Duty Above All

Angelica Rapha Redgrave couldn't help but wait anxiously in the hallway as she waited for the time for her to make her first appearance to…him.

She was born in the same year as Prince Julius Rapha Hillfort. Due to the close relationship between the royal family and her own, it was decided that the two of them would be engaged to each other. The plan was not without a hitch though for – according to her brother – the prince was born during the winter.

Of all the seasons to give birth to a child, winter was perhaps the worst one for the very nature itself would be the enemy. Babies – especially after birth – were weak and almost anything could result in their demise. As such, there was some worry about whether or not the heir to the throne could survive in spite of all the preparation that the Crown had made.

In the end, the Saint blessed them and Prince Julius survived his infancy. Once he could stand on his two feet, it didn't take long for tales to emerge.

The Quiet Prince he was called by those at the palace for his reserved personality. He didn't talk much and preferred to spend his time observing. Sometimes, he could be found having his mind wandering to other places as if remembering something from the past.

He also took his lessons as a prince like a duck to the water. Apparently, Prince Julius was quite a gifted child, especially in the field of combat. Despite starting at the same time, he always triumphed against his foster brother, Jilk Fia Marmoria.

She was told about these likely to assure that her match with the Prince would be a good one. It instead, however, made her wonder if she would be good for him. She had her own lessons to prepare herself to be not only a noblewoman but also the next queen of the kingdom. She might be praised for her effort, but she knew that she hadn't done anything remarkable.

Could she do it? Could she become the one that was worthy to stand at his side?

"Angie," She turned her attention towards her brother. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes." The little girl nodded. "Just a bit nervous."

"I suppose it's natural." He smiled. "Do you need more time or…?"

"No, no. Let's get this over with."

Accepting her answer, Gilbert and his sister walked towards the door of the room where others were waiting. Once they were close, he opened the door, and together the pair walked in.

When they entered, Angelica's eyes went immediately toward the boy with blue hair. That was him, Crown Prince Julius Rapha Holfort. She then realized that his eyes were looking at her as well, widening in response.

"Cat?"

Hearing the word come from him, the duke's daughter immediately turned around and looked at the floor, wondering if there was such an animal nearby.

"Cat?" Queen Mylene – hearing the word – looked at her son.

"O-Oh, nothing." He immediately said. "I thought I saw one. Must be a mistake."

"Hmm, I wouldn't be surprised," Her father – Duke Redgrave – almost grumbled. "Regardless of what you do, those felines would always find a way to enter your home."

Angelica couldn't agree more. She had seen a cat enter a place through such a small entrance that she once asked her brother if the animal could turn its body into liquid, something that Gilbert was rather hesitant to answer since he himself was not sure.

"Well, never mind that." The white-haired woman clapped her hands. "Now that we are here, let us have our meeting started."

"She's not Catelyn." Ned thought as he slowly sipped his tea. "She's not Cat."

When he first saw her, the former Lord of Winterfell thought that he was seeing the younger version of his wife. A part of him wondered – hoped – that she received a second chance in life as he was. As saddening as the thought of Catelyn's death was, he knew that nobody lived forever and it would be a matter of time until his wife breathed her last.

However, once he had closer look at Angelica Rapha Redgrave – his would be…fiancée, that was the term used in Holfort – he realized that it was…not exactly a trick of an eye, but a close one. For one, she didn't have the "Tully" look, something possessed by all his children but Arya – who took more from him – and, of course, Catelyn herself.

Another was that her appearance revealed the lack of the blood of the Andals and the First Men in her lineage which made sense considering those two people didn't exist in this world. All in all, Angelica Rapha Redgrave had some resemblances to Catelyn Tully, enough that they could be mistaken for sisters if not for the color difference, but were still recognizable as two different people.

He held himself from letting out a joyless chuckle. Did he miss his wife so much that he was starting to see what was not there?

"A-Are you alright, Your Highness?" Angelica suddenly spoke. "Your mind appears to be…somewhere else."

"Ah, nothing much, Lady Redgrave." He replied. "I just remember the last time Jilk made tea for me."

"Shut up…" His foster brother retorted yet it did little to stop him from blushing. "It was my first time."

"You do have a point." There was now an excuse for him to chuckle.

Currently, the three of them were occupying a table in a large hall. The Queen and the other Redgraves – the lord and the heir – meanwhile were using another one that was on the other side of the room, having a private conversation with each other. Ned was not sure what they were talking about, but judging from their faces, it appeared to be related to the matter of state.

"So, the green-haired boy talked. "You're going to be staying in the palace with us, Lady Redgrave?"

"I do." The blonde girl nodded. "I will be one of Her Majesty's ladies-in-waiting. Being here also makes it easier for me to learn about my duties, both now and for the future."

"That's nice to hear," Ned commented. "I am sure Erica would be happy to have someone around her age."

"Erica? You mean Her Highness?"

"Correct." After saying that, the prince frowned. "You know, I just realize, but I think we're entering on the wrong foot…or however the term goes."

"W-What do you mean?" Angelica tilted her head.

"The three of us are going to be living together, spending time together. To put it short, we would basically be family." He explained. "Thus, I believe that we need to have more…a sense of familiarity."

"And how would you do that?"

"Simple," The boy smiled at her. "Greetings, milady, I am Julius. May I call you Angelica?"

He remembered the first time that he arrived at the Eyrie. The first time when he met his foster father – Jon Arryn – and his foster brother – Robert Baratheon. Initially, he called them by their family names and titles and they did the same as well to him for they were only slightly closer than being strangers. But as they spent years with each other, the titles were ignored and the first name was used instead with him also allowing them to use "Ned" to call him.

It was also the case between him and his current foster brother. Since they now called each other by their given names, it was only proper that Angelica – the girl that would be his future wife and Jilk's goodsister in all but name - was being allowed as well.

"I…I…It's…" She blushed for a bit before clearing her throat. "Y-Yes. Please call me A-Angelica, Y-Your – I mean, J-Julius."

Meanwhile, the three adults observed as the kids interact with each other. While they could not hear the conversation, they could guess the topic and made smile.

Ned would be lying if he said that he was not excited about today's lesson.

"You lads might be still too small to use one," Lady Trent said as they followed her. "But at least you're old enough to learn the theoretical."

The mistress-at-arms had decided that there would not be any physical training and took them toward a building called a hangar. It was there that one of the strongest weapons of the kingdom was stored.

For many in the Seven Kingdoms, it could be mistaken for a big statue of some kind of knight made from steel. But Ned had read enough to know the true nature of the weapon in front of him; Power Armors they were called or Armors for short. Their size alone would give the wearer a tremendous advantage on the battlefield with only scorpions or catapults having any chance of taking them out.

Their biggest strength, however, was their capability to fly, basically making them the dragons of this world.

"Martel," Lady Trent gestured at the Armor in the hangar. "That is the name of the standard type of Armor used by the Royal Army and not without reason. Their versatility and reliability are second to none."

The former Lord of Winterfell chuckled at the name. While there was a difference – a single "L" - between Martel and House Martell of Dorne, it was quite funny that something that was the complete opposite of how Dornish fight would share the name with the ruling house of the realm.

"I have heard about it." Jilk opened his mouth. "It is said that there are many Armors out there that are better than the Martel."

"Not necessarily." She corrected him. "Sure, the Armors of Alzer are tough nuts to crack, and those of Fanoss packs a lot of punch and could run away before getting hit. However, while many Armors are better than the Martel at something, none of them is better at everything."

"In other words," Ned spoke. "If we know our opponents, we could play on their weakness while covering our own."

"Exactly." The mistress-at-arms nodded. "There's also the fact that those assigned to the Armor units tend to be adventurers and thus possessed their own set of skills. It would be unwise to force them to do things they are not used to."

"Which is why versatility is something our Armor must have." The green-haired boy concluded. "Reliability is, well, obvious; you don't want your weapon to break apart in the middle of battle."

"Yep." After that, she finally gave permission. "Well, go ahead, lads. Admire one of the greatest engineering feats of the kingdom."

The boys ran towards the Armor. While Jilk was fascinated by the appearance alone, the former Lord of Winterfell instead focused on the weapons placed nearby, their sizes indicating that they were to be used with the giant construct.

Unlike firearms, Power Armor was part of this world battlefield that he was still struggling to figure out. As he had stated, the best comparison that he could use was the dragons that the Targaryens possessed; the dragons that – long before his birth – had all but extinct. Thus, he had to pull out the history of the Seven Kingdoms, hoping that he still remembered enough.

The Dance of the Dragons; a war of succession between Queen Rhaenyra and King Aegon II. Both sides possessed dragons, they killed each other, and the event was believed to be the catalyst that resulted in the extinction of the beasts. Since all countries have Armor, this would be the perfect example to draw from.

Unfortunately, most of the records about that period were about – in his opinion – how terrible the two monarchs were. He knew that House Stark supported Queen Rhaenyra's faction the Blacks, but that was because she was the rightful ruler of the Iron Throne and Ned knew that there was a big difference between being a rightful ruler and being a good ruler.

So, he was back to the first rectangular. He simply had a problem thinking of the place occupied by Power Armor; guns and cannons could be considered faster and stronger versions of crossbows and scorpions. But the only role played by dragons that he knew of was burning men and fortifications to ashes

Perhaps a first-hand experience was necessary.

Once she began to live in the palace, Angelica's training pretty much intensified to the point that even the Queen herself decided to have direct involvement with it. While it was indeed an honor, it also meant that the expectation that was put upon her went higher and higher; a single mistake would not be tolerated and it was only half an exaggeration.

Despite her best, there was only so much that the duke's daughter could handle. Thus, every time she received a rest time, she would ensure that it would not be spent needlessly for even a single second was precious.

That was how she found herself walking in the gardens, covering hundreds of hectares of land that were pretty much bigger than the palace itself. There, many types of plants – both locals and exotics – were sight for sore eyes. Dozens of gardeners worked to ensure that the place was healthy and beautiful. She saw some attending the hedge maze, one of the main attractions of the gardens, yet she had no desire to approach it. She wanted…something that could help her calm her mind, to allow her to rest.

Walking around, the blonde soon noticed that there was someone near a tree of which the name escaped her. Slowly, she approached it, her curiosity wanting to be satisfied. When she reached the tree, the figure was on the other side of the plant, causing her to look there…and made two sets of eyes see each other.

"Whoa!" In a surprise, she jumped back before recognizing the owner of the eyes.

"By the gods!" Julius exclaimed in surprise as he immediately calmed down. "Ah, forgive me, Angelica. Your presence is…not expected."

"I-It's fine, Your – Julius." The blonde replied, fixing the slip-up at the last second. "I should be the one who apologizes."

After both of them recovered from their shock, Angelica turned her head towards the tree once more, wondering if there was a reason that the Prince was there.

"I do not mean to pry, Julius," She spoke. "But what are you doing here?"

"I am…resting." He said; she noticed a bit of hesitation in his voice. "I tried to find a perfect place to do that and this weir – I mean, oak tree – agrees with me."

"Agrees with you?" The duke's daughter raised an eyebrow.

"It's easier to show than tell." The heir to the throne said before sitting under the tree. "Here."

She was a bit hesitant at first. While they were planned to be betrothed to each other – it hadn't been officiated yet, as far as she knew – it was nevertheless considered improper for them to be too close to each other. But, considering their ages, perhaps it wouldn't be…

In the end, Angelica accepted the offer and took a seat beside him.

"Calm your heart, think nothing," He instructed her. "And just let nature takes after you."

She did as she was told; it made her calm, yes, but it was expected. She was about to ask if she needed to do anything else when the sound hit her ears: the rustling of the leaves by the gentle wind. It was shortly followed by the singing of the birds, landing on the branches just recently. Then the smell hit her nose; the fragrance of the forest. She recognized it for it was similar to the smell near her family's ranches for it was located near a forest. There were not a lot of trees in the gardens, but there were enough to create them.

She must have been more tired than she realized, Angelica thought, as drowsiness began to invade her mind. It was at that moment that she remembered it; something that made her curious upon encountering the Prince. Yet when she opened her eyes, it would disappear from her mind.

"Did Julius…swear…by the gods…?"

There were times when Mylene wondered if she had gained enough prestige and influence to get away from choking Roland to near death.

She immediately discarded that thought. As satisfying as the experience would be, it would also do nothing to solve the paperwork that had become her eternal burden ever since she and that man were bounded to each other. Well, not really since her dear husband just couldn't stop chasing one skirt after another.

Speaking of which, she hoped that the current lady was smart enough to consume contraception herbs. The Crown had spent quite a sum of money to take care of the out-of-wedlock children and she knew that – if a difficult time ever occurred – it would be among the first that received a cut.

The only good thing that came out of the marriage was her children, Julius and Erica. Being the youngest of the two, it was natural that Mylene would pay more attention to her. Just like her brother, she took her lessons well and already showing signs of becoming a proper lady despite her young age. Once she reached a sufficient age, it would not be hard to find a perfect match for her.

Though she did notice that Erica seemed to have a…strange reaction toward Angelica. When the two of them were introduced, the younger girl seemed to be unsure of how to act toward the girl that would become her brother's wife. Perhaps it was jealousy at the thought of losing her brother to another female?

She also liked to write; more specifically, writing down the tales that Julius told to her. Mylene was not sure where he heard of them, but hopefully she could talk to him about that…uncomfortable topic as soon as possible, dearly wishing that he realized just how wrong it was and having no desire to emulate it.

A story about a man conquering a nation was quite common. For the main character to be marrying not just one of his sisters, but two of them?! Who the hell thought that it was a good story idea?!

Changing the uncomfortable thought, her mind went towards her son. A gifted boy, the courtiers of the palace called him. It was easy to see why; there were a few lessons that Julius didn't master almost immediately. His knowledge still needed to be polished, of course, but it could be done with an easy start. Whether it was combat or administrative-related, he took it like a duck to the water. She had high hope that the same thing would happen when a lesson about court intrigue and politics in generals got involved.

However, much to her worry, Julius seemed to be…too focused on his lessons. She was happy that he took it seriously, of course; many children tended to rebel at being given so many tasks. Nevertheless, she didn't want it to come at the expense of his childhood. He had his duties as a crown prince, but it didn't erase the rights that he had as a boy.

Also, he could use less formality when interacting with her. He could do it with his sister, both calling each other nicknames. He was quite relaxed when interacting with his foster brother Jilk. He even already used given names with Little Angie.

Yet to him, she would always be his "lady mother." He knew that she would accept simply being called "mom," right?

Speaking about Julius…

Her attention went towards a paper that she had separated from the piles; written by the prince, it said:

To My Lady Mother, Her Majesty Queen Mylene of House Holfort,

I write this missive to inform you that a grave injustice has been done to one of our loyal vassals, House Alwyn. I have also been informed that this act has been done to our other bannermen with House Alwyn simply being one of the recent victims. Considering the nature of the plea, I am of the belief that this is no lie.

I know that your time is spent to rule the kingdom and thus might not have enough to deal with the issue. However, to take care of our vassals is nothing short of our duty as their liege lord. Thereby, I request that you find the time to solve the problem. It is unbecoming for us to enjoy a life of safety and luxury while those that we have sworn to protect could barely fill their stomach every single day.

Sincerely,

His Highness Prince Julius of House Holfort.

"He could simply come to me, you know?" Mylene said to no one but herself.

She admitted that she was not sure how to exactly handle it. There was a reason for the "grave injustice" that occurred to the border nobles like House Alwyn. Being part of the royalty, it was inevitable that – one day – Julius would be told about the plan that have been concocted by the Crown ever since the betrayal of House Fanoss. At this point, however, he might be too young to understand the necessity of it.

Plus, this plan must remain a secret and there was a difference between hiding a secret and hiding a secret.

"Maybe some other time," She decided as her attention went back to the piles of papers.

Years later, Queen Mylene would regret her decision that night.

And done.

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