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Daenerys Targaryen II
Winterfell, North, 298 AC
Ros was helping her get dressed with haste…a light blue gown that Daenerys decided would be the best she could wear if she was to meet King Robert. She would be lying if she said she was not nervous because she was and very nervous to be exact. Any single mistake no matter how insignificant it was could very well end up with her death… "Let me brush your hair a little bit more…" Ros said nervously as she combed Daenerys' hair for the third time.
"Ros…you sound more nervous than me…" Daenerys murmured with a weak smile on her lips, trying to make them both forget about the King's command.
"Better that way because it's not me who is going to meet the King." The wise red-haired woman avowed. "I'm worried for you and so is the rest of your family...I do not think the King would be foolish enough to demand your death much less in the North but with these people, we never know what to expect..."
"Is he…as intimidating as they say?" she asked. "As father said?"
"Well…he is giant, tall, and fat…very intimidating but his laughs and smiles make everyone feel at ease," Ros explained as she brushed her hair and improved her Northern hairstyle further while doing so. "You should…try to jape…see if he at the very least smiles…that ought to lighten the mood."
"How?" she asked as she cleaned some sweat that only now did she find in her forehead. "What am I to jape about with someone that publicly despises my birth family?"
Ros stayed quiet for a bit until she spoke again. "Emphasize your accent. If you can speak a lot of words in a thick Northern accent do it but if not, just try to answer whatever he asks or demands with an accent."
Ros' suggestion left Daenerys confused. "Why?"
"Well...nobody expects a Targaryen who is meant to be refined in court speech, at least from what I got from Maester Yolan and Lady Ashara's lessons, to be speaking in a thick Northern accent which even though it angers me, is associated with prude barbarians." The redhead replied. "Also that way it makes you sound less threatening as you probably will be perceived as a fool or to Lord Eddard more than to your birth family which might appeal to the King's love for your adoptive father and thus make him less aggressive...It's just an idea...I'm not sure, however..."
Daenerys had to admit that Ros' plan was not that bad especially considering the situation at hand...it wasn't that hard to speak in a Northern accent because she had been speaking it since she was a child so it came naturally to her. "I think it's a sound plan, I will do it."
"I just hope it works and does not backfire..." Ros said grimly. "I seriously don't think the King would be that stupid as to call for your death when you have done nothing and he is merely a guest but humans are mostly stupid so...I'm so worried!"
Daenerys inhaled some air and let it exit her lungs. "It will be fine," she said decisively. "I will be fine." she turned to the woman that was also like a sister to her and the rest of the Stark girls. "Let's go."
After five or so minutes, she entered the Great Hall of Winterfell with Ros but she was quickly left alone as a servant should not be in front of the King or the Lord of the castle. The room was hazy with smoke and heavy with the smell of roasted meat and fresh-baked bread. In the stone walls were the banners of House Stark, Baratheon, and Lannister which Daenerys had helped set up with her mother whose violet eyes immediately went to her, the fastest gaze to befall on the last Targaryen in Westeros of all those present.
The laughs and conversations ended as soon as Daenerys was seen walking towards the King whose harsh gaze fell on her...he was huge, gigantic, like an animal of nightmares...Even though it was not there, Daenerys saw the antler helmet that father had spoken so fondly about appear on the King's head and she immediately wished to cry and get out of there but she could not. She could not show weakness. She was frightened but she would not be that crybaby anymore, she had to face her fears.
She stopped in front of the King, seeing the Queen and their children for the first time, all of them with curly golden hair and green eyes...The Queen looked at her as harshly as the King, the oldest Prince was looking at her weirdly and the younger ones were looking at her with curiosity. Father was by the King's right and mother was by father's right, both worried for her, that much she could tell after all mother had taught Daenerys how to read people by their faces. "Your Grace, I present myself to you as Your Grace requested." she declared with all the might she could, and thankfully she did not block, she also tried to emphasize her Northern accent like Ros suggested as she bowed to the King.
"What's your name again, girl?" The King asked with a bored tone.
"Daenerys Targaryen, Your Grace." she replied, avoiding looking at his eyes.
"Do you know what your family did?" he asked harshly but Daenerys had been expecting this question from miles away.
"I do know what my father and brother did and I do not condone their deeds because they were wrong and they suffered for their mistakes." Daenerys replied. This was all true, she did not condone their deeds but she would not and could not say the same about her Dragon Mother, her brother, and her dead nephew and niece.
"So you do not intend to take revenge on me? I killed your brother, what do you have to say about that, girl?" The King insisted, trying to get a reaction out of her that probably would give him a reason to take her life.
"Robert..." Lord Stark tried to intervene but the King lifted his hand.
"Quiet Ned, I want to hear her speak." The King scolded and father remained quiet.
"Your Grace I already said what I believe about my father and brother, Your Grace killed him in single combat, in the heat of the battle, but it could have been any peasant shooting him with a bolt or having the luck of hitting when he was not looking. In battle, men die and they know they will die so why must I wish to take revenge on Your Grace?"
"And the throne? I..."
"Keep it!" Daenerys said with too much haste and less care than in all the previous replies which left her worried especially because the King was looking at her weirdly. "What I meant to say is that that chair only brought problems to my family and I want none of those, I wish to remain at Winterfell and the North, nothing else."
There was more silence and the King remained looking at her with his harsh expression. Daenerys was so worried he would call for her head then but a laugh that looked seemed like a horse's neigh and echoed through the entire room came for that same King that looked as if he was going to kill her. "She speaks like a bloody Northerner and she replies like Lord Eddard Stark would..." he turned to her father who was grim and worried about the whole affair but also surprised by Robert's sudden conclusion. "Ah Ned, you succeeded in making a bloody Targaryen into a female version of yourself!" he laughed again and the rest of the room remained quiet. "I had my doubts but I shouldn't have had..." Ros' plan worked...didn't it?
"Lord Husband, what makes you think that she is not lying?" The Queen asked with a venomous look. "She could be very well saying what you wish to hear?"
"And what is what I wish to hear, woman?" The King asked with a raised eyebrow. "You talking? I doubt it." The Queen said nothing more and the King turned to her again. "Where do you pray girl?"
"Pardon me?" she asked confused with what he meant.
"Which Gods do you pray to?"
"The Old ones..." There were whisperers now...likely from the King's retinue because at Winterfell everyone knew she was prayed in the Godswood...
"And you said you wished to remain at Winterfell and the North and nothing else? Is that correct?" The King questioned with a sudden curiosity that was not there when she entered.
"Yes, this my home, the place where am I happy, the place where I do not bother Your Grace." she replied in a thick Northern accent still.
"Very well." The King concluded. "I will want you to swear by the Heart Tree that you will never rise against me or my own, that you forsake whatever claim you have to the Iron Throne and that you shall not take a husband or birth children and I will allow you to remain at Winterfell and the North unmolested if Lord Eddard Stark accepts of course." The King said and she felt something leave her body, she sighed with relief internally.
"I'm more than ready to swear it, Your Grace," she said kneeling before him. "I will swear it now if it pleases Your Grace."
"What pleases me more now is eating and then resting some." The King said with a hint of a smile he should not have. "We shall do that tomorrow."
"Of course, Your Grace." I'm going to be free of this fear tomorrow...Thank the Gods!
This relief was short because the King's harsh expression returned and his voice kept increasing as he spoke each word. "But let me remind you that if you rise as much as a finger at me or my own, and betray this trust I'm putting on you which is costing a lot of me, I'm going to smash your ribs with my war hammer the way I smashed your brother's! Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes...Your Grace..." she said frightened, he was frightening when his voice rose...he did not look like the man father spoke of but he was so huge that he was still threatening and he commanded great respect.
"You are dismissed." he finished. "I'm already tired of seeing Targaryens, begone."
Daenerys nodded and looked to her mother who smiled at her and moved her eyes in a way that meant for her to return to her room and Daenerys moved her eyes to confirm that she got her message and then began walking away from the Great Hall, being followed by dozens of gazes but she did not care. She had only been there for as much as three minutes but Gods did she got tired...Ros was approaching her but Daenerys dismissed her and returned to her room, alone, where she would go early to bed, hopeful of tomorrow, the tomorrow when a long-held torment would hopefully be gone.
Ashara Dayne II
Winterfell, North, 298 AC
Ashara sighed of relief once Daenerys left the Great Hall of Winterfell, unscratched and unmolested by her own feet and with no restrictions to her liberty. The potential outcomes of the conversation, most precisely the negative ones had been consuming Ashara's mind ever since Robert suddenly called for Daenerys but at least he was not stupid enough to demand her head when she did nothing...
He did threaten her and the threat would go forward no doubt if Daenerys was stupid enough to force him to but no doubt that people would begin doubting about his hate towards Targaryens now especially at how simple it went...Maybe he wanted to showcase himself as a benevolent Ruler or his knightly vows prevent him from harming girls...Maybe there was more to it than meets the eyes but Ashara was so exhausted from everything be it this fear, be it making sure everything was perfect to receive a King, that she did not care about thinking it anymore.
She was growing tired of the haze and smell that filled the room and she was somewhat disgusted by the singer who was playing the high harp because it reminded her of Rhaegar who always did that in every feast he attended and Rhaegar brought all the problems he did. Rhaegar who was born in grief, sang about grief, brought grief and no doubt died in grief. It was no good to think of such dreadful things either.
The Lady of Winterfell took another look at her King and felt another shiver go down her spine...Robert was but a shadow of the man he was at Harrenhal and the Eyrie. When she escorted him to his seat, she thought he was already drunk even before the feast had started but worse than that was the sweat falling through his silks down to her hand...Back then he was one of the most handsome men in the realm and now Ned was clearly superior in every possible way which made her feel proud of her choice for yet another reason.
Time went by and the dances began and while neither Ned nor she seemed to be in the mood for it, the children were. Prince Joffrey who looked just as handsome as his uncle, Ser Jaime Lannister but had his mother's poisonous look stood up and invited Elianna for a dance which her daughter accepted without much thought given how fast she replied. The Prince had looked bored by everything and perhaps he was even disgusted to be there, like his mother...A prideful creature like his mother and grandfather...I hope he does not fancy my girl...
Brandon spoke to Jon's hear and then her eldest looked at Princess Myrcella and then at his brother again who seemed to be pushing him to dance with the little Princess and so Jon filled himself with courage and stood up, asking the Princess to dance with him and she immediately accepted, being led by the heir to Winterfell to the middle of the Great Hall to start. The Princess was a little Cersei in everything, her hair was a cascade of golden curls under a jeweled net and her eyes were emerald green, she already pretty and no doubt would be a great beauty when she came of age. Ashara smiled when the little Princess gave the looks to her son but he was so tense because he hated to be the focus of attention that he did not see any of the Princess's involuntary signals...He is Ned in everything after all…
Prince Tommen shyly asked Arya for a dance next and she was ready to refuse but so many stern eyes were fixed on her, Ashara's being paramount amongst them that she accepted out of fear. She did not enjoy it, she knew how to dance but hated it and the little Prince was not too good at it either, nevertheless, she was behaving as she should so she would have a reward...with Arya, it had to be this way to properly educate and stimulate her otherwise she would do nothing and get extremely obnoxious.
Brandon asked Ros to dance with him but she smiled mischievously and placed Lyra on his hands to be his pair. Her son laughed at it and took no offense in it and led his shy and frightened sister to the dance floor where he no doubt japed because Lyra spared a bunch of smiles and giggles and soon she was being lifted and whirled around, something that seemed to bring joy to the shyest of the litter.
Arthur remained in his seat watching and Ashara contemplated on having him ask Jeyne Poole or Beth Cassel for a dance but she hesitated because her brother's namesake preferred to be alone and soon stood up to go hear Benjen, who was seated on the far end of the table, talk about his rangings and the lands Beyond-the-Wall to satiate his never-ending curiosity.
Everyone had done a great job today, no exceptions made. She was proud of her children, her husband, her apprentice-daughter-like figure, the servants, cooks, everyone. But she could also see that her sweet Quiet Wolf remained pensive...it could be that he was still worried about Daenerys but her pinky finger that told her things disagreed and it suspected it had something to do with his visit to the crypts with Robert. Thus it was her job to find out what it was...
Ashara had to thank Cersei Lannister because the guests began retreating as soon as the Queen was excused to do so by Robert. Silently, Ashara gave a nod to Ros who went around the Great Hall to dismiss the female servants because their Lady did not wish to have any of them found abed with the King and make a scandal in their home, she knew of Robert's appetites very well. This made the King look uncomfortable to the point he retired as well…Interesting, this is a nice piece of information to know…
The children left next because they too were tired from these busy last couple of days and finally, it was her and Ned's turn. She grabbed her husband's hand when they left the nearly emptied Great Hall and made them increase their pace to their room. Once there, she opened the door and quickly closed it once they were inside. Now she could take her mask of Lady of the North and be Ashara Dayne Stark once more and do as she pleased.
Ned was thrown by her to their bed while she unlaced her dress as quickly as she could. Once naked, she jumped onto her husband and pressed her lips against his as she helped him undress in the meantime. Once done, she kissed all over his body until she mouthed his cock and gave him the pleasure to help them both let the stress out of their bodies.
Once his shaft was hard, she pressed her cunt down on it and began riding him fiercely and without stopping. Staying true to her apparent fame, she began moaning loudly with the pleasure of their coupling. It took some five minutes before she felt his seed in her loins…sweet little Lyra would be having a sibling soon if they kept it like this...
Ashara climbed down from her panting husband, crossed the room, pulled back the heavy tapestries, and opened the narrow windows one by one to let the night air into the chamber. This was just round one…the next one will be longer...She thought smirking.
The wind swirled around her as she stood facing one of the windows, she liked to do this when she made love because Winterfell was so hot especially in summer. She also liked to contemplate the view it provided and see and count the stars in the night sky the way she did when she was a girl back at Starfall. Then she felt Ned's big and kind arms wrap her into a big hug and his rough lips patting her cheeks with many kisses.
"Feeling a little better, love?" she questioned, enjoying his holding.
"Much better." Ned whispered in her ear. "I can't believe it went this...smoothly regarding Dany...I remember the whole discussion we had when Stannis and I brought her to Robert and how much trouble we both and Jon Arryn had to convince him to spare her."
"It did go smoothly and much better than what we could have guessed..." she admitted. "But forget about that for a minute and tell me what happened in the crypts?"
Ned chuckled after she asked him that. "You know me so well..."
"I ought to, we are husband and wife." she smiled as she kissed him again. "Now tell me what is tormenting you."
"Robert wants me to be his Hand," he explained but she already expected this…it was the only reason she could think of for Robert to come so far north after so many years. "I knew that it was the reason he came here for, but still…"
"And what do you want to do?" she inquired.
"I don't want to go…but he needs me…" Ned sighed once more… "I simply don't know what to do…"
"You know you will have to face the vipers if you accept, don't you?" she warned him, thinking that Cersei would be the first amongst many.
"I know…" he sighed.
She did not like this one bit…Ned wanted to refuse but he was way too kind to his friend…Friendship is a powerful thing…especially when it involves a best friend…I have lost mine…but Ned lost his father, brother, sister, foster father…Robert was beside her the only thing he had from that time... "Maybe we can achieve a compromise with him?" she suggested, putting her head to work on finding potential solutions that would fit them all.
"What sort of compromise?" he asked curiously.
"You could become Hand of the King for a year, see what troubles the realm, see what you can do to fix it, and find yourself a proper replacement in the meantime, a man of both your trust and Robert's, then when your term is done, you return home." That was quite the good plan if she was to confess...this way she could assure her husband's safety but also the realm's. Hopefully...
"It sounds simple but hard to implement…" Ned murmured. "Robert will not like it and with the Daenerys affair, I'm worried he will go back on the terms he presented today and put her in danger."
"If Robert doesn't like it, it's his problem, let him find someone else for the job," she said bitterly. "This is more than enough, in my opinion, he deserves nothing more if he refuses it. You don't wish to ride south anyway and it's clear to me that he does not wish to kill her so we just need to stay strong in our resolve and if he really wants your help, he will accept this offer."
"You sound very confident that he will not harm her..."
"That's because he showed for some reason that he will not," she explained. "He called her, tried to make her lose her temper to hopefully make her look mad like her father and brother so he could have a reason to force a trial but saw something of you in her and perhaps something else and decided against it..." It had to be something like this otherwise his behavior was way too inconsistent to analyze, just like Aerys... "He is not dumb enough to call for her death when she is innocent of all charges. Plus she sounded so much like you that he might have thought that she was speaking the truth about not wanting to leave Winterfell which we both know it's true."
Ned chuckled a bit. "Sounding like me was never this good, heh?"
"I love to hear you when you take me raw in the night..." she teased.
Ned went to his pensive mode again and ignored her teasing... "Might it be that...he feels remorse for Elia and her children?" he suggested shyly.
Ashara did think of it but she was not sure. Even if that was the case, she would only consider forgive him once the Mountain, Amory Lorch, and Tywin Lannister faced justice. "It could be..." she ended up replying.
"And if he..."
"You will try to talk some sense into his head and if it doesn't work attack him where it hurts the most and call him Aerys the Third," Ashara said. "That ought to make him consider it better."
Ned looked gloomy again. "I can't...he's my friend..."
"Ned, if he demands such a thing, he is no friend but a tyrant." she simply said. "You two went to war with Aerys because of something similar, it's hypocritical that he does it too and is not called a tyrant."
"I know but..."
"Forget about it and focus on telling him what we decided here," she commanded. "And I will go with you to King's Landing to make sure you do not die, my love."
"Things are different now, different people, a different King, a different Queen..."
"And do you think I'm too old or too foolish to not adapt to them?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "The so-called Game of Thrones will always be the same Ned, the vipers may have different faces but their schemes are the same and will always remain the same."
"And Jon will rule Winterfell in our absence if this goes forward?" Ned inquired.
"Of course," she replied. "With plenty of help from Maester Yolan, Brandon, Daenerys, and Theon."
"Well...he will have to get the cup at some point in the future..." Ned admitted. "Might as well allow him to get some experience at it so he does not end up lost like I did when it fell to me..."
"Precisely." she nodded.
"There was something else Robert spoke of in the crypts...he wants Elianna to be betrothed to his son, Prince Joffrey."
"That is not going to happen!" she quickly hissed while turning around, her breasts were so close to his chest that her nipples touched it but it never bothered her before, and neither would it now, more important things were in her head. "I hope you did not accept it, Ned!"
"I told him I need a word with you first," he explained. "I didn't accept anything."
"That will do for now." she sighed in relief. "I want to know if the Crown Prince is the proper material for our girl, somehow I doubt he is from what I have seen today."
"I doubt it either…" Ned admitted as he began eyeing her breasts and blushing. "He seems a Lannister through and through."
"That's what I fear love…I do not want our daughter with a Tywin Lannister or worse," Ashara confessed as she began grabbing his cock. "But it's something worry about later on. Just promise me if one of us sees that Elianna is better away from him that we will stop everything and anything that concerns this supposed betrothal."
"I promise and agree." Ned assured her as he began making weird expressions because she was playing with his manhood, much to her amusement. It was good to lighten their heads and mood.
"Lyra ought to come with us…she is too young still to be away from me or you…" Ashara said as she pulled him back to bed. "Maybe the children can come for a while too, for them to get a proper glance of King's Landing, of how the world is outside these walls…"
"Are you sure? Will it not be dangerous for them?"
"They need to learn before it's too late," she admitted. "I told them the world is not a song but they are still naïve and they should learn with some help rather than alone."
"It's true…it would only make them stronger…" Ned nodded in approval. "The North needs strong wolves."
"If we feel threatened though, we evacuated them at first notice," she said. "I will not take any risks with my pups."
"Of course." Ned agreed. "We can call a ship from Direwolf Harbor to be there to take us away..."
"I like that idea…a private ship…ready for us to use if need be…" Ashara nodded. "That makes me feel safer but we will need to polish that plan further..." There were some inconsistencies that she would like to address but now it was not the time for it.
"We will see how it goes with Robert," Ned murmured. "I certainly do not look forward to it and it only worries me more for Daenerys."
"Forget Robert and what he could do for another minute..." she purred to his ears. "The night is still young and I'm all ready for round two..."
"You are ruthless woman…" he murmured as he kissed her lips.
"Didn't we know that already?" she said smirking.
Finished this one earlier than what I last replied to a guest who asked in the comments likely because of Ashara's POV which was 80% written from the first draft.
Now I don't think Robert would just start ranting, roasting, and trying to kill Daenerys once he saw her, he hates all Targaryens as he says in canon but then feels remorse after ordering an assassination on her granted he was dying but still. The way she presented herself speaking in a thick Northern accent and sounding like Ned also helped easing the hate plus I like to think that she reminded him of his grandmother Rhaelle who he was fond of and there is a bunch of more stuff on why he acted this way that eventually will be explained in conversations so I will refrain from speaking them now. What did you guys think? Was it too soft on Robert's part?
As stated Ashara's POV is mostly the same as the original draft with me fixing the dialogue and putting references to Daenerys in there too so not much to say here.
I also would like to thank the reviews that told me to keep going and to Radomir's Renegades, I will be honest and say that I can't really picture Ashara with anyone but Ned, maybe Elia perhaps depending on the fic and in crackfics I could potentially see her with Catelyn and Cersei.
Anyway, thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day and stays safe.