All trademarked items in this fanfiction is owned by their respective copyright holders (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio by Ark Performance, etc). The ones owned by me are past and future OCs, plot, and author's thoughts. This fanfiction is made solely for entertainment purposes and not intended for any material gain..

A Capriccio of Winds and Earths

Kekkon 9

"Are you ready for the closing feast, my love?" Hamakaze asked as Shioni tied her obi.

"Ah, you know how it is with feasts and I, my lovely lady," Tyrion said after a chuckle. "I am always ready."

"I suppose as courtesy is supposed to be my weapon, you would be wielding wit as yours?" Hamakaze replied after a giggle.

"If all fails we have bows and glaives," Tyrion jested. "Though… about the venue, are you sure it will be ready? Lady Hyuuga only has two days to set it up..."

"It had been set up," Hamakaze said as she made a little twirl in her blue and red furisode kimono. "Hyuuga-san should be making her final checks right about now."

...

Only wisps of red remained of the sunset of the last day of the wedding celebrations.

"Lord Lannister, where on earth are you leading us?" Robert asked as the party marched through the corridors of Casterly Rock.

"You shall find the surprise well worth the secrecy, Your Grace," Tywin said, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "In fact, there is our guide now."

The hallway opens to a viewing gallery that had somehow been converted into a gateway arch. The metallic parts glint in torchlight as Yahagi bowed to the entourage.

"Welcome, lords and ladies, to our side of the wedding feast. The venue awaits beyond this hallway, my king, my Lord of Lannister," Yahagi said, bowing before the two nobles. Robert and Tywin stared at the prepared arch, one less sure than the other. "The floor's movement can be a little... disorienting but it's all rehearsed safely."

"If you will, Your Grace," Tywin said while allowing the sovereign to step forward first. "I shall be one step behind you."

"Well, if you say so," Robert said as he stepped into the prepared square. The floor indeed moved, catching the sober king off-guard. "Whoa!"

Then the music started.

The fanfare of trumpets started slow and soft, less grand then the fanfares and bugles of the Red Keep. The king had found his stability by now, contrasted to the practiced stance of his Kingsguard and the shaky dignity of his Lord Paramount.

Then the vista opened.

The darkening dusk punctuated the shimmer from the seas below. The light of the moon and stars created a backdrop of velvet that obscured the final destination of the hallway.

"Seven above... What the hell is this hallway...?" Robert asked in a soft tone.

"I was told it was part magic and part engineering, Your Grace," Tywin said.

"That is so," Yahagi helpfully said.

The music picked up, the sounds now layered against each other in a tune that conveyed grandeur and admiration. The first of the illusions made itself known, motes of light coalescing into the shape of a majestic golden stag.

"Gods above!" Robert exclaimed as the stag appeared to plod placidly beside him. "When Varys spoke of magic being performed in the north he neglected to mention this!"

"Magic, like gold, is ultimately but a means to achieve an end... My King," Yahagi said, her tone slightly amused. "If you turn in the opposite direction, you will see the Lannister's lion."

Robert turned his head as the music intensified like nothing he had heard before, layers of high bugles melding with fuller horns with the occasional chiming triangles and harps. Beside Tywin he saw a grand lion made of similar golden light, its steps matched with the great-lord of its namesake. The air of majesty and pride around man and house-namesake is unmistakable.

"Though he cannot be in person with you this day, Lord Stark sends his regards," Yahagi said as she gestured towards the stag. A great wolf soon joined the stag, its steps measured and poised.

"Gods... it's overwhelming," Robert muttered as a great eagle swept by, seemingly encompassing the whole horizon.

"It seemed that my good-daughter's house held nothing back for their feast," Tywin said after a light chuckle.

Across the lion then appeared a trout, seemingly swimming in the cool night air. Beyond the direwolf appeared a man carrying a banner of spear-through-sunburst. Beside the swimming trout then appeared a man carrying the banner of roses. Beside the sunburst came the squid. Beside the roses came the seahorse.

"Nine realms converge to The Rock to celebrate a glorious day," Yahagi said as their destination came to sight. In the middle of the cleared area, the head of House Kirino stood.

The music reached its climax.

"My King," Yamato said, a smile most mischievous on her lips as she bowed with flourish. "Welcome... aboard the Shinano."

"Lady Yamato… if I had known the meaning of the word spectacle before, they certainly would pale to this," Robert said in awe.

"Let us not tarry, shall we?" Yamato said, gesturing to the general direction of an arrangement of grandstand and stage. On that cue, light orbs lit up and illuminated the path. "After all, tonight's show is only just beginning."

...

Jon marveled as his small group of people hiked the hallway the King had traversed just earlier. Its walls shimmered and glowed, depicting scenes of forests and plains. Many animals, real ones mixed with some mythical creatures, frolic around the landscape.

"Look Jon, a star!" Edric marveled as a five-sided star dart past,

"That's your house sigil, isn't it?" Jon asked.

"Yes," the Dayne squire said, smiling. "Perhaps this magical hallway knows which house we are from!"

"Or they just coordinated from the guest list," Loras said, coming up to the duo from the rear.

"Squire Tyrell," Jon acknowledged him with a shallow nod.

"Squires Snow," Loras replied with a nod of his own. "And Dayne, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're right, actually," Edric said, smiling. "Edric Dayne, nice to meet you at last!"

"Likewise," Loras said.

"I wonder what we're eating tonight!" Edric happily chimed as they stepped foot at the vessel proper. "I really liked their floured fish fillet!"

"Aye, that one is delicious," Loras replied. "Especially with the lemon squeeze. I really have to get the recipe for Highgarden's kitchens…"

"If you please lads," a servant bearing a bowl filled with small pouches said. "A small gift from the House of Kirino."

"What is this?" Jon asked, curious.

"I was told that they are lucky charms," the servant said as Edric rummaged through the many colors of the charms.

"Thank you," Jon said as he selected one. "I wonder if this means something…"

"I have been studying their letters," Loras said as he settled on a gold charm. "I think this one is 'great', but I don't know the rest."

"Well, knowing this to be a lucky charm, the other letter should mean 'luck', 'fortune', or 'blessing'," Jon replied, dropping his black charm into his pocket.

"Haha, it might as well be!" Loras chuckled. "I should find my knight. Shall we meet again later?"

"Let's!" Edric said happily, a pearly white charm in his hand.

...

In the meantime, the king and his entourage had been seated on top of a large platform overlooking a stage area.

"My King," Shiomaru said as she approached the royal entourage. "I am Shiomaru Kirino..."

"Lady Shyomaru Kirino! I have heard people praising your skills of cookery." Robert exclaimed, cutting the foreign lady's words. "Now bring out your best dish, your king commands you!"

"As my king commands," Shiomaru said, bowing low to the king. A cart was then brought in at the master cuisinier's sign. Atop the cart was a covered bowl and a small bottle.

"When I was in Winterfell, a recipe was revealed to me, of a delicacy of The North named 'spiced snow'. I took it, and applied my knowledge upon it. Lord Stark, his children, and the assorted nobility of The North approved," Shiomaru said. "But to serve a king what I serve his Lord Paramount would not be my best. Now, observe closely."

The crowd was quiet when the lady poured the contents of the bottle upon the dish in the uncovered bowl, a golden-brown unassuming ball of little further description sprinkled with crushed nuts. The crowd's calm quickly turned into gasps of amazement and disbelief when Shiomaru ignited the bowl, with blue flames that leaped eagerly out and sustained itself for a brief while.

"This, my king, is the refinement of that idea. This is the sum of my current knowledge. The greatest of my magic," Shiomaru presented the flaming vessel to Robert. "This... is my Song of Ice and Fire."

Robert was dumbfounded, but accepted the food. The flames quickly guttered out, and Robert took a bite upon seeing it to be safe.

The king first felt the lick of caramel on his lips, then it mixed with the sweet creamy cold of the ostensibly-fabled spiced snow of The North he had often heard from Ned. The wisps of warmth the enflamed fried-bread crust brought lingered in his mouth, before giving way to the familiar, if more fierce, burn in his throat. Bits of raisin and toasted peanuts brought the king to chew, bringing out its flavor to enrich the experience.

"B-by the Seven," Robert said, his voice low and quiet. The table was so quiet one could hear a pin drop. "This… how. How even… how did ice and fire be in one bowl? W-what magic is this?"

"The same as my many creations, Your Grace. Part the ingredients, part the tools, and part the technique," Shiomaru said, before she smiled in satisfaction and then bowed with the flair of a master mummer who just made the show of their lifetime. "Of course, this much shall not sate your renowned appetite. Bring out the food for our king!"

On that cue, a swarm of waiters brought out the food.

A/N: for enhanced reading pleasure, the music used in the 'escalator scene' is the Jurassic Park Theme by John Williams. Happy New Year everyone!