ASHARA II

The Great Sept of Baelor was beautifully decorated for the occasion with a nice floral arrangement between the statues of the Father and the Mother. Not only was the marriage between Meera and Lord Harrold celebrated, but also that of her niece Sansa and Prince Joffrey; a double wedding that demonstrated the austerity of both by saving the expense of separate banquets; and as a sign of friendship between the kingdoms.

Only the feeling that she would soon become a grandmother made her sad. She had always felt beautiful and was often reminded of by men in her youth. And when she married Ned, he reminded her every day, most of the time without words. It could be said that she, Lady Ashara Dayne, was the only woman who drove the stoic Ned Stark crazy.

And there was her daughter, who had inherited her beauty despite sharing hair and eyes with her father. Her beauty was such that she overshadowed her cousin Sansa and the queen herself. Even her own beauty looked overshadowed, but she didn't care, after all it was foolish to compete with her own daughter. Ashara knew that her son-in-law would never leave the marriage bed and if he did there would be no gods to save him from death.

And after pronouncing the vows, all the guests returned to the Red Keep to celebrate. And fortunately, the King stayed away from her Ned, focused on drinking in the company of Thoros of Myr and two clan chiefs.

"It has finally happened", Ned said.

"Soon we will be grandparents", Replied Ashara.

"There is no certainty. Remember that it took Alys Karstark several months to get pregnant."

Ashara remembered it well. The wedding of the heir of Winterfell was a modest and beautiful event, despite taking place in a goodswood. It was held shortly before the King announced his visit to Moat Cailin. After the wedding, months passed, and Lady Alys showed no signs of pregnancy. No one thought ill, after all, it could take many months for a man to succeed in fathering a child.

In the end, Brandon and Catelyn received the news of Alys' pregnancy while at King's Landing.

"Only I had that luck", Lord Brandon intervened. "I'm sure I fathered Harlon on my wedding night. You and Ned for their part were slow, they got married before the rebellion and yet your twins are the same age as Harlon."

Ashara proved him right and smiled at him. She didn't like others thinking too much about her first pregnancy, fearing they would find out the truth about Jon. Even as a member of the Kingsguard he was in danger, she remembered her brother well, proud to wear that cape, too heavy because of the secrets he had to hide.

…

The next day, the whole castle was talking about the tournament. Asif weddings had taken a back seat, there wasn't even any comment on bedding. Ashara understood, men liked to fight, and she couldn't change them. All he could do was wish her Jon would win some competition.

However, those who stood out the most in the tournament were two of the heads of the Clans of the Valey, who called themselves Shagga and Ulf. It was the first time they were in King's Landing, like the first time they participated in a tourney, not in the jousting but in the melee. Both her husband and brother-in-law claimed that one of those two men would win, which would be good for the king's peace.

"They say it because they are First Men, don't they?" Ashara asked.

Ned and Brandon looked at each other with complicity. Lady Catelyn didn't seem interested in the conversation and just talked to one of her septas.

"Yes", they replied in unison.

"Are they so proud?" he complained.

"Ash", replied Ned. Ashara kissed him, interrupting him.

"You should fight one day, you could win". Ashara said.

"I don't like tourneys", Ned replied.

"Cheer up Ned" Brandon interrupted. "You could crown her queen of love and beauty."

Ned gave his brother a look of disapproval, who was immediately saddened. The proposal brought back bad memories.

When melee ended, Ulf was declared champion, defeating Thoros of Myr and his flaming sword. The victory was poorly received among some nobles, who murmured about the presence of a wildman, but the King was happier than ever and congratulated him. He then competed with him and Shagga in a drunk competition.

It could be said that they had become the King's new friends, which undoubtedly contributed to peace. They would soon spawn enough bastards to give King's Landing dozens of strong and hardened children, which was an honorable goal within the Vale Clans. As Ned told her, there was a time when the First Night was not seen as an abuse by the nobles, but a present that they gave to the common people to raise their bastards as their own, a way for more strong children to be born.

Ashara was disgusted by the explanation and thanked that such a practice was banned through the mediation of the Good Queen Alysanne. Unfortunately, she could not prevent Shagga and Ulf from practicing the First Night in their mountains, after all, the Umber practiced it in their domains. It was even rumored that Lord Bolton had fathered his bastard in such a way, although no one could prove it.

Nor could he prevent both the King and his new friends from visiting brothels. Her only satisfaction was that neither Jon nor Harrold accompanied the King on his revelries, after all, Ashara would never forgive her son-in-law if he did. Fortunately, Meera looked happy at her husband's side after the consummation of their marriage, unlike Sansa and Prince Joffrey, who seemed to have come out of a sept.

"Who do you think will win in the jousts?" asked Brandon.

"I hope Jon wins", Ashara replied. Ned seconded her.

"You did well to send him to Barrowtown, Ned", Brandon said. "I was taken in by the old Lord Dustin in my youth and became a fierce warrior."

"I didn't send Jon to Barrowtown to become a warrior, I sent him to reinforce my friendship with the now deceased Lord William Dustin", Ned said.

"I understand," Brandon replied. "A good move, little brother. You have House Dustin and House Manderly in your favor, while I take care of the Deep North. If Benjen was not on Night's Watch we could integrate Skagos into the kingdom."

Brandon sounded magnanimous. He was never a political enthusiast, but he had the same gift for making friends that King Robert had, without Ned he would be nothing, yet the friendships he forged were meritorious. Ashara knew that if Ned had been the lord of Winterfell, he would have earned the love of his vassals not with words but with years of hard work.

"Sometimes I think the Wall is cursed", Brandon added.

"Why do you say it?" asked Ashara.

"It always attracts the attention of men without notable inclinations to celibacy. I always thought that Benjen would have so many bastards to repopulate the North after the winters. If anyone had expected celibacy it would be Ned's."

Ned frowned, and Brandon smiled.

"Come on Ned! If you hadn't met Ashara you would take the black, I don't judge you, Ashara is a beautiful woman, but only someone like her could catch you. No one else, Ned, no one; the people speak, you never broke a heart."

Ashara noticed that Catelyn looked at her husband with eyes full of anger, which amused her a little. Brandon was right, Ned only had eyes for her, even if Brandon's words were in bad taste. Ned could be passionate, she knew it very well, but she preferred that she keep her icy façade for the rest of the mortals and that he reserves the best of herself for her.

The jousting began on the second day of the tournament, being the most anticipated event. It was the chivalric event par excellence and consequently, its prize was higher. Ulf had won 20,000 gold dragons, twice as many as Anguy, the winner of the archery events, but the same amount as the second place in the jousting. The winner of these would win 40,000 pieces of gold, a prize that Ned considered a waste, but that, given the circumstances could not be otherwise, two weddings and a war won had to be held.

These went on normally, with Jon advancing in the competition until he was unhorsed by Ser Lyn Corbray of the Kingsguard. Ashara expected no less, Corbray had defeated Ser Lewyn Martell in the Battle of the Trident, which is why the King gave her a white cloak. Ashara remembered the Prince of Dorne, a fierce fighter and a friend of her brother Arthur, who was killed by Ser Brynden Tully.

She never held a grudge against the Black Fish, after all it was war. Still, she was grateful that he didn't take Dawn to himself and give it back to Ned. Maybe Arthur knew he would die in the Trident, otherwise Ned wouldn't have had a reason to return so soon to Starfall. If Arthur hadn't died, Ned would never have known about Lyanna's whereabouts.

"Damn you, Rhaegar, I hope you are in the worst of the Seven Hells", Ashara thought.

After Jon's defeat, her support went to her son-in-law, who was dismounted by Lord Beric Dondarrion, who in turn was unhorsed by Thoros of Myr, leaving her with no one to support. Because of course, she was not going to give her support to the savage of Gregor Clegane, who defeated Thoros, nor Ser Loras, because no dornish would support a man of the Reach. In the end he had no choice but to fake a smile and watch.

The semi-finals were exciting. Sandor Clegane had unhorsed Ser Jaime Lannister, while, unexpectedly, Ser Loras unhorsed Ser Gregor Clegane after barely breaking a spear. The giant was enraged and killed his horse in a pit and would have also killed Ser Loras if not for the intervention of Sandor Clegane, who fought a duel with his brother until the King ordered them to stop and the Mountain withdrew from the enclosure.

Loras Tyrell in gratitude, surrendered to Sandor, who was proclaimed champion. Sandor then named Sansa Stark queen of love and beauty, which filled the girl with joy. Prince Joffrey gave a standing ovation to Sandor, whom he had a certain appreciation for, after all, he was his sworn shield. Ashara was satisfied with the decision, a man could only crown another man's wife if this was the lady of the castle or part of the royal family, otherwise the blood ran.

The following days were one of revelry, until, on the seventh day, tempers calmed down and everything returned to normal. Shagga and Ulf remained on the Red Keep to the Queen's chagrin. The King did not seem to care about his wife's well-being, only showing interest when Ned, in the company of Ned, was informed of Prince Tommen's decision. Robert didn't care about his second son's actions, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.

Ashara was just thinking that Robert was a terrible father and was lucky that his children were not cruel bastards. Joffrey maintained his mother's bad character, although according to Ned, he was possessed of a cruelty that he hid very well from the nobles. Tommen for his part was a lover of books, while Myrcella could only be compared to the Maiden.

"Asuitable partner for my Arthur". Ashara meditated, as she felt like the second most powerful woman in the Seven Kingdoms.

Then she remembered that she was not the best mother in the world, as she had poured all her love into Meera, leaving Jon and even Arthur aside. She then felt terrible and implored the forgiveness of the gods.

Notes

The Royal Guard has some variations with respect to the canon, which I had not wanted to mention so as not to saturate the narrative. Its members are as follows:

Ser Barristan Selmy ― Lord Commander

Ser Jaime Lannister

Ser Lyn Corbray

Ser Boros Blount

Ser Ellery Vance

Ser Arys Oakheart

Ser Jon Stark