Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Disney, Square-Enix, Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire or anything else. They rightfully belong to their respective owners.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Writing/Singing
"Foreign Language/Flashback"
-Scene Shift-
Chapter 1: Arrival
Soaring through the tropical air, a figure was sweeping through the clouds. A giddy feeling arose more and more as this person kept flying all around. The happy thoughts he used to fuel this recently gained ability seemed to never end as he kept focus on them as per instructions he received not long ago.
From the skies above, the being gazed upon the large island down below with nothing but ocean surrounding it as far as their eyes could see.
Soon after, this person dived towards the island below as they oversaw many places of significance.
One was the Indian Camp overlooking a heightened cliffside. Further back was the massive jungle which took up the majority of the island with a massive rainbow arcing over the landmass. In the middle of it all was the hideout of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, taking place underneath a large dead tree placed in a large open area. By the coastline was the Mermaid Lagoon where many young mermaids interacted with one another. Some miles off the coast was the pirate ship, The Jolly Roger, and even farther from there was a massive rock formation in the shape of a skull.
This was Neverland, one of many fantastical Worlds the one being had visited since his journey began.
'I really need to thank Tink for this when I see her next.' Came the thought of a young man.
The source of these thoughts came from a person by the name Ventus; or as he liked to be called Ven by his friends. And he, like a number of individuals out in the cosmos, was a wielder of the Keyblade.
He was a young sandy blonde teenager of fourteen, maybe fifteen years with deep blue eyes. His hair was rather spikey in nature as the front concentrates towards the right side as if windswept while the back was smoother and more flaky.
Ventus presently wore a short-sleeved jacket with the right half being white while the other was black. The inlay of the jacket was red and pleated and underneath said article of clothing was a gray vest with several white, angular patterns on it held together by a single button. And there was a third layer underneath them in the form of a plain, high-necked black short-sleeved shirt.
He also wore a pair of pants in gray, black and white colors that seemed closed up halfway down his legs. Around his left wrist was a black and white checkered wristband. A pair of criss-crossing straps were seen across his chest with a silver ornate emblem stylized like a heart with an odd cross sticking out from the bottom. And his unique footwear were cut off around the ankles as they were colored in shades of gray and black with hints of red.
To finish off the teen's attire were the odd pieces of armor situated on him. From the odd looking pauldron situated on his left shoulder, a piece located on his midsection underneath his vest and some on his footwear. Said armor pieces had parts composed of dull green and blue metal.
He was momentarily distracted with his sense of flight that Ventus almost forgot the purpose of why he was soaring in the air in the first place. His thoughts were knocked back into sense when his ears caught onto the loud cannon fire coming from the pirate ship off the coast.
His deep blue eyes gazed over to the sea vessel and saw Peter Pan combating against the crew of Captain Hook, the man Ventus was presently searching for.
Originally the pirate captain was supposed to be located at the Mermaid Lagoon so he may combat the Lost Boy leader, but it was in fact a trap as he was elsewhere on the island.
Wanting some pay back, Peter went off to deal with The Jolly Roger so no more destruction could occur that day while Ventus went to search for it's captain.
After some time searching, the Keybearer was able to locate Captain Hook over by the Cove.
It was particularly easy finding him, given the bright red attire the pirate wore as he stood out in a bleak area some miles away from Skull Rock.
Landing some distance away from Captain Hook, Ventus saw the man was erratically tapping his foot impatiently.
When no more cannon fire was heard, Hook exhaled a sigh rather dramatically. "Alas, and so passeth a worthy opponent. To think that this would be such an inglorious end." He sighed once more before he went into a fight of laughter. "At last, that scurvy brat will never trouble me again!"
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Hook!" Ventus called out as he revealed himself with his Keyblade, Wayward Wind, magically summoned into his hand in a reverse grip.
Unlike the traditional Keyblades held in a traditional manner, this was appropriately made for a reverse grip.
It's black handle offset from the Keyblade with the dull gold guard is equally misaligned. The guard joins with the weapon's thin gray and slightly curved shaft to fully enclose the handle. There are three thin, dull gold lines which decorate the middle of the shaft. Two short bars connect the main blade to the teeth, which are gray like the blade and have a wing-like shape. They are composed of five curved bars that decrease in size the lower they are on the Keyblade. And the Keychain token is a green gem with two silver flurries of wind swirling around it.
Whirling around, Captain Hook saw the new arrival in utter surprise. "Swoggle me eyes!" He then gasped. "No, don't tell me!"
Whirling back, he pulled out his telescope to look at his ship. It was through his tool did Hook see Peter Pan was cheering as he had defeated his crew with Tinkerbelle floating beside him.
His displeasure was greatly known as he slammed his telescope down to the ground and stomped on it, breaking it in the process.
"Blast that Peter Pan!" Roared Hook.
Whirling back around, his gaze hotly bore at the blonde haired brat who helped ruin his plans this day. Taking a running start, Hook soon leapt onto a large slab of rock surrounded by the Cove's water before drawing out his sword from its scabbard.
Before he had the chance to move onward and face the brat head on, the loud ticking sound of a clock could be heard within the area.
The sound was utterly dreadful in his ears, causing the pirate captain to whirl around in fear.
"That sound!"
When he soon found the source of it all, Hook practically leapt out of his skin upon seeing the crocodile, who licked it's toothy maw upon seeing him.
"No! Not again!" He yelled out, swinging both sword and hook at the mangy beast. "S-Stay away from me!"
Ever since Peter Pan cut off his hand and fed it to this blasted crocodile, it had forever craved to eat the rest of him. And the only way Hook could ever hear it's incoming presence was the working clock that hadn't seemed to be digested within the reptilian beast.
Backing away from the crocodile, he turned around and saw the sandy blonde brat standing not far away from him with his weapon aimed towards him in a challenging manner.
"I don't think so!"
With that said, their fight commenced as Ventus dashed forward with flames erupting around his form as he brought on a Fire Dash as he aimed his Keyblade right at the pirate captain. Yet the blow was evaded before Hook went in with a flurry of swings at the younger man. Each strike was successfully blocked before the Keybearer leaped back and jabbed his weapon at the pirate captain.
"Firaga!"
The powerful fire spell went off and knocked Hook back quite a bit, almost knocking him into the water. But with well placed footing, the pirate was able to hold his ground and not fall back.
Once steadying himself, Hook ran forward as he lashed out his sword. Ventus dodged as his enemy's swings came inches from nearly cutting his cheek. In an instinct from the upcoming swing, he rolled away as Thunder magic appeared and encompassed his form as he ended up performing his Thunder Roll.
The trait had ended up shocking Hook for a brief moment of time when his sword connected onto Ventus' form when he tried to come after him. The pirate's arm felt numb for a moment of time as his young opponent soon got back onto his feet. Once up, a torrent of wind encompassed Wayward Wind before he threw it right at the pirate captain.
"Wind Raid!"
A volley of strikes successfully landed on Ventus' opponent as he was knocked all over the large stone slab. When the last strike hit him, Hook ended up in the water before he quickly shot out of it in utter fright and scrambled back onto land to avoid the crocodile.
Landing back onto the stone slab, Hook miraculously pulled out a number of large presents from his red coat and tossed them at the Keybearer.
"Here ye go, ye brat!"
In mere moments, they exploded right then and there, causing Ventus to receive a whole lot of damage. But with the help casting Curaga onto himself, he was able to greatly heal himself.
Gritting his teeth, Ventus had realized those presents contained bombs instead of delightful gifts.
Wanting payback, Ventus lunged forward and delivered a volley of quick strikes onto the pirate captain. Each one brought the man closer and closer towards the edge of the stoney platform and almost knocked him into the water.
Hook was able to deliver his vengeful blows onto the Keybearer, but each swing was met with a parry as their weapons clashed against each other again and again.
Leaping some distance away from the captain, Ventus focused his vision onto Hook's form as the tip of his Keyblade glowed. When his focus reached its peak, Ventus shot his weapon towards his older opponent as he fired off his Flame Slavo Shotlock attack.
A large volley of fireballs came out of his Keyblade as they all homed onto Hook. Each hit sent the pirate back and even into the air as his clothes started to burn and singe upon impact.
"It's over!"
Dozens more struck Hook's form as nearly all of his clothes were completely ruined by this point, only leaving him in a tattered shirt, pants, his footwear and a jacket cuff near his hook hand. And most of his curled black hair was greatly shortened with his pencil thin mustache almost burnt to a crisp.
By the time the last one hit him, Hook ended up in the water-
"SMEEEEE!"
-all before he shot out of the water and high into the air, flailing like a mad man as the crocodile almost took a bite out of his rump.
The moment Hook landed back into the water, the pirate captain frantically swam for his life like it was truly life or death for him.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Zooming right after him, the crocodile was in hot pursuit with it's large toothy maw almost snatching him again and again.
"HELP ME, SMEEE! SMEEEEEEE!"
As this went on, Ventus didn't know if he should feel sorry for the guy or just outright laugh at the display before him.
No matter the case, Ventus waved the pirate captain goodbye with a small chuckle escaping his lips.
"See ya never~!"
"Ahoy, there!"
Looking over, Ventus saw the Lost boys in a boat as they were rowing towards his location. Situated in the middle of the small sea vessel was a large object with Peter Pan and Tinkerbelle flying over it.
"Look what we brought!" Called out Cubby, the Lost Boy in a one piece bear outfit.
"It's a pirate's treasure chest!" Spoke Slightly, the Lost Boy in a one piece fox outfit.
Ventus blinked in surprise. Soon after he took off into a sprint in order to meet up with them sooner.
By the time he drew near where they were landing at the shore, the Keybearer saw what was being pulled right off from the boat.
"Treasure?!"
"Yup!" Said the leader of the Lost Boys. "The same chest I told ya about. We snatched it right from Hook's hiding place."
Once Peter opened up the lid, both he and Ventus expected to see all sorts of coins and valuable jewels inside.
Except they were met with quite the surprise.
"Huh? How come it's empty?" Peter inquired.
"Uh, sorry, but… we lost all the treasures." Cubby apologized.
"Oh, well… that's too bad." Ven said to them.
Standing back up, Peter merely gave out a shrug. "Aw, who needs it? It was prob'ly just full of dumb old jewels or dobloons or somethin' anyways."
Slightly pondered for a moment before he came up with an idea. "We could just put what we treasure in there instead- if ya wanna."
This got the other Lost Boys to actually smile and greatly like the idea, especially their leader.
"That's perfect, Slightly! Instead of fillin' it up with jewels and gold and stuff, we'll put in what's truly special to us. The real riches!"
Peter's proclamation got a rousing cheer from the younger boys before some of them started pulling out a number of items off their person and into the treasure chest. And by the looks of it, they primarily consisted of child-like toys like wooden swords and slingshots.
Peter soon asked Ventus a question. "What are you puttin' in, Ven?"
"Huh? You want me to add something?"
"Why not. You helped us out so I thought you could be a part of it."
Ventus nodded with a small smile before adopting a thinking pose, pondering on what he could put into the chest.
After some moments, a thought came to mind as he soon pulled out something he had cherished for some time now.
In his grasp was a wooden toy version of Terra's Keyblade, Earthshaker, with a few minor details such as the rope holding a few pieces together along with Terra's name carved into the guard.
Terra originally made it years ago and was up until that point in time his most cherished possession. When not using his real life Keyblade, he used it in sparring matches and training exercises. However, upon passing it onto Ventus in order to help him regain his Keyblade through certain circumstances, it became a symbol of their friendship and solidified the bond between them; making them not just friends but also like brothers.
It wasn't just that, but that was the day when Ventus learned of Terra's dream of him becoming a Keyblade Master one day.
A dream that Aqua and now himself share as well.
"How 'bout this?" Ventus offered.
"What is it?" Asked Peter, eying the odd looking wooden sword.
"It's… just something that one of my best friends gave me."
"So it's like a keepsake, huh?" Seeing the confirming nod from Ventus, Peter continued. "You sure you wanna part with somethin' that special?"
"Yeah!" Ven said, smiling down at the old memento. "I don't need it if I've got Terra and Aqua. Our best memories are still ahead."
Even if he parted with the wooden Keyblade, he had something even more special in his possession: his Wayfinder charm.
As long as he and his friends carried their good luck charms, nothing can ever drive them apart. One way or another, they'll always find their way back to each other from their unbreakable connection.
And right now, it's something Ventus treasures most of all with his friendship with Terra and Aqua in these past four years.
Peter soon smiled. "All right, then. Next time ya visit, we'll have an even bigger chest waitin'. Enough for all those treasures and lots more."
"Okay. It's a deal."
As Ventus put the wooden Keyblade into the chest, Tinkerbelle came floating near with a familiar object.
Struggling in her grasp was a peculiar blue jewel shaped like a star the size of his fist. Yet there were some details that were quite odd, from the light green designs etched onto the surface and one part of the pointed star was replaced with something reminiscent of a light green lightning bolt.
'Wait a second- The Star Shard!'
When the blonde haired pixie was about to deposit the item into the chest, Ventus called out to her.
"Oh, wait, Tink-" Said pixie shifted her attention towards him as he continued. "I'm pretty sure that belongs to a friend of mine. Do you think maybe I could hang onto it?"
The pixie was quick in shaking her head 'no'.
"Now Tink!"
Peter's chastisement caused the pixie to hang her head and reluctantly bring the Star Shard to Ventus.
Once in his hand, Ventus gave her a warm smile. "Thank you." He said to her. "Oh, and thanks for the gift earlier, I-"
The young Keyblade apprentice was interrupted when the Star Shard suddenly erupted into a massive blinding light.
When the light died down, Peter, Tinkerbell and the Lost boys saw that Ventus had disappeared.
"He… He's gone!" Said Slightly.
Whirling his head around, Cubby spotted something in the sky. "Look! The Light!"
Everyone turned around where Cubby was pointing towards and saw a light bouncing off into the sky.
"Don't worry, men." Said Peter as a small smile graced his features. "No matter where that light takes him… Ven'll always have friends waitin' to meet him."
…..
…..
…..
…..
…..
In all honesty, Ventus didn't know how long he had been asleep.
Though for arguments sake, he hadn't exactly slept well in the past two, maybe three days since his recent journey outside of the Land of Departure. He couldn't sleep well on the first go around due to how anxious he was on seeing Aqua and Terra's Mark of Mastery exam. The next was when he woke up in a mouse trap-like cage in the home of Cinderella and her step family alongside Gus the Mouse. And the one after that was being knocked out after 626 activated something on his pilfered space cruiser when they escaped this enormous spaceship, which led him to waking up almost being kicked in the face by Tinkerbell.
And now? All that he could remember before he abruptly went into a state of unconsciousness was zooming across the sky, clutching onto Mickey's Starshard with all his might. And the last bits of memory he could recollect was seeing he was crashing into a dense forest close by some ruined castle.
In all honesty, Ven wished he could have some proper place to wake up from and for a good amount of time. Because, in his opinion, things have just been ridiculous with his impromptu sleep schedule.
Soon enough, the inspiring Keyblade wielder was slowly waking up. Moreso as he was brought back to a conscious state as he could recollect someone grasping his shoulder and gently shaking him awake.
A small groan escaped Ventus' lips soon after. "Uh… What…"
"Are you alright?" Asked a soft voice.
Bright blue eyes fluttered open and were met with a pair of foggy-gray ones.
Moving his focus away from the eyes, Ventus took more focus on the rest of said eyes' owner.
He was a man who was probably Terra's and Aqua's age being in his late teens with a pseudo-long face and richly dark brown hair reaching his chin. And by the looks of it even holds a similar physical physique underneath the older teen's attire.
It was primarily a dark colored tunic outfit, but seemed rather padded on a number of places above the waist. Said tunic had an embroidered, snarling wolf on the left breast of the article of clothing. There was hardly not much leather on him outside of the belt around his waist, the buckles keeping his padded tunic together and the calf-high boots. And tied by his side appeared to be a sword kept in it's sheath.
Breaking the brief eye contact, Ventus pulled up his right arm as a means of rubbing his head as he started to feel an ache slowly surfacing. Yet instead of doing his intended action, the young teen ended up smacking his head on accident with something in his hand.
"Okay, that hurt." He muttered with a small hiss, quickly realizing he had unintentionally smacked himself with the hand still clutching onto the Starshard. With the pain subsiding, he saw the older teen before him hold out his hand. "Huh?"
"Here. Let me help you up." The teen kindly offered.
Blinking, he nodded and grasped the older teen's hand. With a yank, he was soon brought up onto his feet. Standing at his full height, Ventus took a glance at the Starshard in his hand and gave out a quick thought.
'I should definitely not lose track of this. Need to keep it safe until I give it back to its rightful owner.'
After several moments, the young Keybearer placed the Starshard into his back pocket.
"What are you doing out here by yourself sleeping like that?"
The blonde gave the man before him a quizzical look. "I… don't exactly know…"
"So… you're not a follower of the Old Gods then?" Questions quickly flew across Ventus' eyes as he didn't know how to respond to that. Before he could answer, he was interrupted. "Sorry if I'm pushing you into an interrogation. I just found you here and I was merely curious about what happened."
Ventus gave a nod of understanding. "It's alright. I don't blame you for that at all." He then brought his hands behind his head before continuing. "As for why I'm here… eh~ you can say that I was exploring… and I got lost."
The teen then nodded in understanding. "Never been here before, then?"
Ven shrugged. "Pretty much."
"Then you've only come here for the tourney?"
The blue eyed teen gave the older one a confused look. "What tourney?"
The gray-eyed teen before him stared at the Keybearer. "...You must be jesting. The Tourney of Harrenhal hosted by House Whent and organized by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. You haven't heard of it?"
'Well that was a bunch of names and places I've never heard of.' Ventus internally thought to himself whilst he expressed a sheepish smile.
"Ehhhhhh~ Sorry. I'm… not really from around here so I wouldn't really know."
This merely made the older teen curious a bit more than before realizing something.
"Ah! Where are my manners?" The young man before the Keybearer soon introduced himself. "My name's Eddard Stark, second son of Rickard Stark Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. Though I'm often called Ned by friends and family."
"Ned?" The blonde sounded out as if processing the name through his mind. "How'd you get that from your name?"
The now identified Ned merely shrugged. "I don't really know. It just stuck."
"Eh~ alright." The blonde gave the young Stark a smile. "Well then, my name's Ventus, but my friends call me Ven for short."
"Quite the unusual name."
"To me, so is yours." He shot back. "Ventus to Ven. Eddard to Ned."
Ned chuckled a little in response. "Perhaps we were fated to meet by the Old Gods."
Taking a look towards his surroundings, Ventus saw what he had been lying against during his abrupt slumber.
It was a rather large tree, practically reaching the very sky from his point of view. It had stark-white bark that was rather bone-like in coloration that could be smooth to the touch. The surrounding leaves were blood-red in color as they were oddly shaped like a five-pointed star.
Yet it was the "face" that quickly drew his attention.
The odd formation on the tree appeared to be carved in and it had to be done all so long ago. And yet there still seemed to be red sap slowly streaming down it's "eyes" and some parts of its "mouth" and not from it's "nose" oddly enough.
From there, Ventus took a better note of the "face" in question as it was one wearing such fury and scorn on it's "features".
"The weirwood tree is wonderful, isn't it?"
Ned's comment had brought him out of his thoughts, not long before he could give a response.
"I somewhat find it both peaceful and disturbing." Eddard added on, taking a step closer to the tree.
"Because of the carved face?" Ven asked, pointing at said feature.
Stark chuckled slightly. "Because of that, yes."
Not taking a glance to see if the young man was wanting to become apologetic, Ned spoke. "Don't worry, I found the same reaction in my earliest recollected memories as a child."
Ventus gave an understanding nod before asking a question. "Where are we exactly?"
His new acquaintance looked back at him in bewilderment. "Pardon?"
"Sorry… it's just…" Ven found himself stumbling over his words slightly.
Ned held up his hand, halting him. "I won't pry on how you got here unless you're comfortable enough to confess your actions."
Ven perked up on this. "You won't? Why?"
"Because I don't want to have a headache to ruin whatever mood I'm attempting to keep close to the chest this early in the day."
That wasn't confusing at all. "If you say so."
It may be for the best. Ven didn't know how he could really explain where exactly he came from and the full reasons on how he wound up… wherever this place was.
"Anyways, we are presently in the Godswood here at Harrenhal."
Ventus nodded once more, jotting down that particular detail.
Hopefully he'll find out more of the land in the foreseeable future.
"Now if you'll excuse me…"
The Keybearer blinked when he saw Ned knelt before the weirwood. From there, he closed his eyes and began praying.
Not wanting to disturb him, Ventus stepped back and gave Ned some space.
Through the silence, the blonde Keybearer adopted a thinking posture as he may figure out his next course of actions.
'Okay, I'm obviously in a new World.' Were the beginning thoughts. 'I have no idea where I'm at, aside from being near this Harrenhal place. Aqua and Terra could be here, given the trended pattern on the past locations I've visited. I just need to hopefully find them before they take off again.'
Not to mention there was the factor of the Starshard now in his possession. He'll want to return it to Mickey once running into him again.
Before he knew it, Ventus saw Ned rise up again. He soon offered Ventus to be a temporary guide in getting them out of the Godswood back to "civilization".
Making their way out of the dense forest, Ven momentarily thought back to what presently rested in one of his back pockets.
The Star Shard allowed Mickey to go anywhere he wanted to go. It was, in theory, given the Mouse Keybearer hadn't quite gotten the fine points down just yet; like when or where. It just kicks in just when it wants to apparently.
Like what happened to him from Neverland.
Perhaps he was brought here for a reason because of the Star Shard.
It could be an accident or not as it would be reacting to something.
Who knows for sure.
For now, he'll explore this new World like what he's done with the others.
Though he does hope Mickey was okay and somewhere safe as he was the last person to have the Star Shard before him.
After what felt like forever, Ventus had finally departed from the Godswood with Ned leading him along. It was from there that he was quickly mesmerized by the surroundings of the various tents and colored flags with countless people traversing all over the place. And the sounds of commotion and music filled the air made it more lively.
As they moved, things panned upward to show the full scope of the land.
Suddenly a mighty castle started to appear before a volley of swords and shields flew all around before they congregated together. Before long, a jet of flame came into contact with the mass as a dragon flew in. The metal melted and warped together before a mighty blizzard washed over it. Steam arose and was swept away by a gust of wind to reveal the metallic structure spelling out...
Planetos
"Quite the sight to behold, yes?"
Ventus smiled in response. "Most definitely, Ned."
It was arguable that this was perhaps the weirdest or most spectacular thing he'd ever witnessed: the local population.
In each of the past Worlds he visited, there was only a number of individuals he saw, let alone interacted with. The maximum he'd spoken with at each World were less than a dozen.
It was rather sad now that he thought about it.
The most he did see were in the Enchanted Dominion over at King Stefan's castle keep. A close second was the security staff and inmates on the space prison transport. And third was Cinderella and the animal residents at her home.
Outside of the castle staff and servants, there was a great abundance of people. Highborn, lowborn, it didn't matter who attended, for King Stefan and his wife Queen Leah invited everyone in their kingdom and their allied territories.
From what he learned from the three good fairies: Flora, Fauna and Merryweather; all of the people in attendance were there to celebrate the return of Princess Aurora on her sixteenth birthday.
On the "return" aspect, there was a bit of a story behind it.
On Aurora's christening day (which was like a week or two after her birth), the dark fairy -Maleficent- had abruptly arrived and placed a curse upon the infant princess.
The three good fairies never told him the reason behind it, which was odd as it seemed like a very integral part of the backstory.
Odd detail aside, the three fairies made a deal with Aurora's parents to keep her safe by spiriting her away and have her live in a remote area so Maleficent will never know of her whereabouts. It will only last until her sixteenth birthday, due to that particular day being when the curse's effects will expire.
Everything went very well on the plan… until her special day.
Sometime after her return and before her public reveal, Maleficent enacted her curse and placed her into a death-like sleep.
In order for the eventual chaos to be suppressed amongst the congregated populace, the three good fairies had to place them all into a deep sleep and they'd only awaken upon Aurora receiving true love's kiss.
As far as Ventus knows, they're still in their magical slumber. He can only hope everything would be alright on that World after departing there.
He might need to finally ask Aqua when he sees her next as she was the last one there. Or better yet, return to the Enchanted Dominion after leaving this World.
"I hope you don't mind me asking this, but do you have a place to stay while attending this event?"
"Nope."
Ned frowned a little at the straightforward answer. "Not at an inn or having your own pavilion?"
Ven threw his hands up casually. "None to either."
It would be good to rest up at a proper place for once after these past few days.
If there was an inn, he could perhaps buy a room. He did have the Munny, which was able to be converted to whatever World he was at. And he only shopped at the Moogle stores ever since leaving the Land of Departure.
If there wasn't an available room he can rent out for his time on this World, he could just camp out in the forest. The trees can serve as his roof, even if it were to rain. He had been trained in such a thing after all.
But if he was forced to, he could purchase a tent from someplace. He at least knows how to work with one and build such things up properly.
Besides, he'd rather view and sleep underneath the stars instead of staring up at silk or wood on a clear night.
"Strange…" Ned murmured, making Ven look at him.
"What's strange?"
"I would've thought-"
"Thought what?"
"Well… I don't mean to pry or offend you, but given your state of clothes, I would've thought you were a highborn or at least well off in serving your House."
It didn't take long for Ven to realize what Ned was implying.
"Oh~, yeah, no, no, just me. All on my own." He declared.
Ned hummed a little. 'He mayhaps be a hedge knight, then. Or merely being protective of his past.' Were his thoughts. "If you're here, do you possibly want to compete in any of the events?"
Ventus momentarily broke his attention away from his surroundings to focus back to Ned on what he just said. He did remember him saying there was a tourney -tournament for short- happening here.
He could take some time off and have some fun. He did need some form of relaxation, given his journey thus far.
The closest he did have was back at Disneytown with the Dream Festival as he helped Della Duck with the weirdly designed Ice-Cream machine her uncle Scrooge made. He would've played some rounds at the Fruitball Court and the Rumble Racing, but he was anxious to go back out in search of Terra and Aqua.
"That depends on what strikes my interests."
"Like what? The melee, archery?"
All the highborn Northerner got was a simple shrug.
"Haven't decided then, eh?" Hearing no verbal response, Ned made the assumption. "If you do want to compete, I recommend finding the Master of Games and entering your name to the events you wish to take part in."
"And do you know who this person is?"
"I believe it's a member of House Whent's stewards, House Wode." Seeing Ventus not knowing who they were, Ned gave a description of them. "Their House sigil is a hedgehog on a yellow field."
"Right, I'll go find them… if I can." Ven said, rubbing his head as he looked at all the banners and sigils up ahead.
Ned snorted, knowing it would be rather hard to find their exact location at this large amount of space with so much going on.
"Then I wish you luck." He said to the sandy blonde. "I recommend searching the castle and asking around."
"Wait, what about you?"
"Hmmm?"
"Are you competing in… whatever?"
Ned only shook his head. "Nothing strikes my interest."
Ventus let out a small 'hmph' of amusement and said his farewell as the two parted ways.
It was rather interesting for the Keybearer to traverse through this sea of tents. He was quite distracted from his little task from his observations.
Dozens of merchants were selling felts and hides, belts and boots, various silks and garments, pottery and all manner of goods. There were jugglers and musicians at every other available spacious corner plying their trades.
At one point he caught the smell of something good in the air. This got his stomach to growl, making him wonder when he last ate. Regardless of the thought, his hunger took the reins and made him search for the source of the delicious fragrancy.
Coming to the food stall, he saw an olive skinned dark-haired man working an open grill with various meats and peppers skewered on wooden sticks. And his compatriot was rubbing a spice blend on the raw meat on the side while preparing the soon to be cooked meals.
Wanting some variety, Ventus paid for two skewers; one of beef and one of pork. He admitted they were quite good after some bites and gave the food vendor a tip, much to their appreciation.
Not far away, he saw some children playing with each other, holding sticks and were either swordplaying or enacting something as jousts. He curiously asked them what jousting was, making the children look at him as if he suddenly gained another head. It was a strange thing for them to hear, but the blonde teen said he wasn't from around here and merely wanted to know. The children complied and told him the bare gist of it.
Jousting was a sporting contest in which two opponents ride on horseback and wield lances. They race down from opposing sides of a long field and they seek to knock the other person off their horse with the lance.
By the sound of it, it seemed like a very popular thing to either be a part of or to witness.
Looking back at his intended destination, Ventus inspected the structure.
Despite the burned, ruined appearance it took on, it was a pinacled structure that could've truly rivaled the majesty of what few castles he'd seen so far in his life like the castle he saw from Cinderella's bedroom to Aurora's birth home. But in terms of comparisons, Harrenhal greatly reminded Ventus of Maleficent's mountain castle with it's ruined appearance. The immensely strong castle has five towers of dizzying size, reaching towards the sky like fingers, with equally monstrous thick curtain walls.
A thought crossed his mind, making him want to inspect himself on his present appearance.
While his clothes were more or less fine, due to the enchantments they bore for self cleaning and maintenance, he himself was rather dirty to a degree. In fact, taking a small whiff, he realized he needed to get a bath.
Journeying around the worlds, Ventus recalled he didn't have time to get washed up ever since leaving the Land of Departure.
If he was going to meet the Master of Games for potential sign ups, he needed to be a bit more presentable.
He asked around some of the stalls and was pointed to the general direction of a building made out of stone and timber with steam rising out of the roof. Upon entering, he saw one low ceiling room with many big stone tubs, where roughly ten people could sit comfortably with some space to spare.
Paying for a towel to use for several coppers, he additionally paid more to keep his clothing and equipment safe from any would-be thieves.
The blonde found an available bath filled with steaming water. It took him a bit to get settled in, due to the hot sensation caressing his naked body. But he ended up beginning to relax after several moments.
He didn't know if it may end up being too much as he could find himself falling asleep.
The Keybearer scrubbed himself as best as he could, despite not having any soap or anything remotely close for him to use.
Once done, Ven walked out with a towel around his waist and a satisfied sigh after a nice, needed bath.
Finding his clothing, he began dressing himself until he heard mischievous giggling coming from his side.
The blond Keybearer looked over to see several girls a few years older than him whispering amongst themselves while shooting "discreet" glances at his general direction.
He tilted his head at them with a confused gaze that they saw which only caused them to escalate a bit further.
"They have an eye for talent."
Ven jolted and spun around to see a man and a woman a number of years older than him with rather strange gazes that he couldn't identify. The woman had an olive skinned complexion with dark eyes and long wavy black hair which complimented her yellow silk dress. The man had a lighter complexion than the woman beside him with dark eyes while his black hair began to show signs of a widow's peak. And he wore a matching outfit as the woman but with a spear piercing a sun embroidered on his chest.
"What?" The young teen said in confusion.
"Ah, a chaste knight." The woman said, coming over to Ventus. "Oberyn, he's just the perfect one for us to educate him on the ways and wiles of women."
Ventus was inexperienced with girls as a whole having never really had any relationships that were intimate.
But he did have Aqua and Terra as older sibling figures and his best friends.
And they spoke of girls and… things he wasn't quite ready for.
The apoplectic and apologetically shameful looks of Master Eraqus, Terra and Aqua were burned into his mind that day. It was needed for him to know the "birds and the bees", given he was at that age.
He was just so… innocent. He just couldn't look at the others the same way after that.
Then again, it did lead to nearly three months of Aqua cooking her pastries he loved so much to yay for trauma, he guessed.
And yet he didn't know anything beyond that. Especially with what happened moments prior.
"I see what you mean, Ellaria." Oberyn said, standing next to the woman. "He is quite an exquisite find. Beware young one, women are willing to do much to garner your favor."
"Or just tear your clothes right off." Ellaria said with a mischievous giggle.
In an instant, it wasn't that hard for Ventus to make that conclusion as his face had turned beat red and steam wafted off his head.
"Wha-What?!" Ventus suddenly felt violated. "Wh-why would they do that?"
"Oh~ he's so adorable, Oby." Ellaria cooed, cupping his face with her hands and squeezing his cheeks. "Can we keep him?"
"I could do with another squire." Oberyn mused, shooting Ven a teasing smirk. "Still, I am surprised a strapping young lad such as yourself doesn't recognize the look of hunger when he sees it. Those ladies were ready to pounce upon you."
This got Ventus to refute back at the two older individuals.
"Cut me some slack." He almost whined. "I haven't had that much interaction with girls around my age."
This earned a little reaction from the couple.
"Really? How so?" Asked Ellaria.
"Where I live, I only have three people to interact with."
"And one of them is a girl, yes." Stated man, not questioned.
"Yeup. One of my best friends."
A few moments passed before the man soon came to a conclusion. "I take it you see her as like a sister."
"I think so." Ven hummed. "Yeah, honestly. But she can be really mothering sometimes."
Oberyn boisterously laughed. "I take it that annoys you, yes?"
"You have no-"
"I will need to introduce you to my sister when I get the chance." He cut Ven off, patting his shoulder. "I have no doubt she may beat your friend in that category."
"Now, my love, don't traumatize him with your sister."
"And why not? She is to be queen someday. Might as well get them acquainted at some point."
Ventus was beginning to feel rather lost in the conversation by this point and didn't know what to exactly do.
"Hey, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I have somewhere I need to be." He apologetically said.
"Oh? And where would you be going off to?"
"To the castle. I mean to see if I can enlist on, well, anything." Ven said, throwing on his shoulder piece and strapping it on tight.
"Ah, no worries. Hopefully the line for the events will not be too troubling for you…" Oberyn soon chuckled to himself. "Oh where are our manners? I never got your name."
"And yours." Ven cheekily shot back. "I'm Ventus. Ven for short."
"And I am Prince Oberyn Nymerios-Martell of Dorne." He smiled before hugging Ellaria close. "And this beautiful desert flower is my paramour, Ellaria Sand."
"Paramour?" The Keybearer parroted.
"His lover, my dear." Ellaria elaborated.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't know." He apologized once again before bowing a little to the Dornishman. "Nice meeting you, your highness. And you too Ellaria."
This earned a small chuckle out of him as the two parties separated.
Eventually making it to Harrenhal, Ventus ventured inside to see a litany of tapestries and armors occasionally littering various walls. He saw servants moving all over, getting things ready for the opening feast tonight.
He soon asked where the Master of the Games was stationed and was pointed in the right direction.
After some time walking and observations, Ventus founded the steward's office with a pair of guards stationed outside. A few people walked on out in the process before he approached the guards for his request.
Once escorted in, he saw the Master of Games behind his desk as he was scratching a parchment with a quill pen.
Lord Wode momentarily looked up and saw Ventus.
"Come to enter your master's name for the competitions?" He boredly asked.
Ven shook his head. "No, just mine."
"I see." The steward looked at Ventus over again, inspecting both his attire and appearance. "Tell me, young man, are you a knight?"
The blonde teen blinked at the question and looked at the seated man as if that was the strangest thing he ever heard.
"No, I'm not."
Lord Wode snorted. "Huh. At least you're honest."
That was a strange response. "Why do you ask?"
The Steward waved his hand to gesture behind Ven with a grimace.
"I've seen many young men come to see me these past days seeking to join the lists. I can often tell a liar right away, either visually or hearing a person's response. And I've spotted just about every one of them as they wished to take part in the jousts."
"Is there a way for them to take part in such a thing?"
"Either being a knight, given sponsorship from a lord or being referred/vouched by another knight or lord who is set to compete are the most common means. There's also the factor of being a hedge knight, but that makes things a bit more difficult to enlist. But this time around it's restricted to only knights and lords as per my lord Whent and Prince Rhaegar's requests."
Ventus nodded, understanding the potential of enlisting to these jousts. But if there was so much hassle to make it happen, he'd rather not compete in these lists at all. Not to mention he wasn't a knight at all, so there's that.
"What are the other competitions taking place?" The Keybearer finally asked.
Lord Wode soon told the young man what was to be held at this tourney. Instead of the typical ones seen in nearly all tourneys -consisting of jousting, melee and archery- there was the inclusion of ax-throwing, a horse race and one for singers. When asked about that last one, it was more aligned for actual singers, minstrels and bards.
The blonde took his time to consider his options.
Racing sounded fun, but it was clearly horseback riding and he didn't know how to ride a horse; just like how it is for a joust. If he wasn't going to be allowed to use his Key-glider, then that was out. He didn't know how to properly use a bow, so that was a no go. And he didn't know how to sing or know any good songs.
This left him two options.
"I'd like to take part in the ax-throwing and the melee, if that's possible."
Ax-throwing sounded a lot like how he does his raid attacks. He was rather good at throwing his Keyblade and landing his target just about every time. And the melee was obviously fighting others.
Hopefully that wouldn't be as crazy as him completing all of the various challenges in the Mirage Arena.
The master of the games nodded as he requested the blonde's name to write it down.
"Be glad you're able to get in." Said Lord Wode. "The cut off for sign ups are later this day and I've been going over all these participants for the past few days from what my people have collected for me."
"I can probably tell, given how big this all is." Ven murmured, glancing back to the nearly endless sight of tents and banners.
"Now before you go, I have a few more questions for you." Said the steward. "First, pertaining to your entry fee for both events. Do you have the amount on you or elsewhere?"
"And how much would that be?"
"In total to compete in both the melee and ax-throwing, your cost of entry will be a gold dragon and hundred silver stags."
Ven nodded. "I do."
"Right. Now pertaining to the melee, which side will you be joining?"
Ventus tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean 'side'?"
The master of the games sighed. "Instead of an all out brawl with various participants, this one will be a seven sided event in the ancient style with their respective party. You are expected to act accordingly with regards to your chosen side."
"What are my options?" Asked Ventus.
"The Reach, the Westerlands, the Vale, Dorne, the Riverlands, the North and the Crownlands are available to my knowledge." The man soon held up a hand. "And before you ask, the Iron Islands are already filled."
The Keybearer didn't have any particular preference, let alone knowledge on which group was which. This would need to be rectified before the melee starts and know who may be his allies from his opponents. Thus he chose one at random.
"The Crownlands seems fine."
"Sounds good." Said Lord Wode as he pulled out another parchment and wrote Ventus' name on it. "Do you wish to hear the rules for it?"
"I would like that very much."
Since Ventus would not be fighting Unversed, but actual people, he wanted to know what may be done and not get in trouble.
"The rules and guidelines for the initial melee, it'll take place over most of the day, due to the amount of competitors. For the initial melee bout, each side will start in their own corner. If you or an opponent are unhorsed, neither of you are required to yield at that point unless necessary if either of you don't wish to continue. It isn't a fight to the death after all. When sufficient participants have been eliminated, a halt shall be called out by three horns blasts to signal the end so the area would be fully cleared for the next group to go out to compete. Once everything is done, the remaining competitors will essentially rinse and repeat until the event is fully over with the last man standing."
"I think I understand all that. And where would these take place?"
"The first melee will occur at a designated section of woods and fields outside of Harrenhal. The finals will be held within the castle grounds."
Ventus nodded as he saw Lord Wode pull up the parchments he wrote earlier and slid them towards the blonde.
"Please make your mark on these two places here." The man said, soon presenting a quill and inkpot.
Being handed the quill and inkpot, Ventus wrote his signature on the parchments labeled for the ax-throwing and melee competitions respectively. He also lightly inked his thumb and pressed it alongside his signature just like many others who enlisted before him. With that all done, he retrieved the entry fee from his munny wallet and handed it over to Lord Wode.
"With all that out of the way, here's one last question for you: do you plan on attending the entire duration of the tourney?"
Ven crossed his arms, bobbing his head side to side as he thought about it. "I think so. Why do you ask?"
"Depending on how things may go, you would want to be present for all of it. For the duration of these ten days, seven of them will comprise the actual competition. And five are allotted for the jousts."
Ventus didn't know if he may want to stay for all of it. He obviously wasn't signing up for the jousts, so he could perhaps only see half of the tourney events; maybe even less.
After all, he never knew such an event would last so long. A few days at most was understandable but ten was clearly pushing it.
"Do you perhaps have a schedule I can look over?"
Lord Wode complied and showed him a piece of parchment of major placements of the tourney events, outside of the normal festivities throughout the following days.
First Day: Welcoming Feast
Second Day: Archery, Melee
Third Day: Ax-throwing, Horse Race
Fourth Day: Melee Finals, Singer Competition, Targaryen Murmur showing
Fifth Day: Joust
Sixth Day: Joust
Seventh Day: Joust
Eighth Day: Joust
Ninth Day: Joust Finals, Victor Celebration Feast
Tenth and Last Day: Departure Feast
Ventus hummed a little as he digested the schedule. He more or less understood the layout, given the few details the master of the games informed him.
"You sure you're not a knight?" The Steward suddenly asked, breaking Ven out of his reading.
"Huh? Why?"
The older man shrugged. "Not many literate folks around here, be they a knight or even some Lords and Ladies."
"Wait really?" Ven was definitely surprised by this.
Lord Wode shrugged. "You asked for it when I usually read it off."
The blonde found it rather strange to hear of this but paid not much mind to it afterwards.
Saying his farewell, he made his way out of Harrenhal and explored the vicinity once again. He had plenty of time to kill before the Welcoming Feast tonight.
Strange World he wound up on really.
And a lot more people this time around.
He had been to a number of Worlds by now but this is the first where there were just nothing but people here.
And a castle. A burnt castle but a castle all the same though he's already seen several by now.
Still, this was a refreshing, if not crowded change of pace.
"Get yer armor smithed here, five silver dragons for pauldron, ten for chest-"
"Pear Brandy, freshly brewed, brought from Norvos-"
"The finest Northern furs from Winterfell itself-"
"These peaches are grown in the gardens of Highgarden and eaten by the Tyrells-"
So many new names, terms and places to learn of.
Ven was finding himself drawn into all this to the point that he didn't even realize that he had wandered into what appeared to be a training ground of some kind.
There were training dummies and targets set up with a few smattering of men here and there. In the distance, he saw some riders performing some jousting runs in taking out stationed targets. And off to the side were stands decorated with armor, shield and an assortment of weapons.
"Oooo~" Ven said, his feet guiding him over to them.
He stood in front of some well made armor that looked quite fashionable. Others seemed rather gaudy with the unnecessary additions like an animal jetting out of one helmet.
Armor.
He and Terra once called it the man's romance.
And when they had gotten their own, poses came with their new costumes.
Ven reached forward and grabbed a pauldron, inspecting the intricate designs.
It was nicely done with good craftsmanship, hardly a flaw he could spot.
"Nice." Ven said, grinning at the piece as it glinted in the sun.
His appreciation of the armor piece came to an end at the sharp sounds of metal clashing with metal. Thus he went to investigate.
Within a fenced off area, there were men going at each other with blunted practice swords while others stood shouting ribald advice.
"Kick his arse!"
"Get 'im! He's right there, milord!"
Ventus watched someone try to hold off a muscular fellow who seemed lithe and quick as some Unversed he defeated in the past. Both bore emblems of black bats on yellow fields on their shields, but the smaller one was soon defeated after a few more overwhelming strikes.
"Ah, a fresh new face."
Turning around, Ventus saw someone roughly around his height and possible age as he approached him. He had shaggy blonde hair, yet it was combed back. His sharp green eyes held a number of traits like pride and slight arrogance being more noticeable amongst them all. And he wore a crimson red tunic with a gold lion embroidered on his left side.
"You're not from around here, are you?"
"Is it that obvious to tell?"
"I have yet to see anyone here in Harrenhal dressed as you are."
Ven glanced down at his garments than to the other observers of the sparring match.
"Good point." The blue-eyed blond said with a laugh. "I'm Venuts by the way. Ven for short."
"Jamie Lannister." The green eyed blond said in kind, offering his hand to shake which Ven did.
"Ventus." Lannister tested the name on his tongue. "Can't say I've heard of such a name before. Certainly not Westerlands or Dornish."
"Huh?"
"Apologies, name association and all."
The blonde, blue-eyed teen hummed a little in response.
"Here for the tournament, I take it." Jamie stated more than assumed.
"Yeah, basically."
The response made the Lannister chuckle. "Basically, he says. It sounded like an afterthought the way you said it."
"Well I came here a few hours ago and when I learned about them, thought I'd try some of the events out."
"So you just signed up on a whim?" Jamie asked in slight disbelief and amusement.
"Pretty much." Ven earnestly said. "Sounded like fun and might as well pass the time while I'm here."
The Lannister stared at the boy, finding him rather peculiar.
Then again, his attire was also an odd assortment of garments and armor. No pattern or clothing that he recognized from any of the other Kingdoms.
"And what would they be?"
"Huh?"
"The events you're participating in." He clarified.
"The melee and ax-throwing."
"Really?" Jamie inspected his attire and made an assumption. "Why not the lists?"
"I'm not a knight."
"You're not?" Jamie said in surprise. "You come across as… well, unique would certainly be one word to describe your look. And you don't really need to be a knight to participate."
Ven blinked. "I don't."
"Yes, were you unaware?"
"I've never done a tournament like this one before." Ven said, thinking back to his time at Olympus Coliseum. "Besides, Lord Wode told me the limited specifics of this tourney as it differs from the others."
Jamie nodded. "Didn't seem to come across that issue when I enlisted." He muttered aloud.
"May have also been the fact that I just signed up not long ago and may have also missed the cut."
Jamie snorted. "That too."
"So have you competed in tournaments before?" Ven asked, seeing his new acquaintance nod.
"Many, over a dozen, mayhaps more." Jamie airily said. "One tends to lose track of it all as time goes on."
"How are they like?"
He shrugged. "They range, depending on who is participating in them to who hosts."
Lannister proceeded to grin excitedly a moment later. "But this is shaping up to be the greatest tournament in the history of Westeros. All of the greatest warriors and knights across the Seven Kingdoms have convened here to crown champions in all competitions. I doubt anything like this will happen ever again in living memory."
Jamie was now shaking, being unable to hide his anticipation.
"Barristan the Bold, Arthur Dayne, Prince Rhaegar, Lewyn Martell-"
"Hey, I just met a Martell actually." Ven cut him off. "What was his- Oberyn, yeah him."
"Ah, the Red Viper of Dorne." Jamie knowingly said. "An equally vicious competitor. This tournament shall never be forgotten."
"Yeah." Ven remarked. "If only I knew any of those people."
"What?"
Ven appeared to have not heard him as he had already turned and began walking away. "Well, I'm gonna look around a bit more. Nice meetin' ya Jamie."
This only left Jamie hanging, wanting to know what Ventus meant with what he had said. Before long, once the blue-eyed blonde left, the heir to Casterly Rock shrugged and went back to his own thing.
Who knows if he'll run into him again. If he doesn't then, this Ventus would only be a figment of memory that would be long forgotten.
Traversing away from the training grounds, the sandy blonde explored the sea of tents when he halted as his eye caught onto a puppet show. Coming closer, he watched a painted wooden knight battle against another. Something pertaining to a tale called Ser Duncan the Tall vs Lyonel "the Laughing Storm" Baratheon.
Ventus liked how the puppets were detailed and how the puppeteers got them to move around. He moved along, not before tossing a silver coin to them.
Glancing towards the sky, Ventus more or less saw the position of the sun. By his guess, it was sometime after noon.
Wandering around some more, his ears picked up something amongst the rambling crowds around him. It was a bit distinctive towards him, given what experiences he had dealt with in the past. And sure enough after searching for the source, Ventus saw something that made him frown.
Lying on the ground was a man. And the reason why was him being hounded and beaten up by three large men, no older than him by the looks of it.
"Frog-eater!"
"Mud-man!"
"Ou've got no place here! Go back to your fuckin' swamp where ye belong!"
Hearing and witnessing enough, Ventus rushed through the crowd and summoned Wayward Wind into his hand.
He ignored everything else as he dashed onward and crashed into the one wearing a sigil of twin towers over a river. Said person fell onto his back as Ventus stared down at the attackers with angry blue eyes.
"That's not very nice." Said the blonde Keybearer. "What did he do to you three?"
"Mind your own business!" Spoke one wearing a sigil with a black pitchfork on a gold bar on a russet field. "This doesn't concern you!"
"Fuck off elsewhere!" Said one with a sigil of two black porcupines on a green and red field. "Leave now and we'll forget you'd be here!"
Getting back onto his feet, the one Ventus knocked down earlier growled. "You'll pay for that bastard."
"Right~ I'm paying for your misdeed in harming someone minding their own business." Ventus remarked. "Like I'll let you guys continue harassing him."
The three offenders soon drew their swords and aimed them at the Keybearer. In response, Ventus merely spun his weapon in the palm of his hand, waiting for one of them to act first.
"Pitchfork" was the one to move first as his attack was clumsy at best. Ventus quickly maneuvered out of the way and swung his Keyblade as it knocked the sword out of his opponent's hands.
The "Porcupine" one moved around and tried to surprise him, but didn't work out well as he yelled out his attack; giving him away. The blonde rolled out of the way from the blow before swinging upwards once back onto his feet in fast precision.
"You can do better than that." Taunted the Keybearer. "Fought a swordsman ten times-no twenty times better than you."
It was at this point that someone charged onto the scene and swung their sword at the "twin bridge" one, who tried to attack Ventus from his blind spot.
With the swords clashing, Ventus whirled around to see who did this and saw it was a girl around his age. Giving her a nod of thanks, he lunged forward and bashed his weapon at the other opponents, who recently came back up onto their feet.
After a minute of fighting, Ventus and his recent companion saw the three run off with cuts and bruises on their form as they ran off to parts unknown.
With this all taken care of, Ventus approached the man on the ground and briefly inspected him.
He wore a similar attire Ned wore, but instead of a wolf sigil, it was a crocodile. And instead of long hair, it was rather short.
"Hey, you alright?" Inquired Ventus as he helped him get back onto his feet.
Now standing upright, the man dusted himself off and looked towards the blonde and his new companion. "Yes, thank you for the help."
"It's no problem." Waved off Ventus. "I'm just glad you're not fully hurt."
"I feel the same as well." Said the girl in agreement.
With the fighting over, Ventus finally looked and inspected her. She was indeed a girl roughly his age with a round face with shoulder length dark brown hair parting in the middle. And she also had a soft smile with a warm brown gaze.
"And I thank you for your help, my lady." The man they had helped said with a bow.
Ventus saw the dark brunette puffing her chest with an attempted growl. "I am not a Lady!"
Objections fell on death's ears as the man with the crocodile sigil looked at her. "Are you or are you not the daughter of my liege lord, Rickard Stark?" Seeing her nod in reluctance, he gave his counter response. "Then you are in fact 'a Lady'."
"I am not!" She denied in a childish manner.
"Uh… Sorry." Interrupted Ventus. "I feel left out here."
"Pardon?" Questioned the Stark.
"Well… you two seem familiar with each other, yet I don't know you two at all."
It was then did the one wearing the crocodile sigil speak up. "Of course. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Howland Reed of Greywater Watch." Motioning his hand towards the brunette girl, he continued. "And this is the daughter of my liege lord, Lyanna Stark."
The identified Lyana nodded as she gave the blonde a smile.
"Lyanna Stark?" Ven repeated. "Wait… like Ned Stark?"
The gray-eyed girl's expression brightened upon hearing that. "You know my brother?"
"Yeah, I met him earlier today actually. I'm Ventus, though I often go by Ven."
"A pleasure to meet you Ven." Howland said kindly.
"Yeah, you're really kind for helping out one of my fathers' Bannermen." Lyanna happily said.
"Well shucks." Ven bashfully looked away. "I just thought I should help."
He heard her giggle at his reaction, making him blush with embarrassment.
With introductions out of the way, Lyanna looked back at the wounded Reed. "I know I asked this before, but are you still alright? You're bleeding and I see some bruises forming. You can come to my family tent to get you patched up."
Howland waved her off. "I'm alright, my lady. I don't want to intrude."
"Nonsense! I have to make up for not helping sooner! Don't forget, as I am the daughter of Rickard Stark, I have just as much of a responsibility to my people as he does." She proclaimed before eying Ventus. "And you're coming with me."
"Wait, what?"
Before he could question why, Ventus was literally dragged by the Stark girl with a fierce grip on his arm. And with her other hand, she did the same action on Howland.
Surprisingly with her size and stature, she was quite strong as neither men could free themselves from Lyanna's grasp.
-End Chapter-
AN:
Well here is a story I had thought of doing for a long time now. A number of people had requested it in the past and I had actually planned on writing it: a prequel to my ASoFIaH story.
FMW: Yeah, Jeb and I had this planned out for a long time already with us having done the outline like… a year ago at the publication of this new story. We had discussed many ideas on how to go about this story and there's going to be a lot that will be revealed in this story. This one is going to be our shortest story and with how everything has already been predetermined, we just hope that the reveals to come won't surpass the main plot taking place in the future though really, with season one of ASoFIaH almost done, this story will supplement what's to come later on down the line.
Jebest4781: Honestly though, don't exactly know when I'll update this story again as I'm trying to really focus on my other stuff. But this story here will correlate with ASoFIaH to more or less explain a number of things mentioned on said story. Kinda like what many fans have wished to see on an adaptation of Robert's Rebellion for years.
FMW: This won't be as consistent due to our schedules already aligned with many of our other stories. The only silver lining I can think of is that Jeb and I already know the exact outcome and basically what's gonna happen in almost every chapter. It's really gonna be about our timing for it. In the time of us publishing this new story, this is the third chapter we completed together in a weekend, updating two other stories on my own profile. So busy to say the least.
Anyways, be sure to review this story guys! Would like the criticisms. Please and thank you!
R&R