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Ashara Dayne III
Winterfell, North, Year 284 AC
"Lord Manderly has begun inquiring his Myrmen contacts in regards to our plans." Her husband explained, both of them were in the nursery, Ned was watching Ashara coo Dany while little Jon was practicing his walking with Baela. Old Nan was in the room as well but she rarely stood up from her chair such was her age preferring to watch the children play instead. "He mentioned that two of them were interested and will visit us soon to have a conversation with us."
"If these men accept our deal and begin profiting from it, then I'm sure more will come." Ashara deduced aloud. "Any word from Braavos?"
"Lord Manderly spoke with a Braavosi friend of his who loves the North and the man also wishes to meet us sometime soon." Ned replied.
"Perfect." she proclaimed. "We just need to wait a little bit."
"Aye."
"In the meantime…I have sent a letter to King's Landing…to the children at Sunshine Orphanage…"
"You really want to help those orphans don't you?" Her husband inquired smiling.
"Of course I do!" she said without hesitating. "They are human beings that need someone to think about them as well." Ashara had hoped that they were safe from everything but somehow she thought they were not. She had to remember that life was always unfair… "Especially after what went down in King's Landing..."
"Damned Lannisters..." Ned spat out.
Damned Lannisters indeed…Elia my friend… "We will see what their reply will be." Ashara concluded while she placed Dany back into her crib.
Ned nodded once again. "Our boy seems to be growing quickly," he said with a proud smile as he watched Jon make an effort to walk while Baela held his little hands. "And he is a quiet one."
"As is his father…" she teased. "Our boy is a Quiet Pup."
"And this little one?" Ned said as he gently cooed Daenerys who began smiling once she got attention from her adoptive father. "When will you speak?"
"Girls usually start sooner than boys young Eddard." Old Nan spoke. "It shan't take long before she begins." Jon was eleven months old, a month away from celebrating his first nameday. Only a month ago did he begin saying momma and his vocabulary was very small still and not proper. Daenerys seemed to be around three months old so it would mean she would still need quite a few months for her first word.
"We can wait can't we?" Ned inquired but without expecting an answer for the baby he was cuddling. "I do wonder what became of her brother…"
It was a shame that young Viserys was smuggled away to the Free Cities…there was no way to know where he was since Essos was such a huge land with many places where he could be. "I do find myself thinking the same…poor Queen Rhaella would have her heart shattered if she knew…"
"And the thing is that we have no way to know where he is…" Ned sighed. "The Queen entrusted me with her children and I failed her."
"You couldn't have known that they would take him away…"
"Truly milord, they took opportunity that we were all distracted with the Queen's labor to run with him," Baela added. "I say milord did all he could."
"Baela speaks truly Ned, don't be so disappointed with yourself…" Ashara said as she placed her hand on top of his.
A knock was heard on the door. "Milord, milady!" Osric, the new Captain of Winterfell's household guards called from outside the nursery. The man had been chosen by Ned after he returned from the war since Martyn Cassel, the former Captain died in Dorne. "Someone is wishing to see you."
"Could it be any of them?" Asked Ned confused.
"It seems too soon…" she deduced. "Best we go and see." A glance at Baela made the woman understand what Ashara was asking for without a word being said.
"I will take care of the children milady." Baela assured as she picked Jon up from the floor.
"Thank you my friend." she grabbed Ned's arm and pulled him along. "Come on let us see what seems to be the matter."
They left the nursery and then walked out of the Great Keep only to find a man standing there with some guards around him. Said man was young looking, his face was plain and squared, his eyes were dark brown, he had a smile on his lips, quite swollen lips…He was wearing a grey wool robe with large sleeves and a chain collar with lots of chains…a Maester… "Howdy!" The man said. "I presume I'm talking with Lord and Lady Stark?"
"You presume well," she said warily. Ashara never fully trusted Maesters. Her late mother also mistrusted them and it had been the former Maester of Starfall who convinced her father to send Ashara to the Water Gardens. The only one she didn't dislike entirely was Maester Caleotte of Sunspear the rest she could go on without. Actually to be fair Maester Rhodry, the one who helped her deliver Jon was not too bad either. "You are a Maester I presume?"
"My Lady presumes well." The Maester said smiling and she did not like his tone. "The name is Yolan, My Lord and My Lady. I'm twenty-six namedays old, born and raised in Gulltown until I was thirteen at which point I was sent away by father to study at the Citadel." Then he took a letter from his robe. "I studied there for thirteen years and forged seventeen types of chains. I have three chains of medicine, history, geography and cartography, mathematics, two in animal breeding, household management, economics, ravenry…"
"Maester we do understand that you have many chains on your neckless…" Ashara interrupted the man from enumerating every single chain he had which would have been tiresome. "But there is no need for us to know every single chain you have."
The Maester looked at her with a fake smile but it quickly turned into a truthful one. "Here is a letter from Archmaester Ebrose apologizing for how long it took to replace the previous Maester at Winterfell." The letter was passed to Ned. "In the name of the Citadel, my apologies." It was pretty clear why they took so long to send a Maester, they thought House Stark was going to be erased from existence…
"So you are to be Winterfell's new Maester am I right?" Ned asked he looked at the letter.
"Indeed My Lord." The Maester nodded. "I hope to serve as well as my capabilities allow me."
"Then it's a pleasure to have you here." Ned extended his hand and both shook hands smiling.
Then her husband looked at her with a confused look, no doubt wondering why she was being so defensive but she cared not. "Welcome to Winterfell Maester." she merely said.
"Thank you, My Lord, My Lady." The Maester bowed. "May I be escorted to my quarters and get settled in? The voyage from Oldtown to here was quite long…"
"Of course, Osric will escort you there." Ned assured as he made a gesture to Osric.
Osric nodded. "Come along Maester."
"Right away."
And so Osric and the Maester left and as they did, she noticed Ned looking at her weirdly. "What is it?" she questioned.
"You were awfully defensive with the man…"
"He is a stranger."
"And that is not how you usually speak with strangers." Ned quickly retorted. "And I know what I'm talking about."
"I mistrust Maesters, that is all," she told him. "My mother mistrusted them and so do I, especially after the former Maester at Starfall made my father send me away."
"But this man seemed like a good person…" Her husband dismissed her words and she did not like it.
"You know nothing Ned Stark." she scoffed bitterly as she walked away. "I'm going for a walk in Winter Town."
"Why?"
"Can't a lady exit her castle for a stroll?" she inquired bitterly. "Must she remain inside all the time? Mind you I have been here ever since you went to war and I never left."
"I never said you couldn't…I…forget it." Her husband sighed defeated. "Take some guards with you…"
"Don't worry, I know what to do." And so she left her husband there and went on for a stroll, followed by a group of sworn shields. Truth be told she was acting like a child but sometimes it felt good to do so.
It was a good thing that she preferred to wear more casual clothing in the North, Winter Town's streets were all made of dirt and mud so she would have ruined one of the few northern gowns she had in her possession had she brought one. The seamstresses at Winterfell were working on a few new dresses for her to wear but she did not wish to overburden them by having them fix ruined dresses.
After a stroll around every street, Ashara stopped at the main square of the town so she could see the entirety of the settlement. There were more houses than people, most of the inhabitants left the town as soon as spring came. The houses were built of low quality stone and wood and they were small, big enough for just one family. Where Ashara was standing, merchant stalls were selling mostly food and pottery, nothing too exotic like the products you could find in King's Landing or Dorne.
If everything went according to the plans, everything was to change for the better. All the houses would be occupied and more would be built if need be. The streets would be paved so that people would not ruin their clothes in the mud, this was especially important considering that the smallfolk struggled to get their share of clothes and this would help them a bit no doubt. The greenhouses would assure that everyone was fed and this town would be a proper town or mayhaps, a city, who knows.
And while she was looking at every building and house, a peculiar sight immediately caught her attention. At the entrance of the Cold Leg…by the looks of it, a brothel as it had a red-colored lantern hanging on the ceiling despite not being lit yet, a red-haired girl was cleaning the stairs that led to the entrance door with an old broom. Once the girl in question finished her service, she took notice of Ashara's gaze and spared a smile before entering the brothel. The curiosity seemed to be taking the best of Ashara so she decided to enter the brothel, ignoring the repercussions that such action would have.
Inside she found a simple yet spacious room neatly arranged, everything was properly lit with just enough light to set the mood… A woman quickly strode towards Ashara and by the looks of it, she did not see who entered… "Hello honey, welc…oh Gods…"
"Hello there," Ashara said chuckling. The woman was brown-haired and eyed with lots of freckles around her face, shoulders and cleavage, she seemed slightly older than Ashara but not by a large margin. If she looked forward she could see some other women peeking from some stairs that led to the rooms above where their services were provided. "How has your day been?"
"Good…" The woman said shyly, no doubt afraid of her presence. "Milady is…Lady Stark?"
"I am." Ashara nodded with a smile. "And you are?"
"Melanie milady…" The woman replied blushing and quite afraid. "Milady is not…closing the brothel…is she?"
"I'm not closing someone's livelihood," Ashara assured. "And you have got a pretty name, a pretty name for a pretty girl." Nothing better than nice words that expressed the truth and also gained trust.
Melanie smiled a bright smile. "Thank you milady, I'm glad milady won't close it." If this brothel was to close than many women would be penniless and she would never do such a thing to someone.
"How well did the Cold Leg withstand the previous winter?" she was curious, these were her subjects and she had to take care of them. "Did you all have troubles with food or something?"
"We…" At this Melanie turned around to those curious women who seemed to be increasing in number. She could also see the girl from before going around cleaning by the windows.
"Don't be shy, I don't bite even if I'm a wolf now." The jape seemed to have a positive effect because the woman smiled when she turned to face Ashara once again.
"We did spend some days without eating…" The woman confessed. "We did have plenty of business but the food…"
"I did my very best to conserve it as much as I could and make it last…" Ashara confessed sadden by what she was hearing. "But the war took its toll and we had to send supplies to feed the army."
"The worst has gone milady, we all here and well but with less work…" The woman proclaimed with a shy smile.
"Summertime seems bad for business…"
"Indeed…" The woman smiled more.
"I tell you what my friend, whenever you girls have a problem, you go to Winterfell and ask for me and I will do my best to fix your problems." It was in Ashara's being to help everyone she met and with these women, it was not different. Yet she could receive something from them as well, something very important, information. A brothel was one of the best places one could get information from. Ashara had learned a variety of interesting things from Chataya, who was a good friend of hers at King's Landing and helped Ashara many times.
"Truly milady?" The woman asked beaming, the prospect seemed to be of her liking.
"There is no reason to lie is there?" Ashara questioned. "We live in a world of men and we must stand strong together in order to survive." This was all true, there were few good men in the world...and few good women as well...humans were mostly bad and selfish by nature.
"Aye." Melanie nodded. "Thank you milady."
"No problem my friend." Ashara smiled to fully erase the last remaining tensions between them. "By the way, I was quite surprised a while ago by someone I saw and prompted me to enter…" Ashara began after seeing that she had the full trust of the woman before her. "Who is that red-haired girl that was cleaning the stairs and now cleans by the windows?"
"Oh milady means Ros?" Melanie both questioned and answered at the same time. So her name is Ros... "Ros was the daughter of a…whore who used work here named Eli."
"And what happened to Eli?" she questioned curiously.
"Sweet Eli died giving birth to Ros..." Melanie replied with a sad expression. "Eli was a best friend to everyone here...she was kind to us all, always willing to help...she died at twenty and two...Ros inherited all of her kindness though…"
"That is a sad story…my mother died will giving birth to my younger sister…"
"Mine died giving birth to me too Milady." The woman confessed. It seemed they were all a bunch of women whose mothers died in child labor but despite everything bad that she suffered, Ashara was still a highborn lady which meant that she would never end up as a prostitute or poor. "That is why most of us end in the work…"
"It saddens me truly." Ashara sighed. "Mothers are so very special and we only have one so when we lose ours lose part of ourselves as well."
"Even though I never saw or met mine, I do believe in it." Melanie agreed. "Now that I remember…Eli was Lord Brandon's favorite whenever he came here."
Brandon? "You mean my husband's brother?"
"Yes, and his sister came here once or twice as well…to learn of…womanhood…"
Lyanna too? "Now you are telling me things I never thought I would know…" she admitted. "I'm quite surprised Lady Lyanna came here…"
"Eli was the one Lady Lyanna spent most her time with since she was pregnant with Ros at the time and could explain how pregnancies worked to her." Melanie further explained. "I found it funny how a highborn lady knew so little of being a woman…"
"In the south, the Septas teach us some of those things but they hide a lot of important things since the Faith is…restrict…" Ashara explained. "But in this case, I believe it ought to be the fact that is not well seen when a lady asks how her body and coupling works."
Melanie laughed but her laugh soon turned into a serious expression. "Never liked the Faith milady." The woman confessed. "I will not hold any grudge against milady because of it since milady is nice but…"
"Oh, I have converted to the Old Gods when I got married." Ashara proclaimed and that caught Melanie off guard. "And I was never pious to the Seven. I do appreciate that you find me nice, that is a victory on its own."
The face the woman made said it all… "I…I wasn't expecting milady to believe in our Gods…" Melanie confessed open-mouthed. "Everyone kept saying milady was southron Faith lover…"
"House Dayne still treasures some First Men traditions and I always felt more welcome in a Godswood than in a Sept," Ashara explained. "Obviously the people here do not know me well and presuming I was zealous to the Faith was the obvious thing they would do."
"I find it…interesting to see a southern lady converting to the Old Gods instead of the other way around."
"I believe those times of religious intolerance are long gone," Ashara said. "There are pious people on both sides but they all know better than to provoke the others from whatever beliefs they have. But returning to the little girl Ros…what else can you tell me about her?"
"Oh Ros is a very smart girl, she learned how to read, write and count by herself," Melanie said with a proud stance. "Few of us know these things, I for one can't read or write but I can count."
"And how old is Ros?" Ashara asked curiously, by the looks of the girl she couldn't be too old…
"She is six, milady."
"Six and she learned all that by herself?" This meant that the girl had above average intellect…mayhaps she was a bright mind…or a genius… "Then she is indeed a smart girl." Such a girl would be wasted as a whore because there was no doubt that the life she would be forced to live was that one... "Would it be a problem if I was to...take her and make her a lady-in-waiting?"
"We all love Ros here and wish for her wellbeing…" Melanie began as she rubbed her hands. "However if she stays here until she becomes a woman grown, she will be one of us truly and someone may lose clients and…"
"I believe I know what you are trying to say…" It meant that Ros would steal part of the clients and with it, their earnings. It was to note that Ros was much younger than the rest of them which was likely a factor to consider, especially when she was pretty already.
"Best if milady takes her." The older woman said. "No one is going to oppose."
"I will have a word with her then," Ashara concluded as she looked around the brothel finding the girl still cleaning around by the windows she had last seen her. "Thank you for the nice conversation, Melanie."
"A pleasure milady." Ashara's new friend bowed with a smile.
Ashara then walked towards the girl in question, the girl was so entertained in her work that she did not notice Ashara approach her. "Hello there." The Lady of Winterfell greeted.
Ros turned around surprised but quickly smiled. "Milady." she bowed. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Why the pleasure is mine," Ashara replied. "I heard your name is Ros."
"It is."
"It's quite a beautiful name I must confess." Ashara proclaimed trying to earn the girl's trust.
"There are better ones." The girl replied.
"I'm still fond of it." Ashara insisted. "Do you know who I am?" she was quite hopeful to test the girl's intellect.
"Lady Stark." The girl replied quickly. "They said milady had violet eyes and black hair…you are very pretty."
"Why thank you, you are pretty too." Who was trying to gain the other's trust in the end?
"Am I in trouble milady?" The girl asked.
"Of course you are not." Ashara dismissed laughing, this proved how young the red-haired girl was, a child. "Melanie told me you learned how to read and count by yourself?"
"I did." Ros said with a puffy chest.
"And how did you do it?"
"Counting was easy, I have ten fingers and ten toes like everyone said, ten and ten makes twenty, so I repeated the fingers twice and I have twenty fingers which is two and zero, ten is one and zero, thirty is three and zero and..."
"What if I was to ask you how much is four times five?" Ashara challenged.
"Well…a hand has five fingers, two hands have ten, which is two fives, four is two twos, which means…two and two hands…five plus five plus five plus five is…two fives are ten and two tens is twenty? Is it twenty?"
There was no doubt the reasoning was messy, in fact, Ashara found it all confusing but the girl reached the answer no less and that proved that she was smart, with some help she may become smarter than Ashara herself…which if she took as a servant could lead to problems…but at the same time Ashara wanted to help this girl… "Are you really six namesdays old?"
"I am…"
"And how did you learn to read?"
"I asked Myrielle who knows the letters to teach them to me, then I looked to a word and read the letters, most of the time I fail to sound right but sometimes I get them right." The girl replied. So she wasn't truly capable of reading yet but this was outstanding.
"Would you like to learn more?" Ashara questioned. "You have a very bright mind and it would be a shame to waste it here…"
"I'm not wasted here milady." The girl said defiantly and angrily. "I was born here and this no waste, this home."
"I did not mean to phrase it like that…" Ashara had messed up…Gods…
"Ros you should take this chance, honey." Melanie and some other women joined the conversation. "You smart and little and this not a place for you. You will become one of us when you flower but if you go with Lady Stark you won't need to sell yourself…understand that it's not a life you want to live…"
"But what about y'all?" Ros asked frightened. "Why should it be me when y'all are not?"
"Because you are young honey." Another woman said. "And we care for you."
"And because you got the chance." Said another.
"But…" Ros murmured with teary eyes.
"You and I will take care of them, Ros," Ashara assured seeing that the girl was frightened of everything. "You will be able to protect and take care of them the way they protected and took care of you until now."
"Truly?"
"Truly." Ashara nodded as she patted the girl's cheek.
"Go on Ros." The women encouraged. "Make a better life for yourself."
"I will protect you all." Ros proclaimed as she hugged Melanie and the other women, crying. "I promise."
"We know…" Melanie replied. Tears were in the corners of their colorful eyes…even Ashara was not indifferent to the situation…Everyone seemed to like Ros but they knew this would be for the better. Such a hard life…I pity them all…
A quarter of an hour past and they were finally walking back to Winterfell and while they did so, she thought on how rude she had been to Ned earlier…her husband was dear to her, he was in her heart and seeing Ros' farewell in the Cold Leg made her realize that life was too short for those fights. Sure it was healthy to have a rant or two but it was up for the couple to find a way to fix everything as quickly as it could be done.
Inside Winterfell's walls, she noticed Ned in the covered bridge that led to the armory, he seemed worried but she smiled at him while leading Ros to a room. I will compensate you later my sweet Quiet Wolf.
She found a small but cozy enough room for her apprentice, it wasn't spacious like hers or Ned's but she was sure that the girl would find it spacious enough. "This all for me?" Ros asked amazed. She had been amazed ever since she stepped inside Winterfell, the castle was huge and mighty especially for such a tiny child.
"Yes, you have a bed, a small wardrobe, a desk, a chair and a window that you can open and close at your will but do not get yourself sick by catching to much wind."
"This is so big…" The girl confessed and Ashara smiled internally for being correct. "Thank you milady."
"You are welcome." Ashara smiled. "I will send another servant to show you the way to the Great Hall once dinner is to begin, I will talk with you later but tomorrow you will have to wake up early."
"It won't be a problem I assure milady."
"We will begin to refine your education and show you what you will do here. I expect highly of you."
"I will do my best, milady."
Dinner came and she took a seat next to her husband right after she seated the new member of their household, some younger servants seemed to be curious of her and initiated a conversation with Ros and it seemed the little girl was winning them over already. "Who is she?" Her husband asked as he watched her gaze in the girl.
"Ros," Ashara replied. "She will become my apprentice from now on."
"Your apprentice?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Where did you find her?"
"At the Cold Leg."
"The brothel?" he asked abashed. "What were you doing in the Cold Leg?"
"Did you know Brandon and Lyanna went there often to meet the same person albeit for different reasons?" she asked, ignoring his look. "It was Ros' mother they sought, a mother who died giving birth to her."
"An orphan…"
"Yes."
"If this is what you wish to do…I will not stop you."
"It is what I wish to do." she avowed. "And I'm sorry for my outburst earlier…it was ill done of me…"
"Forget about it, it was only fair for you to get angry, especially after how many times I got angry with you before, even if we all fix everything in the end," Ned said. "But I still think you should give the Maester a chance."
"I will." she would, but on her terms…she was, after all, the Lady of Winterfell. "Once you are finished with your meal, we should retire…"
"Why?"
"Well…now we have a Maester and…we should start our journey to making another child…"
Ned laughed and kissed her forehead. "As My Lady commands…but…today…I will take the lead…"
"Oh…" she purred. "Now I'm excited…"
"You should be…Winter is Coming…"
I must apologize for how long this chapter took, I got myself into a lot of projects at the same time but I have stabilized everything by now.
In regards to the story, well now we have Ros and the OC Maester at Winterfell so I wonder how things will go from now...
mlkoolc86: Thank you for all the reviews you made in all stories. And regarding your doubt, yes there are plans for the other Houses of the North but Ashara prefers to let the Lords see the results and have them do the reforms themselves, meaning they will come later.
Thank you for spending reading and I hope everyone has nice day.
