to change…" she said. The knight simply nodded and turned, his mind calming and reeling into gear.
"So, do you have any idea where to start? We cannot simply waltz out of the castle into the middle of winter with no idea of direction." He questioned.
"Well… Tyr was a titanic watcher… or a child of the titans, different books say different things. I think we should start by looking for something…titanic?" she almost questioned.
"Titanic? That's rather general. How would something big be of help to us?"
"Not big, but build by the titans, uncle." The girl responded in laughter. "I heard that dwarves recovered some tablets or codexes or something from an abandoned titan city in Northrend. I remember Magni, the Ironforge king saying that his brother was working on deciphering then, but that they were much more complicated than usual inscriptions."
"You think that those… things can hold the secret to that hammer?" questioned Jaime.
"I don't know, but I rather doubt it."
"So…. Then what?"
"Well… there is Tyr's hand in the eastern Plaguelands, but I think it is just an honorary name." she paused for a moment, heavily grunting trying to pull up pants that were a size smaller then she would have preffered, but the girl did not have that much options to work with.
"Going back to titans, they had three cities. All were Ul…something. One is locked and pretty far away. One is under Dark Iron control, which leaves only the one in Northrend."
"Northrend… that one place even colder than the North?" Jaime said, his tone bordering on disbelief. It was already winter and the girl was planning on going to an even colder place.
"And done!" happily said Myrcella, the kingsguard about to turn to her before a knock on the door interrupted them. For a moment they both felt a strange sense of fear grip them, almost as if they were doing something wrong before Myrcella snapped out of it and moving to answer the door. The Lannister then got a good look at her and her new attire. The dress was swapped for thick brown trousers and equally thick grey doublet, what looked like at least one undershirt hidden underneath. A pair of gloves stood, awaiting on the bed, along with a fur hood with a long cloak, all of this attire making the knight wonder just how long had she been preparing for this. He even caught the sight of a small handle, barely large enough for a small sword. A dagger, perhaps? His mussing was broken by the door been opened, Elida standing awkwardly there. She made no indication of Myrcella not wearing what a lady should, instead formally speaking to them both.
"Her grace would like to speak to both of you in her solar." She simply stated. Myrcella and Jaime shared an uneasy look before the princess asked.
"When would her grace like for us to speak?"
"As soon as possible." Was the simple response.
Sharing another glance, the golden-haired duo began following the petite elf to where the queen presumably was. They went back down the hall where the two of them previously were, Jaime appearing relaxed while Myrcella appeared as a child that was caught doing something she was not supposed to. The girl was even conscious about her clothing, all of a sudden, trying to straighten it, to fix it, to make it more presentable in any shape or form.
They eventually arrived at an unassuming door, the elf giving a quick knock, more of a mean of announcement rather than asking for a permission to enter before swinging the door open and entering, the Lannister and Baratheon following suit.
Scanning the room, Jaime found it surprisingly comfortable despite been, for all intent and purposes, a solar, a workplace. There were two large desks, one completely empty and one stacked with books and papers. There were several chairs before each desk and more around the sides of the room. Two large windows illuminated the room while a fire softly cracked, offering warmth in the cold winter day. There was something akin to a dinning table, rather small at that, in the middle of the room, unlit candlesticks standing idly on it.
Jaime idly noticed Elida going to the side of the room towards the fire before taking a seat in a high-back chair and picking up an open book that was left lying on a small stand next to the chair. Instead, the Lannister focused his attention on the red-headed queen, the girl standing behind her desk, the one filled with books and papers, and her white-haired mentor, the one that the Lannister always had trouble remembering the name of, sitting close by.
Whereas the Stark girl gave the two of them her usual look, impassiveness with borderline annoyance, the elder mage had a knowing smile on her face and her eyes alit with mirth. Silence rained in for a while before the red-head spoke up.
"Do you have any idea just what you are about to do?" she asked in a monotone voice.
"Your grace?" idly questioned Myrcella, trying to act innocent.
"Did you really think I don't know what is going on in my own castle?" the queen questioned.
The princess bowed her head down, for a moment actually forgetting that she had in fact done absolutely nothing wrong. Jaime, on the other hand, adorned a scowl on his features. While the queen was scowling then in her strange manner, the elder mage intoned with a smile.
"You were quite loud, dear. I think the entire castle heard you. What was it again? 'We will find the Silver hand! That is our quest!'?" she questioned, the merriment never leaving her face, causing Myrcella to flush a deep scarlet.
"What do you expect will happen when your families get a wind of this? What do you think they will say, do?" exclaimed suddenly Sansa.
"What do you want US to say to them? Oh, and by the way, your princess and her uncle have decided to go on a possibly suicidal quest all by themselves. How do you think Tywin Lannister will react?" there was a pause, no one daring to speak, the kind of man that was the current Hand been well known to all present, the silence only been broken by the sound of turning pages, Elida continuing to nonchalantly read her book despite the ongoing scene behind her.
Jaime, despite knowing deep down that the queen was right, continued to glare at her. She, in turn, was focused on Myrcella.
"I used to be like any other lady, dreaming of knights and chivalry and court plays. Now, nomatter how hard my life is, I will never go back to Westeros to play the part of the docile girl." Sansa paused. "I understand how you feel, wanting to be something more, but please, think of the consequences!"
"So, just give up? I know what kind of man grandfather is despite everyone trying to glorify him, but just as you said, I don't want to be bound in the shackles of a docile priced mare!" the princess responded, her voice rising steadily, becoming a shout at the end.
"And you won't have to." Sansa suddenly changed her demeanor, a ghost of a small smile appearing on her lips. Moving swiftly around her desk, she grabbed a blank peace of parchment and a quill dripping ink before coming before the two of them.
"Write." It was more of an order then a request, Myrcella almost fearfully taking the piece of blank sheet in her hand before putting it on an empty space on the stacked desk.
"I, Myrcella of House Baratheon," Sansa paused for the girl to actually snap out of her state and actually start writing "do hereby relieve the kingdom of Silverpine and all associated with it from any responsibility towards my health and safety."
The statement, when finished took barely a fifth of the entire list despite sounding as if straight out of the mount of a royal herald.
"Signed, Myrcella Baratheon, Princess of the Iron Throne." This time, Myrcella said it herself before rising and looking towards the slightly older girl, her expression now a mix of slight annoyance and expectation. Sansa lightly took the page, giving it a quick inspection before coming around her desk, folding it in two and sealing with the Silverpine wax seal.
"Now that that dreadful business is over, I think you will need this." Spoke up Aegwynn, handing the two of them a rolled up parchment.
Both curious and confused, the princess took it before slowly unfolding it. With every line she read, her eyes became alit more and more, her face breaking into smile. Jaime, who was reading it over his niece's shoulder rose an eyebrow, his voice actually sounding surprised when he spoke.
"You tirade us and now you are doing this?" he questioned. The queen only spared him a moment's glance before returning to her paperwork.
"A free passage on all Alliance ships and through all Alliance held territories…" mumbled Myrcella in wonder. "I don't think I can ever repay you for this kindness."
"You can." Was the swift response, Sansa actually lifting her head to look at the green-eyed girl. "When you return to Westeros… be more than just 'priced mare'"
The girl was so speechless that all she can do was simply nodded, her open month forming into a small smile, her eyes alit with determination.
The two golden-haired nobles left early the next morning, taking a ride on a passing merchant head for Gilneas city. They left a copy of the proclamation that the queen made then write with Ser Arys Oakheart, the kingsguard assigned to protect the princess. The man tried to convince the princess to follow her, yet was borderline rudely stopped by the Kingslayer.
On the road to Gilneas, under the gently falling snow, Myrcella finished another book on the titans and came to realize one thing. For all the hundreds of tomes written in the world on this subject, generally there was little known for these ancient 'giants' if one can call them that. The princess discussed with her uncle where should they start, although it was more of a monologue since Jaime knew little in terms of history and the likes. Seven hells, the now former kingsguard had barely remembered all the locations of importance in Silverpine alone.
In the end, the girl came to up with a simple logic that on the surface appeared sound. If you are hunting for a titan artifact, better start in a titan city. Despite Jaime voicing his concern, the girl had her mind made up. Despite been the middle of winter, the two of them or rather the princess decided that they would be going to an even colder place.
Northrend awaited.
Now, in terms of timeline, it is well passed WOTLK, but unlike how it is in the game, a person having to go through most dungeons/raid before going to Icecrown, in reality the Horde and Alliance would have ignored most if not all indirect threats and focused on destroying the Scourge and maybe Yogg-Saron and Malugos. Later they would have simply left, leaving behind token forces to deal with the lesser problems. Just to give you an idea of what our favorite father-daughter duo would be facing.
Thank you for reading.
