The feast drags on for what seems like hours, forcing me to introduce myself to a thousand obsequious nobles who couldn't sense their way out of a silken purse, petty ambitions boiling at the fronts of their insignificant little minds.

Thankfully, a distraction soon comes, although not in the form I'd expect.

This is… why, this is positively charming! I can feel a presence behind me in the force, not seeking some alliance, but one practically vibrating with joy.

I raise my eyebrow as I turn around. Lyanna Stark? The daughter of a lord paramount? After I swear to Durran and Father to be more mindful of the political consequences of my actions?

Truly, I must be cursed.

Nevertheless, the girl's approaching me, and so I give her one of my most stunning smiles.

"Um… Lady Ashara?"

"Yes?" I ask, turning around and giving her them one of my most stunning smiles, "that's me."

"Um…" the Stark girl says, eyes wide as she tries to control her blush, "I, u-uh…"

"Yes?" I ask, quirking an eyebrow elegantly. She just flushes redder.

"U-Um" she says, "I just… I j-just wanted to say that I really lik- I-I mean I lov- n-no I mean I admire you… A lot…"

She trails off near the end of his statement, seemingly mortified at her own lack of eloquence.

"U-Um… I was wondering if you had any… tips?"

I give her another smile, wrapping arms around her shoulders. "Don't be nervous, now!" I say, with a dazzling smile, "I admire your courage to come up here and talk to me!"

"R-Really?" the Stark girl asks, eyes shining with hope.

"Yes…" I lean down, drawing my face close to hers, and tap her on the nose "really."

I straighten back up. "You're just too cute! C'mere, what advice did you want?"

"It, um… kind of…"

"Personal?" I say, an understanding look on my face.

She nods. "Um… well… a-are you betrothed, my lady?"

Oho, what's this? Durran told me to be more careful around the high nobles… but if they come to me?

I cock a brow, making my smirk something altogether more sultry.

"Well now" I say, leaning in to give the young brunette a view down my dress, "isn't that a question…"

She flushes, trying in vain to force her eyes away from my chest. "U-Um… W-Why?"

"Well", I smile, showing a hint of my teeth.

The young Stark girl gulps.

"It's rather… forward, isn't it? It might give a girl ideas." My mouth practically curls around the last word, and I run a thumb over the back of her hand.

The young Stark's eyes go wide, and she lets out an absolutely adorable squeak. "NOOHNIDIDN'TMEANLIKETHAT!"

…What.

I pull back, eyes furrowed. "…I'm sorry? Whatever did you mean then?"

Her face is brighter than an apple, her eyes wide as she waves her arms. "T-That's n-not to s-say u-um- I m-mean u-uh- t-that is-uh- I mean not that-you're very b-b-eautiful and northerners don't- I m-mean I d-don't p-"

As I listen to her adorable stuttering and blushing, I can't help but smile. "Woah there little wolf!"

Her mouth snaps shut, steam practically billowing out of her ears.

I chuckle. "Let's take a step back there for a minute."

She just nods, mute.

"So, since you obviously weren't trying to… proposition me"—and I give a sultry smirk with that, sending her into another blushing fit—"what exactly were you meaning to ask?"

"U-Um…" she says, eyes flicking between my face and the smooth, creamy skin of my exposed collarbone, "I w-was… u-um… Ishouldgothankyoubye"

I laugh, grabbing a hold of her hand. "Relax, little wolf! I'm not going to bite."

She meeps at that, and I break out laughing.

"Sorry, sorry, but you're just too easy to rile!"

After a minute or so, my laughing fit has ended, and I lean back with a sigh. "Alright… sorry about that. But truly, you must get a better hold of your emotions, if you're going to play the great game. But truly, calm yourself, I have no intentions other than conversation."

She nods, looking incredibly relieved. "Oh, thank… t-thank the old gods. I thought you were really… by the gods I must have looked so foolish!"

"Oh" I say, raising my brows, "I honestly did think you were trying to seduce me, I'd take you to bed in a heartbeat, cute little wolf"

"Regardless" I cut her off before her blushing and stuttering can start up again, "that turned out to be a miscommunication. So truly, what question did you want to ask. Hoping to secure my hand for one of your brothers?"

She actually growls at that, eyes narrowing into a glare. "You stay away from Bran and Ned!"

I laugh. "Peace, Lady Lyanna, I merely jest. Is it one of your bannermen then? I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

Her brow scrunches up, fire coming back to her voice. "No! I wanted to ask how you can just do that!"

I raise an eyebrow.

"I mean…" she huffs "how can just… not get betrothed! Go on being a knight!"

I sigh. "Oh, little wolf… I suppose you're being betrothed to a man you don't much like?"

She nods, after glancing around to see that no one's listening. "He's just… I'm six and ten, so I know it's time for me… but he's a whoremonger! And a brute! And he wants me to have a dozen kids!"

I lean back, face pensive. This… this is tricky.

After a minute or so of contemplation, Lady Lyanna makes to interrupt me, but I raise a hand.

"I would… I would be careful, my lady. Do not let your passions overtake you. "

She glowers at me, but I silence her again with a raised hand.

"I am not saying that you must love him, whoever he is, only that you must marry him."

"Well then why aren't you doing the same thing! Why do you get to be a knight!"

I laugh. "I am a mere knight's daughter, with nothing to my name. I have no prospects, a half-Dornish daughter of a bastard knight, ruling over a tiny village no one's ever heard of."

I laugh "Truthfully, my likely fate would be to wed some prosperous merchant, and work the rest of my days. A knight's son, if I'm lucky. But you… you're the daughter of a Lord Paramount. a Line of Kings"

I give her a significant look.

"You nobles live in luxury and security unimaginable to the rest of us, and in exchange, the gods ask that you protect your subjects, rule justly, and marry for political benefit."

I stare her in the eyes. "You may see only a cold bed and unloving relationship, but tell me: would you rather be working the fields? Would you rather be working the bar of an inn, groped by every passing hedge knight with a few coins to spare? Would you rather be starving in the winter you Northerners so fear?"

"I… No. No, I would not."

"Well the, you have to marry an unloving husband."

I shrug. "Truly, even then, it need not be so bad. If your Lord Husband is a good man, there need not be any love between you to have a happy household. You need merely be friends, and agree to keep lovers on the side."

She chokes at that, eyes going wide. "W-What! Are you… are you telling me to be unfaithful!"

I roll my eyes. "Your marriage is a political contract, why treat it as if it's some sort of heaven-blessed union? It's not openly trumpeted, but I'd bet you all the meager gold my family has that half the lords here tonight have favorites at their local brothel."

I shrug. "As long as no children come of the union, there should be no problem."

"How…" she looks at me tentatively "how would one assure that? That no… that no children come of such a union?"

"Moon tea." I say, "you've heard of it?"

She nods.

"Plan your childrens' conception with your husband, and sleep with none but him while you use it… and then on it, have your lover take you any way you wish."

"Also" I say with a smirk "even off moon tea, there are… other ways to get pleasure. Have you ever heard of the Lord's Kiss?"

She blushes brightly, but nods.

I lean forward, running a finger up her arm. "But truly, the easiest way to avoid any accidents…"

I'm practically purring in her ear at this point "…is to have a lover who can't give you them in the first place."

I breathe into the shell of her ear. "Tell me… have you ever been… tempted? I assure you, there's nothing sinful in seeking another woman's touch…"

She practically leaps up at that, banging her shin on the table. "UHHHHIHAVETOGOSORRYBYE"

I cackle as she runs off, face red.

As I move through the crowds, still chuckling to myself after the Stark girl ran off, I'm approached by a pair of dark-skinned figures.

Oh? What's this?

The woman, dressed in finest silks, smiles, extending a hand in greeting.

"Princess Elia, Prince Oberyn" I say, bowing over her hand, it is a true pleasure to meet you both.

She gives me a courtly smile, while Oberyn just tilts his head.

"Truly" I say, laying the charm on extra thick for the beautiful dusky-skinned woman, "Prince Rhaegar must be the luckiest man in the seven kingdoms, to have one such as you in his arms. Why, I doubt the maiden herself could compare!"

Her brother smirks, at that, and I feel a brief surge of embarrassment through the Force before she suppresses it.

"Thank you, my Lady," she says with a nod, "I must say, I was rather impressed with your showing in the tourney."

"Absolutely!" her brother cuts in exuberantly, "truly, I have never seen another spar as you do! I must ask, what style is it that you use?"

I give him a smile. "Oh, a little of this, a little of that. A few obscure Essosi styles from my mother's family."

He smirks, clearly not believing a word of what I'm saying, but nods to concede the point.

"Princess" I ask, turning to look at the stunning woman, "I must ask, how have you been finding this tourney?"

She blinks at that, her mask of bland interest broken by a moment of legitimate uncertainty.

Admirably though, she rallies herself quickly, and pastes a court smile back on her face. "I have enjoyed it greatly, My Lady Blackmoth" she says with a nod, "My Lord husband tells me that many brave knights have fought."

Hmm, so a little flirting isn't enough to break her mask, is it?

I have to suppress a smirk. You're not getting away that easily, Princess.

"Pish posh!" I say with a theatrical wave of my hand, "none of that now! I asked how you found the Tourney, not our esteemed Prince!"

Her face doesn't twitch even a fraction of an inch, and I curse in my head.

"So" I ask, raising an eyebrow and putting on what Erryn once termed by 'Ladykiller' smirk, "how have you found it? Thrilled? Entertained? …Excited?"

I let my voice drop low on that last word, the barest hint of a purr entering it.

I see her throat bob as she gulps. "I… yes, I found it quite gratifying."

I lean in with a toothy smile. "Oh, I'm sure you did."

Unfortunately, my seduction is interrupted by my target's irritatingly jovial brother, "Excuse me, ladies!" he says with a smirk, "but I must say, I feel neglected! Two beautiful women, and they'd rather focus on each other than me!"

That seems to be what finally gets the faintest hint of red to her cheeks, and I have to suppress a laugh.

I take everything back, I like this one.

"Why my prince!" I say with false modesty, "Perish the thought! I shall make sure to attend to your needs whenever you wish."

He matches my smirk.

"W-Well" the princess says, trying her best to break up our impromptu flirting session, "I have heard you have some blood from Dorne, my lady?"

I nod, and meet the Princess's face.

I smirk as she seems captivated, her embarrassment slowly rising in the Force.

"Indeed" I say, never breaking eye contact, "my mother, Lady Jynessa, was an Orphan of the Greenblood."

I feel them both startle at that, even if neither of them are inexperienced enough to show it.

"An Orphan?" Princess Elia says her practiced look of banal interest containing what seems like real curiosity the entire conversation. , "I… she was a commoner?"

I rear back, putting on my best impression of offense. "Why?" I say, voice turning cold, "is that some sort of problem."

Princess Elia rushes to reassure me it's not, while Oberyn, who sees right through me, just smirks.

I break then, smiling and calling her off with a wave. "Peace, my Princess. Truly, I take no offense, for a commoner is what she was. The best damn trader this side of the Narrow Sea, if you listen to her."

Prince Oberyn hums. "Is she where you get your… unique looks from? I must say, the Rhoynish blood runs quite short, and I've never known the Orphans to have such stunning golden eyes."

He turns to Princess Elia then, smirking. "Don't you agree, sister? Why, I imagine she's the envy of every woman in the Stormlands, with entrancing eyes like that."

A small bit of heat makes its way into the Princess's cheeks as she nods.

"Ah" I say, leaning back and stretching, not-so-coincidentally showing off my toned musculature, "that would be from her father. He was a sellsword, from Leng."

Prince Oberyn's eyes widen at that, and leans forward in interest. "Truly, a Lengii?! I thought them to be a myth, when I read of them in the Citadel."

"Pardon" the Princess says, her face back to a smooth, composed court mask, "I must say, I have never heard of such a place. Where would this 'Leng' be, then?"

The Prince leans back, gesturing for me to take the lead.

I acknowledge his concession with a nod, and he just smirks.

"It is an eastern place" I say, fixing my eyes on the Princess's once again, "far to the east, almost as far as East goes. It's an island, next to Yi Ti, but of an entirely different people."

Her eyes widen at that. "I… Y-Yi Ti!"

I nod, smirking. "Oh yes" I say, leaning in, "the folk there are said to tower over seven feet at the shortest, with nut-brown skin, and"—I point to my head—"golden eyes."

I meet her eyes, giving her an intense stare, full of unspoken promises and temptation. "Some have told me that the eyes of the Lengii are positivley enchanting. The most beautiful in the world, they say. Would you agree, my Princess?"

The Princess smiles blandly at that, court mask firmly in place, but I can feel embarrassment (and more than a little lust) radiating from her in the Force.

"Ah… I would say they are quite exotic, Lady Blackmoth."

"Well" the Prince says, cutting in, "I cannot speak for my sweet sister, but I, for one, agree absolutely."

Hm… I turn, looking the Dornishman up and down.

Well, I must admit, beauty truly seems to run in the line of Martell. I've seen seldom men more handsome than him, and he has the same sort of roguish charm about him that I rely on so often to seduce my conquests

Eh… you know what? Why not. I've never had a Prince before, and he would make a fine consolation prize for my inability to claim the crown Princess.

I mentally stutter then, realizing just what exactly I'd been doing.

Gods Ash, this is exactly what Durran and Erryn talked about! Trying to cuckold the Crown Prince?

I shake my head, internally thanking the Princess Elia for her restraint.

I smirk. But well… Prince Oberyn is unwed, and it will be a cold day in hell before I turn down an offer from an able and willing man as handsome and charming as him.

I turn to him then, brow raised, tone lowering to a purr. "Oh? How flattering, my Prince."

He waves me off theatrically. "Come now! It is no imposition to tell the truth!"

He looks me up and down, taking no effort to hide the obvious interest in his gaze. "After all, you are quite… singular."

I can feel embarrassment and exasperation practically burning off of the Princess now, for all her face hasn't changed a bit.

"You should take heed, my Prince I say, purposefully moving my body to expose the dip of my chest to the two Dornish nobles, "a young maiden could get the wrong idea from such compliments. You have a… reputation, you know."

He smirks, leaning back with an amused leer. "Oh, do I? What would that be, then?"

I bring up my hand to hide my face. "Oh, I couldn't possibly say! They're so… scandalous."

He smiles, resembling my own roguish smirk to a remarkable degree. "Oh, do tell. Those types of rumors are always the most fun."

"Well" I say, biting my lip in a show of fake scandal, "I… I have heard…"

He leans in then, holding back a laugh, and I can even feel amusement mixing in with the Princess's exasperation and embarrassment.

I lower my voice, causing him to lean closer. "I've hear… that you're celibate."

He stares at me for a moment, expression disbelieving, until he bursts out into laughter.

The Princess actually smirks, and I make a little mental fist-pump of success. "If only" she says drily, "I assure you, it would make all of our lives a great deal less complicated."

He waves his sister off, smile broad. "Nonsense! There'd be riots in two-thirds of Dorne!"

"Only two-thirds?" I say with a sniff, "you're less impressive than I thought."

He grins. "Oh? I assure you, Lady Ash, I am more than impressive enough. Would you like a demonstration?"

I tilt my head impishly. "Well, I have heard you handle a spear rather well…"

The Princess's face is an emotionless mask, but from her aura I can practically hear her cradling her head in her hands with a groan.

"But that's neither here nor there" I say with a nod in a wink, "I'm afraid we've been neglecting your dear sister, Prince Oberyn."

"So" I say, turning to face the Princess, "I have heard you've just birthed a new daughter?"

She nods, grateful for the change in topic away from my and her brother's heavy-handed flirting.

"Indeed" she says, and I have to hold in a breath as her face absolutely light up with joy. Gods, is this woman beautiful.

"My little Viserra…"

I give her a gentle smile. "An interesting name, my Princess."

She turns to me, raising an eyebrow. "Oh?"

I have to suppress a smile at how lovely she is when she's defensive. "Peace, peace my Princess. I merely meant it is not a common name among the royal family."

She leans back then, hackles calmed, and nods. "Indeed. I named him for my dearest childhood friend, Serra Jordayne, who passed a few months before her birth. My Lord Husband wished to name her 'Visenya', but well…"

"Ah" I say, holding back a snort. Well, I can certainly understand why a princess already-unpopular for her ethnicity would hesitate to name her daughter after the fearsome 'Witch Queen.'

"Indeed" she says flatly.

I hum in thought. "Pray tell, do you know what name he would have chosen if she was to have been a boy?"

"Aegon" she says with a flat look, clearly exasperated, and I have to hold back a chuckle.

My lips twitch. "Well" I say, "I can certainly see why you'd wish to avoid that then. Children deserve their own legacies, I say."

She tilts her head, gaze suddenly assessing.

My brows furrow. Was it something I said?

She hums, tilting her head. "Yes… I would agree, My Lady. None of us should be bound by the specters of the past."

I lean back, pensive. Now what could this possibly be about?

A few minutes later, I've left the Prince and Princess behind, and am standing in a secluded corner of the ballroom.

"It's awful, isn't it?"

I turn from where I'm looking out over the feast to see a tall, thin woman, brown of hair and eye.

I only barely manage to restrain myself from looking her over, and mentally thank myself a second later when I spy the sigil of House Hightower on her dress.

A moment later, I blanch for different reasons, as I feel her presence in the Force. Practically shining, she's stronger in the Force than anyone I've met save the Crow's Eye, Ser Barristan, or Arthur Dayne, but wrapped up entirely in the Force's more esoteric mysteries.

"What is, my lady?" I ask, too unnerved by her presence to bother with courtesy.

"This… this ruin. It's cursed, truly." she says with a shudder.

My brows shoot into my hairline, and I don't even bother to hide my inquisitive gaze as I lean forward. "Well, Lady…"

"Malora, Lady Blackmoth. Lady Malora Hightower."

"Well then, Lady Malora, what makes you say such a thing."

She gives me a secretive smile. "Don't play coy, my lady. I know you can feel it just as well as I."

"Feel what?"

"The power. The terrible, terrible power of all the blood that Harren shed."

I hold her gaze. "…You speak of queer things, my Lady."

She smirks. "As you say, Champion."

I tilt my head. "And use queer titles too, apparently."

"It's not" she says flatly, "do you deny you are one? I heard you speak of Daemon Blackfyre in your fight with the Crow's Eye, do you deny that like him history wraps around you?"

I rock back on my heels, interested. She must have used the same type of sense-enhancement spell as Durran in order to hear my fight, and that's no easy thing.

"…If what you say is true, why seek me out? Why speak of such things so openly?"

"Open?" she says with a mysterious smile, "tell me, where are those listening ears, then?"

I look around, and to my shock, she's right. The guests surrounding us are paying us little mind, as if we were the two least interesting guests here, instead of the tourney's most controversial figure speaking to one of the most eligible maids of the Seven Kingdoms.

I probe outwards with the Force, and find the thin filaments of a spell floating around us, shrouding us for notice.

It's not exactly a hiding, but more a dampening of one's presence, as if their soul was wrapped in a thick woolen blanket. Nadros had mentioned offhandely of some concealment techniques he'd heard of in other schools of magic, but to externalize it like this…

I shiver. What a powerful spell. Even I didn't notice her until she was right in front of me.

"Speak, then" I say, looking at her impassively. With a Lady of station I would normally put on my highest courtesies, but… well, I don't think that's what she's after here.

She begins bluntly. "It is a rare thing, to see a fellow practitioner of the higher mysteries, especially here in the Sunset Lands."

I hum. "And so… what? This is a professional courtesy? Like we're all in some guild together?"

She shrugs, giving me a sly smile. "Perhaps? It behooves one to know their peers, after all. Marwyn certainly appreciated the courtesy."

"So what?" I say, interested despite myself, "do you want to exchange knowledge? I must say, I expected something a bit more… grand."

She just smiles. "Well, I must apologize for disappointing you, then."

I chuckle. "I… think I would be amenable to that. I have heard the libraries of Oldtown are quite impressive, and exclusive as well. It would be a boon to have the eyes of one so familiar with them to act as a guide."

She raises an eyebrow at my unspoken question. Can she get me access to the tomes in the Citadel? I would normally guess no, but she's a Hightower, and the Citadel has been known to bend rules for them.

She smiles. "As long as you do not mean that literally, I suppose. I rather like my vision."

I snort. "I honestly don't know what I would do with a set of disembodied eyes. I'm no Crow's Eye."

Her face turns serious. "That man is no laughing matter, Lady Ash."

What? Is she… He's cunning certainly, and powerful, but to inspire this much dread? He's not a rabid beast as I saw tonight, despite what the ending of the tourney would have me believe.

"Don't worry my Lady," I say with my most charming smirk, "he is not so fierce that I can not protect you."

My smirk slowly dies as I see her face unmoved.

"…What?"

She gives me an inscrutable look. "…You truly take him as that light a threat? The Crow's Eye?"

Oh, I've been wanting to use this line for ages!

"No, he's deadly, very deadly." I give a predatory smirk. "I'm just deadlier."

Her face remains unchanged. "You are prideful, Ashmoth."

"It's not unwarranted" I say with a dazzling smile.

"…Valyria was prideful too."

I have to conceal my flash of irritation, but judging by how she tenses, she feels it anyways. "Who are you to say such things?"

She frowns, giving me a serious look. "I am one of the most powerful witches in Westeros, Lady Ash. And I am also someone who would fall before the Crow's Eye."

"Well" I say, unsettled at her blunt admission of weakness, "…I will not. That is the difference between us, I suppose."

She just gives me a pitying smile, and I have to contain my irritation.

After a moment, I finally give in and fill the void in the conversation. "…you think him that powerful? Enough to rival me?"

She bites her lip, and I'm taken off-guard by how genuinely unsettled she looks. "He… I believe he is a man who gazes into the void, searching for secrets… and one day, the void gazed back."

I feel a shiver run down my spine, and I shoot my gaze over to the Greyjoy. As if sensing my gaze on him, he turns, completely ignoring Malora's spell of concealment to give me a mocking wave.

Perhaps… perhaps her caution is not unwarranted.

"Is that why he's… the way he is? Empty?"

She just gives me a weary look, not knowing the answer any more than me.

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you normally this free with your emotions around strangers? I can't imagine any other lady so plainly discussing their fears."

She actually blushes at that, drawing back from me. "I… I apologize. It is just so nice to finally be around someone who understands."

I bit my lip, unable to repress my fond grin. "It is no problem, my Lady. I am the last woman to turn away the affections of a beautiful maiden."

She laughs at that, mood lightening. "It will take much more than that to get under my dress, even for a Champion."

I quirk an eyebrow, shooting her my most rakish, charming grin. I do so love a challenge.

I lean in. "Oh? I think it would be rather fitting: the beautiful maid seduced by the victorious, handsome knight…"

She flushes. "I… I'm afraid I'm quite uninterested in that sort of thing, Lady Ash"

"Come now" I say, giving her a view down my dress "Don't tell me you're not even the littles bit curious? I can't imagine sorcery is a hobby that lets one get out much…"

She just sighs, brushing my hand off her chest, even as I feel a small twinge of desire spike in her.

I have the good grace to suppress my smirk. Point to Ash!

She straightens, turning towards a man approaching. "I… My brother had mentioned wanting to see you. I think that's him there!"

I chuckle, but allow the abrupt subject change to pass, and the Lady Hightower drops her insignificance spell.

"Garth!"

"Sister!"

I turn to find Garth Greysteel, the very man I'd knocked down in the melee rounds, what feels like a lifetime ago.

"Ah!" he says, smile growing even wider as he sees me, "and look at this! It seems you've already met the woman I was planning to introduce you to!"

He bows, pressing a kiss to my hand. "My Lady Blackmoth! Why, I've been looking all over for you!"

I nod, giving him a smile. His enthusiasm really is infectious.

"I must admit" he says with a tip of an imaginary helm, "you truly did make good on the promise you made. Few dare mock me now for being beaten by you, with how far you've risen!"

I laugh at that. "Well" I say, "prepare to silence those last voices, because I'm going to win this tourney."

He gives me an assessing look at that, taking me much more seriously than when I made the same boast in the tourney.

He stares into mine, and for the first time I see the cunning mind hidden behind his boisterous exterior.

Apparently, he finds whatever he's looking for, because he brakes our staring match with a laugh. "You know, My Lady, I might just actually believe that."

I laugh, spotting a tall figure across the room.

"Unfortunately" I say with a frown, "I'm afraid I must depart. I see my Uncle across the room, and it would be terribly rude to not greet him."

The Hightower maid just nods, like she was expecting it all along.

"Bonifer Hasty is your uncle?" Garth asks, a considering look on his face.

Both Malora and I turn to him in surprise.

"What?" he says, raising his arms, "I've fought in him tourneys, several times! He even unhorsed me once, back when I was first starting out… He's the black-haired one, yes?"

It still shocks me, sometimes, how my Father's and Uncle's travels have made their names known in the strangest places.

"No, over there" I say with a laugh, pointing at the purple-clad knight. "He's technically not my uncle, but I consider him as such. My father is a bastard, and Bonifer is the younger brother of his father's wife."

I feel the Reacher raise an eyebrow. "I would expect a man like that to hate him, for dishonoring his sister so."

I just shrug. "He was sired before they married, and she's a remarkably lovely woman."

"How strange…" the Hightower says, shaking his head at the seeming absurdity.

"You Reachfolk" I say with a smile and a shake of my head, "ever so pious…"

The knight rolls his eyes at that, and his sister laughs.

"Truly though" I say with a chuckle, "it was a pleasure to meet you both. I will see you at further tourneys, Ser Garth."

"You won't get as lucky next time" he says with a smirk.

I just arch a brow, and turn to the other participant. "And Lady Malora…"

She tilts her head.

"It was a pleasure to speak to you."

She gives a small, gentle smile, and for a moment I'm enchanted by her beauty. "It is… it is nice to have one who understands me so, Lady Ash."

I give her my most roguish smirk, winking, and have to suppress an internal cheer as I see heat rise to her cheeks.

I chuckle to myself as I make my way over to my honorary Uncle. Hah! Still got it!

"Wait" she says, grabbing my hand, "before you go…"

I raise an eyebrow, glancing down to our joined hands.

She rolls her eyes with a snort. "As I said, you'll have to try better than that."

I make to give a flirtatious comment, but she cuts me off with a raised hand.

"I… I saw something, before this feast."

I raise an eyebrow, interested, and her gaze unfocuses as bit as if she's reciting some ancient tome.. "Find me then at the deepest well, where Gods beyond all number can peer down at the earth. Where corpses rise from pools of blood, trees of white and wight by men of green."

She stares at me, expression startlingly blank. "There I'll find you, there we'll pray, three of us, half-and-one of men and women both."

I tilt my head at her, but she starts, eyes clearing up, and gives me a mysterious smile. With nothing more to say, she turns back to conversation with a bemused Garth like nothing ever happened.

My brow furrows as I walk over to speak to my Great-Uncle. I'm not fool enough to brush off prophecy, but what on earth could this one mean?

"Where gods peer down upon the earth", she's obviously speaking of the God's Eye, which I'd been meaning to visit anyways. So there will be a third person there, a man, to form the "one" of the "half-and-one" men there.

But the corpses rising from pools of blood? Reanimated trees?

I hope it's not bad luck to say that I'm dying to figure out what she's talking about.

"Come on!" I tug at the elbow my my honorary uncle, "she's right there!"

I point across the room, a shaded little alcove invisible to most eyes, but where I can feel the powerful presences of both the Queen and her Kingsguard radiate from. Strangely enough, the Queen seems to be radiating hate and rage at the moment, so much so I almost reassess my decision to take my Uncle over. By the Force, she's practically a Sith!

Then again, if I had to marry Aerys, I'm sure I'd be drowning in the Dark Side of the Force. Comparatively, this is positively restrained!

"Ashara" Uncle Bonifer says, shaking his head, "that's the queen. And we don't even know if she's there"

"She's there" I say with a stare at him, "And c'mon! you said you and her were close, right? This is the only way you'll get to talk to her again!"

I don't even leave the purple-clad knight a minute to protest, taking full advantage of my force-enhanced strength to drag him over to where the queen is lurking.

"Ser Hightower" I say, walking up to the Kingsguard keeping watch over the queen, "how excellent to see you! I must say, I'm disappointed that we won't get to cross blades…"

I gradually draw him away from the ex-couple, giving them a modicum of privacy.

The return of Bonnie Ser Bonny, and three new characters that will be popping up later!

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