Game of Thrones – The Sky Knight
The world without the Iron Throne
By
Robert Spénard
Chapter 1 – Weddings and WildlingsIt's been two months since the Northlands have gained their independence from the seven now six kingdoms of Westeros. Sansa has asked the lords and bannerman to return to Winterfell to meet and discuss the wall, the wildlings and the Knights Watch.
Jacob is standing in front of Bertie and says;
"Combat Unit Bertie access encrypted files X34918-447."
Bertie scans Jacob and says;
"Biometric and neurological identity confirmed access to encrypted files complete."
Jacob says;
"Those are the complete files on GenSol physiology, mine and the three children I had before the great flood. Keep monitoring Sansa's unborn child and look for similarities to either. I need to know how much of the GenSol the child inherits. What is the likelihood that any of my children with Sansa will have the life renewal mutation?"
Bertie responds;
"Unknown at this time. It will take me some time to analyze the data and compare it to Stark Sansa. There is a possibility that male children may have the mutation."
Jacob says;
"It may not work that way. I may not have found my children that I lost track of, but I did find their genome. One of my daughters has the life renewal mutation. Nathaniel Stands Strong, and his people are looking for her. She also inherited my body density and healing abilities. I don't want any of my children with Sansa to have that mutation."
Bertie responds with;
"Given what I have analyzed so far, it is likely that one of your children may have the mutation. Unfortunately, I cannot correct the mutation. But you already know that."
Jacob answers;
"Yes, and if I could get it removed, I would. The science just isn't there yet."
The lords and bannermen, where almost a third are women who lost their husbands during the wars, are sitting in the main hall with documents in front of them. Some are reading the documents intensely while others are quietly reading or having the papers read to them.
They all rise when Sansa, Jacob and the hand of the Queen Lady Mormont enter the hall and take their place behind the main table. When Sansa sits, the entire room sits down. Then Sansa says;
"Ladies and Lords of the Northlands, I welcome you here for this meeting to discuss the future of the North. Many of you have expressed concern with my naming of Lady Mormont as my hand. She should explain why."
Lady Mormont stands up, begins slowly moving around the room, saying;
"I'm a young, a child. For any enemies that we have, this is a weakness. I have no experience with it. What I have is what is in my head; like my mother, I am a warrior. To be the hand of the Queen is a job for a warrior, not a politician. One of the things you are here for is electing the Lords or Ladies who will sit with me on the small council. I understand that I have a great deal more to learn about leadership. The men and women you elect to the small council must be the best person for the job. Those are the people with the knowledge and wisdom that are needed for us to grow strong. They oversee the running of the country; I counsel the Queen and enforce her will."
By the end of her speech, she is back in the seat where she started and sits down in her chair.
Sansa then says;
"The list of positions for the small council is in the documents in front of you. I know how tedious reading legal documents are; what we will do must be recorded and documented. The Northlands will be the first to do many things unheard of, and we are not the northern savages the people in the south believe us to be. It's time that we proved it."
As the people in the room clap and applaud in agreement, Sansa stands, raises her hand to quiet the room and says;
"Before we continue, there is an injustice that must be corrected. Send in Patrol Commander Altus Stebbins."
Stebbins walks in and stands in front of Sansa, who says;
"Patrol Commander of Horse Altus Stebbins, during the war against the Mad King, you proved yourself to be a great leader, rising to the rank of General never lost a single battle only to have the status stripped from you because you are not a lord. Today (everyone in the room says), The North Remembers."
Sansa continues;
"I Sansa, the first of her name, Queen and Warden of the Northlands, grant you the title of Count and gift you with the vacant lands that were once owned by house _ a house that no longer exists. Furthermore, I ask you to be my Master of Horsemen in the army of the North. Do you accept Count Stebbins?"
Stebbins stands in shock then says;
"My Queen, thank you for the title and all that goes with it. I'm not sure about taking the position of Master of Horsemen. I was hoping to speak to you about giving aid to my right hand during the war against the Mad King, Lord Sipicone of Dorne."
Sansa sits then thinks and says;
"When Lord Sipicone asked for aid at the last meeting of the Kings of the seven kingdoms, I could not give him an answer. Ten thousand northerners died in the war for the seven kingdoms. Thousands more crippled. Before this meeting is over, I will provide you with a chance to petition all the lords in this room for what Lord Sipicone, the hand of Princess Tyene of Dorne, has asked. Please take your seat Count Stebbins so that we may continue."
Before they can continue, Lord Constark stands and asks;
"Forgive me, my Queen, I would like to know what role Crown Prince Jacob has in the future of the Northlands? There is no mention of him in the documents presented before us."
Jacob looks at Sansa, who replies;
"Prince Jacob is to be my husband and prince of the North. Everyone in this room knows there must always be a Stark in Winterfell; my brother Bran is King of the Six kingdoms and unable to bear children. My half-brother John Snow is forbidden to marry and have children. My sister Arya who renounced her claims to the title, and I are the only living Starks. To keep a Stark in Winterfell, because the Stark bloodline rests in the women, from this day forth, the firstborn daughter will be heir to Winterfell and the Northlands. Who's last name will always be Stark. I chose Prince Jacob to be my husband for many reasons; he is a warrior without equal. Even if it is not in this world, he is of royal blood and has much more to contribute to the North. I know where he comes from and his entire lineage; there is no question that he is not of royal blood. My marriage to him will be in a month. His role is to do what I tell him to it is."
Then Lady Mormont stands and says;
"Queen Sansa's daughters will be Starks, Prince Jacob's sons will be Dublois. I am working with several Maestre's on a test of leadership that our Queen's firstborn daughter will have to pass. The child has yet to be born, so we have time. If she fails them, we will have a plan in place that will ensure that a Stark always remains in Winterfell and Warden of the North. "
Jacob and Sansa are watching the Sunset, and Jacob asks;
"If this is winter, where is the long night?"
Sansa replies;
"I have no idea, every time the sun rises; I'm terrified that one day it won't rise for several years."
Jacob says;
"I'm working on some things that will help with keeping people from starving if that happens, greenhouses, hydroponic plants and more powerful lighting systems. All of which people in my world were used for thousands of years. With technology less advanced than what is here in Westeros."
Sansa replies;
"Those are costly structures to build and will take time that we may not have to become operational and feed people before they starve to death."
Jacob replies;
"Yes, on the good side, I finally got a steam engine to work without exploding. Building a railroad will be expensive but worth it."
A servant bringing them some food says to Amyelia, altering one of Sansa's dresses;
"The Queen is awfully quiet; if I didn't know any better, they would be talking, not just enjoying the sunset."
Amyelia looks up and at them and says;
"They are silently talking to each other. They are arguing about baby names."
As the servant looks at her with confusion, Amyelia says;
"You'll get used to them talking this way. It's weirder if you find one of them talking to the other in front of a mirror."
Then Bertie, with a holographic image of a middle-aged Asian woman, says;
"I will take the food to them; there are some issues concerning Queen Stark Sansa's wedding in a month to be dealt with. Tomorrow's bridal shower should be a pleasant diversion from the day's events. "
As Bertie takes the food from the servant Eeina says;
"Handmaiden Bertie is from a place where people say the family name first, then their given name."
After the servant has left, Elaina asks;
"How much longer do you think it will be before the loser guests realize that Sansa is pregnant? We can only conceal the baby bump for so long?"
Amyelia replies;
"After tomorrow night, it won't be a big secret; even then, I doubt some of the losers will realize that Sansa's three months pregnant with Jacob's spawn."
Eeina asks;
"Them getting married at the end of the month, does that make it a crossbow wedding?"
John is sitting by a fire in a Freefolk camp trying not to drink the foul-smelling beverage that they are fond of when a man walks past carrying a raven he killed with a message still attached to its legs and says;
"Morty, where did you find the raven?"
Morty stops, looks at it and says;
"This thing is a raven. Food is food."
John says;
"Can I have that piece of parchment attached to its leg?"
Morty looks at the small scroll tied to the leg and says;
"What's it worth to you?"
Jacob holds up the foul-smelling beverage and says;
"You can have this for the scroll."
Morty replies;
"I can't accept that in trade; if I do, my woman will kick me out until the stench from it spilling on my clothes is long gone. What else do you have?"
John replies;
"I have a bottle of moonshine."
Morty says;
"I'll take that; it's good for cleaning blood off my weapons."
John gives him an entire bottle of Moonshine, and Morty gives him the message, which reads;
"John Snow, you have been invited to witness the marriage of Queen Sansa Stark and Clown Prince Jacob; please let us know if you will be accompanied."
The Freefolk woman Ursula who has been trying to get John into her bed and can read, takes the message from him, reads it and says;
"I've never been to a crow wedding; when do we leave?"
John replies;
"My sister is not a crow; she's Queen of the Northlands. And it's in three weeks, just enough time to get there. Why would I bring you?"
Ursula replies;
"Why wouldn't you, and with that stupid sentence of yours, at least one Freefolk should escort the prisoner. Winterfell is a long way from what's left of the wall."
John asks;
"Where did you learn to read?"
Ursula, with annoyance, responds with;
"From my parents, who learned it from their parents. Just because Freefolk are nomadic and live a simple life doesn't mean that they are ignorant savages. We have what are left of The Thenn for that. When Tormund is sober, he can write some amazing poetry; he just has to sober up for that to happen."
It's been a week of meetings, planning and speeches from people who want to sit on the small council. Stebbins is with Clarice and says;
"I would never have imagined that being a lord requires so much reading; I'm just grateful that the first vote on what percentage is considered for being a majority when voting on anything."
Clarice counters;
"This is new and a first. A monarch who lets people choose who sits beside them and build a nation where people can have a voice into their future. My late husband didn't have any say in what the men above him wanted from him; they just had to do it. If they had asked, he would have given the Lannisters the beet harvest, not take it by force."
Stebbins looks at her and says;
"At least I have you to council me with these matters."
Clarice responds;
"I don't want you to go and fight in Dorne; we just…I can't lose you."
Stebbins replies;
"You're not going to lose me, and you know my history with Rugel. I can't say no to him. I would ask you to marry me, but I think that's something you would never consider."
Clarice looks at him and says;
"I'm in love with an idiot. Ask me to marry you, and I will say yes."
Stebbins sits in shock and says;
"What about Mayfield Keep? I always believed that you and your daughters would go back there."
Clarice shoots back;
"There's nothing left there to go back to. Are you going to ask me to marry you or not?"
The following day Stebbins and the Lords and Ladies are waiting for the Maestre's counting the ballots for the vote on what is considered a majority for a motion to pass and what is considered a win for someone to be elected.
As he, like several others, read more of the documents and prepared questions for debate, the items they will be voting on, including the persons who will sit on the small council.
While Sansa is dealing with the first step to becoming a better nation, Jacob is welcoming Yara of the Ironbourne to a laboratory he has set up in the abandoned tower and says;
"That you for coming. I have some gifts for you.
Yara replies;
"Wasn't planning on coming here; those ship designs you sent me are interesting. We built one, and it's fast. Faster than anything we've ever seen. Not much space for cargo."
Jacob responds;
"My people once used them as courier ships; people paid a great deal of money to send documents or small precious cargo."
Yara thinks then asks;
"How much did they pay for that?"
Jacob answers;
"A great deal more than double what the fastest cargo ship charged for carrying half a hold of cargo."
Then he pulls a tarp off a hydrodynamic's tank and says;
"This device is something my people used when designing ships; you put a scale model of a ship in there, and as the water flows across it, you add red dye to see how the water is flowing around it."
Then an assistant, George, places a ¼ scale model of Yara's fastest ship in the tank and begins to move the water past it. Jacob pours some red dye into the tank. When it's flowing, they see how the water moves around it. When the large circles of dye form behind the ship, Jacob says;
"What your seeing at the aft part of the ship, my people call drag, something that slows down ships' speed. Our ships didn't have sails and floated more level. You can simulate how the wind affects it by attaching a cable and pulling the ship to match the angle a typical ship would have at sea."
Yara looks at the tank with interest, and Jacob says;
"George will place a ship that can carry cargo or be used as a warship."
Then the assistant pulls the ¼ scale model of Yara's fastest ship and places a streamlined ¼ scale streamlined Eight-tenth century ship in its place."
As the assistant runs the water through it, Jacob pours dye into the tank, and the drag swirls are significantly reduced. Yara continues to look at it with interest and fascination and asks;
"How do we know what speed the water is moving around the ship?"
Jacob responds;
"When we built the tank, we used time, the time it takes for the water to move through the tank. (he hands her a small wooden box) It would have taken much longer to figure that out if I hadn't used the item in the box."
Yara opens the box and pulls out a chronograph, and asks;
"What is this?"
Jacob states;
"It's called a Chronograph, a precise instrument for keeping track of time on my world and first invented for sailors as part of how they navigated our oceans. There is a feature called a stopwatch that can count the seconds between an action. In this case, the time it takes for water to move past a ship. It's a work in progress."
Yara puts it back in the box and says;
"I am hesitant on taking anything from you because John Snow Queen Sansa's brother killed my Queen."
Jacob says;
"I understand it's something challenging in getting past. We are trying to build a new, better world without going to war to do it. You will find detailed information on a ship design that can be used as either a warship or a large cargo vessel on the tables. In my world, they were originally designed to transport large numbers of slaves at once.
Yara opens the one closest to her and see's a seven masted ship. Thinks then asks;
"Why are you giving me all of this?"
Jacob quickly responds;
"I need ships that can carry large quantities of Moonshine and other products to my markets. You need faster ships to deal with pirates and a new source of revenue using Ironborn without having to go back to roving and raiding."
Yara closes the book she was looking at and says;
"These ships will be expensive to make; how much are you willing to pay to move that much cargo?"
Jacob responds;
"I know where there is more than enough gold to build ten or more of these ships. Consider it a partnership."
Yara looks at him and says;
"Shouldn't this gold go to your Queen Sansa?"
Jacob responds;
"There are millions of pounds of gold more than enough to invest in your ships and pay for the railroad I'm going to build."
Yara asks;
"Where is this gold you're talking about?"
Jacob replies;
"Some of it, in Valaria. The rest in the Freelands, I just have to make a deal with Tormund Giantsbane to mine it. It's on the land his clan claims as theirs."
Yara looks at him strangely and says;
"You can't get anything from Valaria; no one has ever come back from there."
Jacob smiles and says;
"I have and brought back a fortune in Valarian steel. You just have to respect the people who live there. Tormund's going to be a problem in the long run. When he sees how much gold we are mining, he's going to want a bigger cut."
Yara picks up the chronograph and hands it to the man standing next to her and says;
"Just how much gold does he have?"
Jacob smiles and replies;
"More than the Lannisters have mined in the last two hundred years combined. The Freelands are rich with mineral resources, including Titanium."
Yara counters;
"Before we start building ships, I expect payment upfront."
Jacob answers;
"I will have it to you as soon as my fiancée gives me leave to return to Valaria. I will need an escort and ships to carry the gold back; the pirate activity around Valaria has increased since I was last there."
Yara says;
"I don't expect you to come back; I'll have three ships take you there. When you are ready to go, they will have more than enough room for the gold."
Jacob smiles and says;
"As soon as my fiancée gives me leave to do so, I'll send a raven."
Yara asks;
"Who is your fiancée, whatever that is?"
Jacob smiles and says;
"Queen Sansa, It's called betrothed here. I hope you will attend the baby shower she has tonight."
Yara asks;
"What's a baby shower?"
Jacob responds;
"It's a party for pregnant women, where they receive gifts and items for their unborn child."
Yara thinks then says;
"I don't have anything to give her…Queen Sansa is pregnant?"
Jacob responds;
"Yes. Almost three months. (He picks up another book) this book contains keel designs that are superior to the ones you're currently using. You should come to the wedding."
Yara thinks then says;
"Who doesn't love a good crossbow wedding. Why she chose you for a husband doesn't make sense when she could find someone far more attractive."
Jacob says;
"She chose me long before I knocked her up. George Mills comes with the tank; he's very skilled at making ¼ scale models of things. He's been paid for the next five years to run the hydrodynamic equipment. I have some other things to attend to; feel free to stay and look through everything I have for you."
After Jacob has left, Yara quietly says to the man next to her in Ironborn;
"When he decides to go to Valaria, we take him hostage and force Sansa to give us John Snow."
The man replies in Ironborn;
"That is the Sky Knight if what I've been told is true. We won't be able to take him hostage."
Yara responds in Ironborn;
"It's a long sail to Valaria, without ravens. By the time she realizes that we haven't taken him hostage, we'll have both John Snow and the gold."
The man quietly counters in Ironborn;
"I still think that would be a bad idea. What the Sky Knight has offered is what we need to fulfil Queen Daenerys vision for us. Some of those pirates he mentioned are rouge Ironborn that won't bend their knee to you. Having better warships will make it easier to take them out. If tradition here is upheld, we will know where John Snow will be when he attends Sansa's wedding. We could have him killed then."
Yara responds in Ironborn;
"The last person who killed a Stark at a wedding died a horrible death. After the wedding, when he's on his way back to Castle Black is when we will kill him for what he did."
George asks;
"My Lady, Are there any questions about the tank or the ship designs?"
Yara thinks then says;
"I don't want to go to this baby shower, so tell me more about this device. And I'm no fucking lady."
Jacob is sitting with Stebbins in the library when Jacob asks;
"How did today go?"
Stebbins replies;
"I never knew how much work it takes to be a lord. At least some things are resolved. Tomorrow we are in groups to debate the motions. I do like this constitution thing; It will be hard getting the Lords to accept the part that states that all men and women are equal under the laws of the Northlands."
Jacob says;
"It will still take time; right now, those are words on a piece of paper. Building a nation doesn't happen overnight."
Sansa is sitting with a large group of women, all wondering what is supposed to happen. As they awkwardly look at each other, the table where they left their gifts and then Sansa. Then Lady Mormont says;
"I have no idea what we are supposed to do, so we should do what men would do and get drunk."
Sansa smiles and says;
"Being with child means I can't drink, but I do know a few drinking games. Who would like to play? We have a new alcoholic beverage called gin, and I have a few drinks we can make with it."
Stebbins says;
"I, as you often said, seriously fucked up. Clarice is expecting me to ask her to marry me. I never thought she would consider me as a husband."
Jacob replies;
"You two have been sleeping together, and there's never been any doubt about how she feels for you. In the last battle between the living and the dead, she was supposed to be in the crypt. Instead, she fought her way across the battle to be with you. Our armour and weapons were useless against White Walkers, unlike the undead."
Stebbins looks at him and says;
"I was supposed to die there, wasn't I?"
Jacob responds;
"Yes, now who knows. You should make the best out of what time you do have, and death doesn't like changes to his list of when and where we are meant to die."
Stebbins states;
"Then he must be extremely angry with you; I've lost count as to how many times you've died and come back."
Jacob responds;
"Death and I have a long and bizarre relationship. I should have died over a hundred times before I came here. I came close a few times; one day he will come for me, and this time, I won't be ready. I have too much to live for now, and I'm pretty sure he would have to get Sansa's permission for me to die. Let's come up with a romantic plan for your proposal to Clarice."
Stebbins replies;
"What's a romantic plan? Is there something wrong with just asking?"
Jacob says;
"That door closed when she told you to ask her to marry you. I have a few ideas. What does she like? Other than protecting her daughter's honour."
Stebbins replies;
"I have no idea, and I should have listened more closely."
Jacob thinks then says;
"You always have to listen closely, even when your minds are linked, and she's showing you all her memories and experiences. The former Three-Eyed raven played me; he told me that I had to give Sansa a suit of my armour to save her life. At the time, she wasn't going to go south and marry the cruel prince. He forgot to tell me why she wouldn't go south. The moment Sansa met me was the moment she knew that she wanted me as her husband. She's a lot smarter than anyone gave her credit. When she was expected to be a vapid foolish girl, she played the part brilliantly. All the while terrified for her life."
Stebbins picks up a bottle of another new beverage, Blacksmith's Hammer Vodka and says;
"I suspect that we should get insanely drunk. I like this vodka more than Moonshine."
Jacob says;
"We need more people; Sansa and the women at her baby shower are getting drunk on Summer breeze gin."
Stebbins asks;
"How do you know that?"
Jacob responds;
"Sansa and I are bonded; we see and experience everything each of us is doing at any given moment. It makes for amazing sex."
Stebbins pulls the cork out of the bottle and stops before he takes a drink and says;
"With all the nonsense that's come out of your mouth since I first met you, that actually makes sense. Do you think that Sansa could ask Clarice a few questions that can help with this romantic proposal?"
Jacob replies;
"She said no, you should have listened more carefully to what Clarice was saying. She will always know what is on my mind. I don't always know what is on her mind until she tells me. So drink up."
Stebbins drunkenly stumbles into his room to find an equally drunk and naked Clarice waiting for him, who drunkenly says;
"Take a good look, asshole, cause until you ask me to marry you, you're not going to see it again."
Stebbins drunkenly replies;
"I'm fucking drunk and need to go to bed. I have no idea what you're talking about."
As Stebbins drunkenly tries to take his clothes off, Clarice says;
"I knew it. My AI Abigale told me that you weren't listening to me, but I didn't believe her until now."
Stebbins drunkenly responds;
"You should stop taking advice from the person trapped in your armour. I need to go to bed."
Clarice drunkenly slaps him, and he says;
"That hurt. Why did you slap me?"
Clarice drunkenly answers;
"You're not listening to me. That's why."
Stebbins replies;
"If I ask you to marry me right now, will you let me go to bed?"
Clarice drunkenly shoots back;
"Your choosing now to ask me to marry you?"
Stebbins drunkenly replies;
"Clarice Ilyansa Mayfield, will you marry me?"
Clarice drunkenly responds;
"Yes. I'll marry you."
Stebbins drunkenly replies;
"Good, now I have to go to bed."
Clarice drunkenly responds;
"I'm standing here naked, and you want to go to bed?"
Stebbins drunkenly answers;
"Yes, you are naked, and soon I will be too. And I have to go to bed."
Clarice responds with;
"One of the ladies suggested that I try drunk sex; we're both naked, so why not?"
Stebbins replies;
"Cause I have to go to bed, tomorrow we have to break into groups and then listen to the persons who want to be the Master of Justice."
Clarice pushes him onto his bed and drunkenly says;
"You're in your bed, so time to have drunk sex."
Just before Clarice climbs on him, he drunkenly says;
"Look at that; I'm in bed. Good thing you'll be on top; women can't get pregnant when they are on top."
Clarice drunkenly says;
"Don't talk. You are ruining the moment. You don't know anything about how women get pregnant."
The next day Stebbins is nursing a massive hangover and trying to pay attention while a lord speaks about why he should be the Queen's Master of Justice. He looks around and notices the women who attended Sansa's baby shower also nursing massive hangovers. When the person finishes speaking, he opens the door for questions, and Stebbins asks;
"Do you think a woman can rape a man?"
As people in the room laugh, the man says;
"Yes, I do, my room is next to yours, Count Stebbins, and I clearly heard you say no to the woman you were having loud drunken sex with quite a few times. The difference between consensual sex and rape is both parties agree to have sex before and during sexual acts. Not one person forcing themselves on another without consent."
Then the person is asked more questions about more serious offences and the issue of prisons for people convicted of a serious crime.
The person sitting next to Stebbins quietly asks;
"I take it you did something very regrettable last night?"
Stebbins quietly responds;
"The sex was not regrettable; what is regrettable is that I may have drunkenly asked Lady Mayfield to marry me."
The person quietly asks;
"Why is that regrettable?"
Stebbins quietly responds;
"I think I asked her because I really wanted to go to bed. The sex was just a bonus. I am going to ask her just in a more romantic way."
The person quietly counters;
"What a stupid way to ask for a woman's hand. You should just ask her and get it over with."
Clarice is sitting with Sansa, nursing a massive hangover and says;
"I think I may have done something regrettable last night."
Sansa calmly responds;
"If you mean the loud drunken sex with Count Stebbins and him clearly saying no several times, then I agree."
Clarice responds;
"Not that I don't regret the sex; I think he asked me to marry him, and I wanted to go to bed, so I think I said yes. The sex happened after I tripped over something and fell on top of him. I wish he would just ask me as I told him to."
Sansa replies;
"I blame Jacob on that; he somehow convinced Count Stebbins to give you a romantic proposal."
Clarice asks;
"How did Jacob propose to you?"
Sansa replies;
"He didn't; I told him that we were getting married. That was before I found out I was pregnant with his child. When we linked our minds, he saw my entire life and somehow missed the part about how much I wanted to marry him. I had to stop the replay and remind him. If it hadn't been for Bertie, I would have refused to go to Kings Landing to marry the cruel prince."
Jacob is about to step into the distillery to check on the progress of the single malt scotch when he hears Sansa's conversation with Clarice and says;
"Now, you want a romantic proposal?"
Sansa replies;
"It would be nice. You do know what I like."
Jacob replies;
"Yes, I do, I can never lie to you, and now that we are bonded, I can't keep anything from you. Yara agreed far too easily to what we offered her; I'm fairly certain that she's planning on taking me hostage in exchange for John."
Sansa replies;
"Probably, she needs what we have to offer her. She will most likely wait until John is headed back north to kill him. Ghost told me that John, a woman named Ursula, along with twenty FreeFolk are on their way here for my wedding."
Jacob opens the door to the distillery and says;
"It's good to know that John is dating, even if he doesn't know it. Bran should be halfway here by now."
Sansa replies;
"He would be here by now if Clem hadn't taken control of Drogo."
Jacob replies;
"He is a dragon rider, after all."
Sansa replies;
"He's more than a dragon rider; he's a knight of the dragon. The ones that are supposed to be celibate."
Jacob states;
"In six months, Clem will have to release Drogo. He can't keep a dragon that he didn't raise and wasn't meant for him for long. I should call Daisy and talk to her about taking some of the gold stockpiled in their vault. I promised it to Yara; it could take a year or more to make a deal with Tormund to mine the gold on his clan's lands."
Arya's ship has finally found land and has disembarked to find supplies and freshwater. She looks at Nicodemus, who is happy to be off the ship but hesitant to enter the forest in front of them. Grande Maestre Dorkwood says;
"I thought we would never find land. Why is Nicodemus hesitant about running into the forest?"
Arya replies;
"He thinks that we are not alone and what is there doesn't want us here."
Then several javelin type weapons land in front of them, and Arya says;
"They don't want us here, everyone back on the ship. We'll keep mapping the coastline until we find a place where people aren't throwing those things at us."
As Arya and the landing party get back into the boat and row back to their ship, one of the tribesmen who threw a Javelin at them says;
"That's very rude, we give them a proper hello and welcome, and they get back into the thing that brought them here and leave."
The tribesman standing next to him that had travelled outside their home says;
"I told you that throwing Javelins at strangers was not a good idea for a peaceful welcome to our shores; we should have just walked out to the beach and welcomed them with a handshake. They probably had something good to trade. Now the people down the beach will be trading with them."
The first shoots back;
"Just because you journeyed around the outside world is no reason to disrespect our traditions. At the very least, the strangers could have thrown the Javelins back."
Jacob has just left the distillery when he sees the Blacksmith finally come back from his journeys around the seven kingdoms. He walks over and says;
"It's about time you got back. How did it go?"
The Blacksmith smiles and says;
"Extremely well, every Blacksmith I met agreed to be the local distributor of Moonshine. It's become quite popular."
Jacob states;
"The orders have been coming in now that the wars are over. We just have to get the product out. We have some new beverages, Blacksmith Hammer Vodka, Summer Breeze Gin and eventually single malt scotch once properly aged. Now that I have a working steam engine, we need to put the Blacksmith network to work making parts for steam engines and the railroad we are going to build."
The Blacksmith responds;
"I don't know what a railroad is, but we did secure property to use as warehouses in key seaside locations like you asked."
Jacob replies;
"Excellent, did you come across our main competitor Shadow Cat Whiskey?"
The Blacksmith responds;
"I did, and then I showed them what they were doing wrong. They make an excellent whiskey now. The first batch they made left a sour taste in the mouth. Then again, they tried to add blackberries to the whiskey before distilling it and wheat after distilling it."
Jacob says;
"Do you want to go back to the forge or take the position of master distiller?"
The Blacksmith quickly answers;
"I'm not going back to the forge unless it's to make something I want to. I liked travelling around the land. Some of the Blacksmiths will only deal with me. Master Distiller sounds perfect; how much does it pay?"
The sisters are moping floors in Winterfell, and Elaina says;
"We really need to stop screwing with people, especially when there is a castle filled with highborn bachelor's."
Amyelia states;
"Have you seen the singe lords? They are either nine years old or over sixty. I'd rather have them think of us as servants than highborn."
Eeina states;
"Will you two stop screwing around? We've been mopping the same floor for two hours. Let's get this done so we can move on to the next thing we have to do."
Elaina shoots back;
"The next thing on the list is clean the toilets in the common area. I don't clean toilets."
Amyelia counters;
"Then you shouldn't have locked that creepy lord in one."
Elaina replies;
"He thought I was a prostitute, and unlike Eeina, I don't have any mindwipe powder to make him have a sudden love of horses."
Eeina smiles and says;
"He's now the Horse fucker of the Red Keep. Why they let him spend almost a week in those stables fucking horses makes no sense."
Elaina states;
"We should get our armour to clean the toilets wearing holo's of us while they do it."
Eeina angrily shoots back;
"How can you forget what got us into this mess in the first place, having our armour wearing holo's of us to do shit we didn't want to do."
Then they realize that the Head Matron is watching them and says;
"You three are horrible cleaners; you've been mopping the same small part of the floor for the last three hours, put the mops away and go clean the toilets."
Eeina starts to hum, then Amyelia elbows her and quietly says;
"That doesn't work on her; she's perfectly at peace being a sadistic bitch."
Elaina says to them in Triplet speak;
"If I can't get the smell of shit out of my everything, I'll show you two what a real sadistic bitch is."
As the sisters have finished cleaning the toilets to the Head Matron's expectations, they step outside to get some fresh air then they see Yara and the Ironborn that travelled to Winterfell with them, and one of the men pulls his sword and shouts;
"Siren, it is our duty to end you."
Elaina replies;
"Even with the crappy day I've had today and the smell of shit from cleaning toilets in the common area, I could use a decent fight."
As other men pull their swords, Yara says;
"Put your swords away. I can feel that they are sirens but not the ones we kill. I have to be certain of what they are first. Fetch some water and add enough salt for it to be seawater."
Reluctantly they put away their swords, and some men go to fetch some water and salt. Eeina looks at Yara and says to her sisters in Triplet;
"Is it just me, or does she seem to be a relative?"
Amyelia responds in Triplet;
"I don't know about that, but she does remind me of Cindy."
Elaina responds in Triplet;
"Cindy, Cindy, Cindy, will you shut up about Cindy."
As the sisters begin an argument in Triplet speak, Yara throws the salt-laden water on them. When nothing happens, she says;
"I don't think they are true sirens if they are sirens at all."
Then Jacob appears and says;
"They are descended from a Siren that was made human. They are being trained as healers who can calm men enough to let a Maestre amputate a badly damaged limb. The late Grand Maestre Hawkings found their linage and a prophecy about three sisters descended from a Siren who was made human that will bring a new era of peace to the world. I have a copy of it."
Yara looks at him and says;
"I've heard and read many prophecies about three Sirens that will destroy the world, not that one. Ironborn are expected to kill a Siren when we see them."
Jacob says;
"They are spoiled, entitled children who until recently lived a life with serious adult supervision. I took them to Dorne and Volantis, and they spent a great deal of time swimming in the ocean and never grew a tale. You can send some of your men to fetch proper seawater."
Yara looks at one of her men, who then leaves with another to go and bring proper seawater and other items to test the sisters that will prove or disprove their claims of not being Sirens. Then says;
"It will be some time for them to get back with everything we need to properly test them and prove that they are Sirens that lure men to their deaths. I guess I'm staying for your crossbow wedding."
Jacob replies;
"Until the battle of the Bastards, most people around here thought of them as prostitutes that lead men astray, denying them entrance from heaven. When their singing helped calm wounded soldiers so that they could be treated, changed most people's minds of what they thought, if these three could lure a man, they would be married to wealthy highborn's and expecting."
Yara takes a long look at Amyelia and says;
"I can understand why they would think (points to Amyelia) she was a prostitute, not the others."
Elaina, in Triplet, speak, says;
"I can see why she looks like Cindy; she's looking at you just like Cindy did."
Eeina adds in Triplet speak;
"If we had some weed, you could smoke it with her and see where it goes, just like Cindy kept saying."
Jacob in Triplet speak says;
"Enough of this shit, now go to your rooms and get cleaned up. Yes, I learned how to speak Triplet, and Sansa also speaks it."
The Sisters awkwardly turn and enter the Castle, then run to the rooms across the hall from Sansa's chambers.
Jacob in Ironborn says;
"Let's find you some decent quarters for you and your men."
The days of the long meetings are finally over, the small council seats have been filled with the elected people. Many of the motions were passed, including the Constitution, which all the lords and ladies signed. Stebbins is standing in front of the lords and ladies of the North and says;
"It has been a devastating time for the North; in a few short years, we have been to war four times. Over ten-thousand Northmen and Women have died in them. What I ask for is something I do not take lightly. Dorne is on the other side of the six kingdoms, a place that is always warm and bright. The actions of a few misguided people ended with most of Dorne's best fighters at the bottom of the Narrow sea. Pirates. Slavers and conquerors have invaded it. I see many men here who fought alongside me in the war against the Mad King; you also fought alongside Lord Rugel Sipicone of Dorne, who rode with a brigade of Northern Cavalrymen. He lost part of his leg, saving my life and many other Northman. He has asked for aid from the six kingdoms. Because of the decimation of the army of Westeros, King Bran has not been able to send adequate military assistance to help bring back law and order in Dorne. I can't speak for anyone else, but I owe a life debt to him, he asked for my help, and I will give it to him. I ask for volunteers to join me and join Lord Sipicone in bringing law and order back to Dorne. A month after Queen Sansa's wedding to Prince Jacob, I will travel south to Dorne. Any man or woman that will ride with me in this fight is welcome.
One of the older lords stands up and says;
"I owe my life to Rugel, and it is time I repaid that debt. I will travel with you, General Stebbins, to Dorne and fight one last war."
Several men who fought alongside Rugel stand up and say the same thing.
After the meeting is over, Yara finds him and says;
"I've talked to my men; my ships will take you and those who join you to Dorne, then they will hunt the pirates plaguing the southern sea. Now I have what I need to prove or disprove that the Mayfield triplets are Sirens or not."
The sisters are standing in the central courtyard as a priest of the Drowned God begins to perform rituals to prove that they are Sirens. As he chants and throws sacred plants and items at them, Eeina says;
"We should be wearing our armour for this, this creeping me out."
Elaina is about to say something when a wet sticky plant lands on her face. As Amyelia chuckles, she also gets a wet sticky plant on her face, as does Eeina. Then without warning, Ironborn dump cold seawater on them. When nothing happens, the Priest looks closely at them and says;
"You three are not Sirens; when I look at all three of you, I see Sirens. These tests are conclusive. The Drowned God has determined that you are not Sirens. Your lives are spared for the moment. If there comes a day when any of you become a Siren, you will feel the wrath of the Drowned God. And every Ironborn in the world will hunt you down and end you."
As the sisters pull the sticky plant off their faces, Elaina states;
"I don't want to know what this is. I remember seawater as being warm and not smelling so bad."
Amyelia says;
"I'm freezing. This thing on my face smells horrible."
Eeina says;
"Why are we still standing here? These wet white dresses are transparent. They can see my everything."
Elaina says;
"We wouldn't be standing here freezing if Jacob and Bertie hadn't hidden our armour."
As Clarice begins to drag them off the platform, she says;
"We need to get you three to someplace else, and I don't like the way Yara is looking at you."
Sansa and Jacob's wedding is three days away when John, escorted by Ursula and twenty Freefolk, including Tormund, arrive at Winterfell.
Jacob meets them at the gate and says;
"You are just in time, everyone else is here, and the practice wedding and rehearsal banquet is in three hours."
As John gets off his horse, he asks;
"Who else is here?"
Jacob replies;
"Not Arya. She is on the other side of the planet exploring. Bran, the lords of the six kingdoms and a few people that want you dead."
John replies;
"I've been dead before and will be again someday. What is a practice wedding and rehearsal banquet?"
Jacob replies;
"A tradition I thought I left on Terra. Go get cleaned up; we put you in Robb's rooms."
Then Ghost walks up and past them into the Castle, and Jacob says;
"Ghost is still looking very clean."
John says;
"He kept stopping to clean himself; if we waited for him, we would be at least a day late for the wedding."
Jacob, Sansa, Stebbins, Clarice, John, Bran, Edmure, Gendry, Seth Lannister, the Arch Maestre and their plus-ones sit at the head table in an empty room. Bertie, wearing the holo of the middle-aged Asian woman, stands in front of them and says;
"Just like the actual wedding, this is a practice for what will happen at the wedding diner."
Ursula holds up a fork and asks;
"What is this?"
Bertie replies;
"Something new, it's called a fork. It's better than using a single tyne to pick up your food."
Ursula comments;
"This looks like the pitchfork used to clean the stables."
Bertie states;
"It's not; the fork, dinner knives and spoons are made of sterling silver. The meal will consist of seven courses. Usually, there would be seven sets of them, one for each course. Since this type of cutlery is new, there will be only one set."
Gendry asks;
"Why am I here, at this table? I arrived an hour after John Snow."
Bertie replies;
"You are a lord of the six kingdoms; you sit at the head table. Now what will happen is that you will all enter before Queen Stark Sansa and C…GenSol Dublois Jacob and remain standing until they take their seats. There will be a brief speech from Queen Stark Sansa, and then the meal will begin. After the dinner, there will be speeches. Usually, it would be the parents of the bride and groom, who are deceased. So the first speech will be from Queen Stark Sansa's eldest relative, Snow John; it should contain information on Queen Stark Sansa and C…GenSol Dublios Jacob. Followed by the best man, in this case, General Stebbins Altus. Then the bride makes a speech followed by the groom. It is important to note that each speech ends with a toast to the bride and groom. After which, the dance begins. The first dance is the bride and groom. Then the father-daughter dance, which will be with Queen Stark Sansa and Snow John."
Seth interrupts and says;
"This is interesting, but John Snow is a bastard; proper etiquette dictates that he be as far from the table as possible."
Bertie moves closer to Seth and says;
"Snow John is not a bastard; he is the lawful son of Targaryen Raygor and Stark Elliana Queen Stark Sansa's first cousin."
As Seth begins to comprehend what Bertie said, Bertie blows Mindwipe powder in his and his plus one's face, and when they are in the fugue state, Bertie says;
"You will forget everything about what I told you about who Snow John's parents are and will think that the people of the North are still savages. They let a bastard sit at the head table."
When Seth wakes, he says;
"Tyrion did say that people in the North have strange customs. If he weren't so busy dealing with the problems in Volantis, he would be here."
Then Bertie says;
"When the bride and groom leave for the night, there are two customs that are usually done. One is the bride throwing her bouquet over her shoulder to the single women in the room. The one who catches it is considered the next person in the room to be married. The other custom we should exclude is where the groom removes the bride's garter and throws it over his shoulder to the single men."
As the Sisters slowly walk up the aisle as Sansa's bridesmaids, Elaina sees Tormund in clean clothing and looking sober and thinks to herself. Who is the hot guy? Is he highborn and rich?"
Then as John escorts Sansa down the aisle, there is a mixed reaction to a bastard walking a queen down the aisle.
John quietly whispers to Sansa;
"You should have let Bran walk you down the aisle. The number of people who want me dead has just increased."
Sansa whispers back;
"They will get over it."
The marriage ceremony is remarkably short, and the Arch Maestre says;
"My lords and ladies, I present to you Queen Sansa Stark first of her name Queen of the Northlands and Warden of the North and her husband Prince Jacob Dublois, the Sky Knight."
As Jacob and Sansa exit the room, Sansa silently asks Jacob;
"How does it feel to have renounced the title Crown Prince of the Fallen Throne?"
Jacob silently replies;
"It feels great and hollow at the same time. No one on Terra will ever know."
Sansa silently replies;
"You are here now, and everyone will know and why it was so important to you to renounce it."
As people begin to leave to get ready for the banquet, Stebbins asks Clarice;
"Lady Clarice Illyansa Mayfield, will you marry me?"
Clarice says;
"Yes, and soon as you'll be leaving us for Dorne."
Stebbins replies;
"I hate to say it, but I won't miss your daughters."
Clarice replies;
"It's not them that you will be leaving. I'm pregnant."
Stebbins turns to the Arch Maestre and asks;
"Arch Maestre, would you be so kind as to marry us?"
The Arch Maestre replies;
"I will but after the festivities. Your crossbow marriage shouldn't disrupt Queen Sansa's crossbow marriage. At least I'm confident that she isn't going to kill or abandon her third husband."
Stebbins comments;
"He's been dead before; it just didn't take."
The Arch Maestre replies;
"I am well aware of how many times Prince Jacob has died. Grand Maestre Hawkings kept meticulous notes, and Virgil documented most of the imagery."
Jacob and Sansa are standing in a room when Jacob's thirty-second event warning chimes, and the holo of the clothes he was wearing drops as his armour fades onto him. When it's complete, Sansa says;
"What are you waiting for? Get out of your armour. We just enough time for what you call a quicky. I wish I didn't know about your intimacy with my sister. I'm nowhere near as demanding and am quite fond of chicken."
Jacobs helmet morphs back into his armour, and he says;
"I'm just enjoying this moment. And I am well aware that you are not wearing underwear."
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Copyright – The people who can financially ruin me. Who own the rights to Game of Thrones, and everything related to it. Please don't sue me I don't have any money.
November 14, 2021