A Son of Ice and Fire

A/N: Bit of a shorter dialogue focused chapter, but this was heavily needed for next season. Fishlegs' storyline for S2 ends here, and S3 will be a large change for him. Season 2 will have 24 chapters, 1 more than S1, so there are 4 more chapters left until S2 is done :)

Guest: Mildew and Walder Frey do have many similarities I agree, but I'm not going to include any relation between them in this one. For this story Mildew's loyalties will become apparent shortly. Gothi will have a major role to play, so I'm saving her character until later on :)

Guest: Yeah, I took a lot of inspiration from when they sparred on the edge, it just seemed to fit right, at this point in the story.

Guest: Hiccup hasn't made his shield yet. With his fighting style in this story, he doesn't really need it at the minute. Once Toothless is around however, a shield becomes a lot better of an idea, so he will have it in the future.

Guest: I appreciate your request, but I'm sorry I'll have to decline. I'm only writing this because I really enjoy both worlds and the story I could make with them. I do plan to do other crossovers, but only for shows/films I am really into. I'm sure there are other writers who are as passionate about far cry and mass effect, as I am about HTTYD and GOT, and they could write that story for you, but I'm afraid that won't be me.

Odinson: No,I wasn't aware that Jaime had dyslexia. I remember a scene where Tywin was talking to someone about how Jaime took a very long time to learn to read, and that Jaime hated him for a while because of it, but I didn't know he actually had a reading disorder.

Guest: I'm trying to keep the timeline consistent, but it is hard to keep each storyline tight and compact. Hiccup and Astrid's storyline this season for example, it's hard to do that over the span of a year. I think I'm going to have each individual storyline span from 3-6 months, but have a noticeable time jump from the end of S2 to the start of S3. This way I can keep each character moving forward, but not miss out on key events. It's hard to get all timings perfect with how much I've put into this, but just assume the GOT characters are at the ages they are in the show. 1 season equals roughly 6-12 months. Arya gains 6 years in 7 seasons so far, so I think I should be on track to keep all ages for the GOT characters the same in this story.

Guest: Tuffnut's love life will not be approached for at least two seasons, but Tuff and a wilding together could be an interesting idea.

Sam Hill: House Thorston is located in the Stormlands (important for next season) but I may take your idea of the castle. It does sound like somewhere they would live for sure.

Guest: You're right, the Old Gods do have a few tricks up their sleeve too. The warging etc. I thought was just a magical gift, not given from the Gods, but I suppose in some ways it is. The Old Gods also have some relationship to the white walkers, so maybe the Lord of Light and the Old Gods are at the opposite ends (Ice and Fire)

Guest: A Barristan/Daenerys conversation about Valka & Rhaegar will definitely be something included later on, but I don't think we'll reach a stage where that is relevant for a while at least.

Chapter 43: The scorned son

Fishlegs

My sword at his throat, I looked him straight in the eyes, "You better have a good explanation, or you're next…"

Eret gulped, beads of sweat crystallizing down on his brow, as he fought to come up with the right words. He took a deep breath, before he began, "Firstly, I'd just like to say thank you. You didn't have to save me, so now I'm in your debt."

"In my debt?" I chuckled. "I doubt that means anything. The second I let you go, you're just going to try and capture me again."

He raised his hands in surrender, "On my word, I promise…"

"…Your word. Your promises." I interrupted, clasping my hand more firmly around the hilt of the sword. "How could I possibly know what they are worth? I know nothing about you."

"It's me, Fishlegs. I'm the same person you grew up with." He pleaded, slowly sliding himself up the tree until he was fully standing. He stared at me, his glare unrelenting "I did what I had to do to survive, just like you."

"YOU ARE NOTHING LIKE ME." I yelled.

His eyes softened, but everything else grew cold, "I AM EVERYTHING LIKE YOU. Did you think I wanted to leave home? NO. Do you think I wanted to become this? NO. Don't act like you've got moral superiority. I've seen you kill. Seen you become the monster that you believe I am."

Gritting my teeth, I growled at him, "You're just a weapon. A pawn. If you actually were my cousin once, then that's not you anymore."

"Figsy, please, I know you don't mean that." He said softly.

"Don't call me that." I snapped. The nerve for him to even try it.

He recoiled back a bit, his hair melting into the bark of the tree, as a tear slipped down his cheek, "Why? I always called you that. Since we were just kids. Remember that. My father always told me it took me ages for me to learn to speak properly. I could never say your full name, just the start and the end. It stuck, and you never complained before. We were so close. I'm still your cousin. We're family. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to leave." I tried to remain emotionless, but I got sucked into the memories. We were so happy once. Why has everything turned out like this?

"BUT YOU STILL DID! You left me. You left your father. What you did what just pushed him over the edge. Your monster of a father… he killed my dad. DRAGO KILLED MY DAD! THAT'S ALL ON YOU!" I tried to remain calm, but the tears began to fall. Defeatedly, I dropped the sword, looking down to watch as it landed silently in the snow. "You took everything else, just take the sword and end it." I wept, as my knees dropped into the snow. "End me."

He looked down at me, eyes riddled with guilt. Reaching down and picking up my sword, he ran his finger over the pommel, "House Ingerman. Our words are 'as one we stand'. I will stand with you, cousin. Just give me a chance. Let me explain." He ran his thumb along the blade, before laying Meatlug across his arm in front of me. "This is yours. I have no right to wield it."

"Drago controls House Ingerman. He's your father. It belongs to him. Then, to you." I sighed. Drago's took everything else. Why not my sword as well?

He shoved the hilt into my palm, "No. This is yours. Drago has brought shame on our house. I hate him, almost as much as you do. But we need to stick together. Will you trust me?" As he finished, a soft rustling snapped both our attentions to the distance. The mist was still thick, and even squinting as hard as we could, we couldn't make anything out. "Will you trust me?" He asked again. Before I could answer, hundreds of shadows emerged through the fog. He he held his hand out to me, "Will you trust me.". If there's one piece of him left, I must do all I can to bring him back. He's all the family I've got left.

In one quick motion, I clasped his arm with one hand, while fully grasping my sword in the other. "I will. What are we going to do?" I asked, as a relieved smile crossed his face, if only briefly. Rustling grew louder, and the wave of the undead slowly began to close in.

"RUNNNNN!" Eret screamed, as an army of black shapes flowed through the deep white veil, gushing towards us.

Running on pure adrenaline, the two of us raced away, bounding away as fast as we could. The shaking of bones rattled through the air, as well as a sinister hum which reverberated all around. Eret led the charge, meandering through mangled branches and tree trunks. He better know what he's doing. I kept my head down, trying my best to skim off the surface, even though my boots kept sinking into the deep snow. Every time I glanced back, the distance between us and them seemed to have been halved. I still couldn't make them out, but I didn't need to. The feeling in my stomach was enough. Eret glided across the terrain, sliding under broken trees, and hopping agilely over everything below head height. The cold air was sucking the life from my chest, my breaths grower heavier with every step. Thick furs dragging me down, I looked up for him, but Eret was slowly getting further and further away. In only seconds since my last look up, he leaped straight over two giant logs and vanished into the fog. No. Don't leave me. I jogged my way around the side of the logs, following his direction as best I could, as the first wight's shadow flashed off to the side. I pinned back the pain in my chest, forcing my exploding heart back, as it beat five times a second. I can do this. I kept my path, Meatlug swinging at my side as I ran. I can do this.

Time didn't seem to pass. Minutes? Hours? Days? My legs crumbling, my arms aching, I kept running. The darkness followed me, inching ever closer. To either side, wights were running. An arch was forming behind, ready to consume me. I pushed on, no thoughts other than to get away. I just have to keep going. The trees ahead started to part, and as I pushed on, the fog seemed to clear. I charged forward, as the vast sea came into view. Standing there, untying ropes frantically, and trying to force a small rowboat from the land was Eret. I powered towards him. The sound of me, or the sense of imminent danger must have alerted him, as he put his arms up to signal me over. I tore my way through the last line of trees on my way through, picking up pace as the depth of the snow lessoned. Grabbing a sword from inside the boat, Eret rushed towards me, "YOU'RE STRONGER THAN ME. GET THAT BOAT IN THE WATER. NOW! I'LL COVER YOU." I nodded, charging up to it and barging my shoulder firmly against the wood. Come on. Come on. Come on. The wood squeaked in resistance, but with my last inch of strength I got a solid connection and it slowly began to slide off the crusty ice, and into the water.

"COME ON!" I yelled, as Eret was busy battling off the horde. Two down. Three. Five. Ten. Though Eret was battling fiercely, the numbers surrounding him wouldn't diminish. "ERET, GET ON THIS BOAT NOW." I screamed. He finally relented his defense, turning and sprinting back towards me. I shoved the boat further into the water, until it was above knee height. I climbed in, holding out my arm for him. The panic shone in his eyes, as his first foot hit the water. Hundreds more poured out of the forest, enveloping our location to all sides. Splashing intensified, as the first wight hit the water running, chasing Eret for all it was worth. Trudging through the icy waters, Eret stumbled towards me, grabbing strongly onto my arm. The contact hit me with a deep sense of relief, but as I tried to pull him up, a bony hand clutched onto his leg. He tried to turn and slash at it, but another grasped his arm, sharp, bare fingers digging into the back of his hand. With my left hand, I held onto him firmly. I'm not letting you go. Not this time. Yet, as the sun shone down, the gleaning shine of a dagger's blade pulled my attention. I swiped down into the boat, clutching for its handle, while holding onto Eret's arm with my other hand for dear life. Two attempts later and the leather handle strap of the dagger was in my palm. Three strikes shattered the wight's arm, leaving the detached hand to fall down Eret's chest. A further barrage of blows to the second wight severed all connections to Eret, and with one strong pull I managed to drag him aboard. He breathed exasperatedly, as he fell onto the bench in front of me. As the boat sailed further from the shore, we sat there, panting heavily. The true horror was there for us both to see. Lining the water's edge. Hundreds of them. Thousands. Gods help us all.

The boat slowly sailed away, as we both sat there in silence. His face was one of pure terror, as he looked down at the scratch marks from his knuckles to his wrist. The shoreline faded from distance, but the memory was never going to be forgotten. It could never be. With shaky hands, I clutched tightly to the sides of the boat, "We need to warn the Lord Commander." I said weakly.

Eret didn't even turn to face me, he just shook his head, "No. There's nothing we can do for them now. We need to get help. Serious help. Or there won't be anything left of us. Any of us."

"I swore a vow. I need to go back. I need to…" I started.

"…NO." He snapped. "You swore to protect the realms of man. One man can't stop that. You can't. You won't be able to make a difference. We need to get actual help. An army. People who believe us. Then we might just be able to stop this before we all get wiped out."

I eyed the back of his head curiously. An army? Where would we even get an army? "Just drop me off at Eastwatch. I'll make my way back to Castle Black. They need to know."

"Believe me, they will know." He stated firmly. "I need you to stay with me. To join me when I go back to Essos."

"Essos?" I challenged loudly. "Why would I go to Essos?"

"I need to go to Braavos. To speak to the order of the faceless men. They need to know. I need to try and persuade them to help. If I can't, then I might have to go to the other free cities, Slaver's Bay even. Anywhere we can get help. I can't do it alone." He pleaded, turning to face me.

"No way." I refused. "They'll just try and kill me. That was your contract, after all."

"No. No they won't." He responded firmly. "They don't always follow through on there contracts. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the time they do, but not always."

"That's very reassuring." I mumbled.

He placed a rough hand on my shoulder, "I've seen it myself. It is possible to cancel a contract. I promise you." He grinned unconvincingly.

"Why? What happened?" I asked curiously.

"It's the reason I left home." He answered sadly. "You're not the first person Drago sent an assassin after."

That made me inch forward on my bench of the two, on the rowing boat, "How do you know this?"

"Because I was the one who tried to stop it!" He exclaimed. "That night. Those years ago. The night I was forced to give up my name. Forced to give up everything."

"All I was told, was that you killed yourself, and that…" I started slowly, before biting my lip to stop myself from ending the sentence.

"And what Fishlegs?" He asked, although it was clear he already knew the answer.

"And that… you were accused of raping someone." I replied weakly, speaking no louder than a whisper. "I didn't think it was true. I couldn't believe it. But then I was told you died. That you took your own life. What else could I believe?" I added in defense. I would never have believed them. I never thought he'd do something like that. That's what everyone believed. Everyone took as fact. I couldn't have known better.

Eret just started to laugh, before he sighed heavily, "Drago's lies. I never raped anyone. Never tried to rape anyone. Never tried to take my own life. None of it. I didn't think you would believe them."

"I didn't want to. I didn't. But if that didn't happen, then what did?" I asked nervously.

He shifted awkwardly on the seat, twisting around fully so his full body faced me, "Me and my father were attending a wedding at a castle in the Reach. House Hofferson's to be exact. It was late in the night. I couldn't sleep. I don't know why, but I just started rummaging through the bags we brought with us. I don't even know what I was looking for, a book or something I think, but what I found… What I found changed everything. It was folded into a secret compartment, and only the loose stitching lining the edge even told me a hidden pocket was there. I plucked it out, I unfolded it, and there I saw it, the contract."

"A contract for the services of the faceless men?" I questioned. He just nodded solemnly.

Reaching into his pocket, he unveiled a small sheet of parchment and handed it to me. I opened it, and written were the details of the mission, as well as my picture drawn large in the centre. "Not everyone asks for written proof, my father luckily is one of them. I found one, just like this, that night over four years ago. I rushed to stop the contract, but in my haste, I ruined everything." He looked like he wanted to stop, but I was sat eagerly, urging him to continue. "You know the Hofferson girl?"

"Lady Astrid?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Drago was pressuring for me and her to get married."

"That wouldn't go well," I chuckled. "I've met her a few times at tourneys and a few balls over the years. She looked like she'd rather be anywhere than there, and anyone that got near her regretted it, so I doubt you had much chance."

"Yeah, tell me about it. She wanted none of it. Her parents were fighting against the marriage as well, but Drago apparently had something over them. The assassination contract wasn't for her. It was for the main Hofferson heir, her brother, Finn. With him dead, my marriage to Astrid would give House Ingerman a lot of power. That's all Drago cares about. That was the point of it all. A horrible, horrible thing to do. I couldn't let it happen"

"Lord Finn is still alive, last I know, so you must have succeeded."

"You could say that," he sighed. "I couldn't get to Finn, there were too many guards, but I did manage to get to his betrothed. I thought I could sneak in, warn her, and she could get to Finn and protect him. But the blonde bitch freaked out when I tried waking her up. Screamed the castle down. Her bastard brother nearly cut me in half, when all I was trying to do was help them. I was bleeding, shamed, and then I was taken away. Locked in a cell."

I reached forward, holding his shoulders, as he slumped forward. "Why didn't you just explain to them? Tell them it was a mistake?"

"Drago got to me before I could speak to Lord and Lady Hofferson. At that time, he was still my father. I didn't want him to die, so I remained quiet, took the blame. When he fought for me, I thought he cared, thought he loved me." He whimpered, as he closed his eyes. "It was all an act. When we got home, he branded me, disowned me. Said I was a shame to the house and that he wished I was dead. He only fought for me to protect the house name. He betrayed me, just like he did to you and your father. I'm so sorry." He said faintly, hanging his head.

"You could have told me." I replied sincerely, "I would have understood."

"I know you would. I know you would. It would have just have been too risky. I couldn't risk you paying for my mistakes." Eret said despairingly, still staring down at the floor of the boat.

"I want to believe you. I do. But then why would you still agree to this contract. Agreeing to take me back to Drago. Why would you do that, if…?" I began to ask.

"…Don't you get it, cousin?" He asked with a slight laugh, as he finally raised his head to look at me, "There never was a clause in the contract to take you back to Drago." What? No. He's not saying that… "I was sent to kill you. They sent me to kill you. Sent me to put you in the ground. I couldn't do it. I could never do it. I just tried to get you away. Tried to keep you safe." He smiled at me, but it was an uneasy smile, a smile hiding years of pain and suffering. "Now I know that's not possible. What we've seen. It's coming for us all. I need you to come with me to Essos. Get them all to believe. Do you trust me?"

I smiled at him, nodding acceptingly, "I do, cousin. I do."