A/N: guess who's back in quarantine because someone ruined it for the rest of us
Just a short one for you guys, but I'll be back with another one at the end of next month, keep the comments coming. they're all I have to keep me sane.
Outsider Rose fortress, 278 AC.
The sun was now high up in the sky that it burned away the shadows that made the many hills that dotted the land visible, which made the surrounding lands resemble an ocean of green that stretched farther than the eye could see. But there were other colors that reflected the sun's light, black, blue and red, patches of earth were now charred from the burning bales that choked the Dothraki with its smoke, blue from all the capes draped over the soldiers that marched beneath the Rose and red, from all the blood that seeped into the earth. Yet, even now the battle still raged.
Another loud whistle cut through the noise of war, the front line of soldiers ducked sideways to give way for another fresh line of soldiers, they had been at it for hours now, their shield raised and braced to block or bludgeon the Dothraki that managed to escape the mud. As they kept their guard the soldiers witnessed their greatest fear. the scourge of the lands of Essos, the image of horror that their elders so vigorously warned would be their end. were now crying and crawling in the mud, frantically elbowing each other for single breath of air before being stepped on by another, men and horses alike struggled in the black madness that was slowly turning into solid earth in the Essosi heat, those at the edge of the pit abandoned their arms and honor, and begged to be allowed to leave and live, some even managed to cut their braids and dangle them at the soldiers to show their surrender. But the villagers turned soldiers only looked on in disgust, and shame. Disgust at the sight of the mighty Dothraki now reduced to cowering, squealing swine, and shame at ever doubting their new king, who made them warriors and gave them weapons, yet they repaid him with treachery. The whistle sounded again and the front line was once again replaced with fresh soldiers, the battle had been won an hour ago, but Roose insisted that every soldier saw what they were capable of.
Elsewhere…
At the fortress of the Rose. Eddard and Iggar stood on the wall, Eddard felt he's being watched and turned to see that the women who manned the trebuchets and prepared the projectiles had gathered at the foot of the ramp that led up to where Eddard stood. "Come up, see what your men have done!" Eddard gestured for them to climb, the women slowly and shakely ascended, one by one they took possessions on the wall and in no time at all they stood side by side with each other peering down at what remained of the Dothraki. From their vantage point they see the thin line of soldiers encircling what was the farm from which they grew their crop, now it was replaced by thousands of men and horses, writhing like maggots inside a carcass. No one said a word or made a sound, after centuries of fear, suffering and anguish, they were convinced that the Dothraki were invincible and everyone else lived only to be preyed upon, to be raped, butchered, or sold into slavary. It was not an opinion or an option, it was a fact of life, just as the sun rose in the east and set in the west. Yet here and now before their eyes, they were seeing the impossible. Thirty thousand blooded and battle hardened Dothraki defeated by seven thousand villagers.
"I assume you can take care of the rest?" Iggar chose that moment to slip away and walk to his room, not waiting for Eddard to answer, as he walks he hears the women begin to cry, yet it was not out of grief, as they sported smile on their faces, each woman Iggar passed bowed to him, he bows back and makes it out of the crowd. As he entered one of the longhouses the whole Fortress erupted in cheer, [HAIL! THE WOLF KING!, HAIL! THE WOLF KING!] The noise reverberated through the thick walls and floor, a smile appeared on Iggar's old and wrinkled face as a single tear ran down his cheek, but no one was there to see it.
Hours later…
Eddard rode out from the Fortress accompanied by all the women and children within, they carried carts of food and water to the tired soldiers, Eddard allowed them to run to their sons, fathers, brothers and lovers who serve in the army. Some wept when they found their own among the four hundred and fifty seven who died, others tearfully thanked Eddard when they found them in the healing tents and most cheered in celebration when they found their own tired, but unharmed.
Eddard was approached by Roose and Willis on horseback along with some of the commanders, they all looked worn and weary but not tired, all of them were dirty from the fighting but Willis was the only one covered in blood. Howland was still smiling his face in half while seated atop the heron, Eddard's more powerful version of the mosquito, it was able to launch a foot and a half long steel bolts instead of two meter shaft, farther away and with more momentum, it's drawback was that it was the only working unit they had, less mobility than the mosquito as its entirely metal body requires a solid platform, it's time consuming construction and careful celebrations.
"How did we do?" Eddard asked Roose, while looking at the carnage they had wrought, bodies of men and horses jotted out of the hard ground like weeds in a field while some were splayed out in the open having been cut down by the soldiers or shot down by Howland using the heron.
"There are still a few slaves in the camps and few who fled when they saw the opportunity" Roose responded, sweat and soil was on his face while his armor was peppered with mud and blood. "I suppose you'll have us retrieve the ones that ran before they die out their"
"No" Eddard said calmly "they made their choice, let them have it" Roose nodded at that. "Take some men and see to the camp, general quarter to any who attempt to fight us, they've been slave to the Dothraki for who knows how long, they may not see us as friendly"
"And the Dothraki survivors?" Willis asked, he had wiped his face and neck clean, but the blood in his hair, cape and armor was starting to coagulate into a solid mass, he was at the very front line of the heavy infantry, madly swinging his war axe at anything on a horse, the stench of blood was on him as well as other bodily fluids that implied he aimed for their stomachs.
"There are no survivors" Eddard said, staring into Roose' eyes, he rode forward past the Commanders who dipped their heads at him. With the meeting adjourned the commanders rode out to accomplish their kings command, while Roose tilted towards Howland's position hoping to finally convince the Crannogman to get down from the Heron, Willis however went to the edge of the river where soldiers were washing blood from the piles of armor stacked near them.
As the day went on, the sun started to sink into the western horizon flooding the sky with a red hue, the sunsets in Essos were more red than they were in the North, some of the people here say that it is red due to all the blood the sun had dried out during the day and were now in the air, giving the sun it's color. Jero remembered his father once said that it was a sign that the previous day was exceptionally hot, "but I'm not Jero anymore" he thought, it didn't bother him as much as it did when he was a baby, less so now that he had something to occupy his mind, but on quit moments like this Jero would come back for a brief moment and reminisce on his past life, "I wonder where you're now old man?" Jero said aloud, but none of his escorts were close enough to hear.
Eddard was pulled from his thoughts when a sound of hoof beats approach, a soldier riding at full gallop was coming towards him, two of Eddard's escorts moved forward in front of the soldiers and notched their arrows, while the other escorts huddled near Eddard to shield him, the soldiers jumped off his horse and got down on his hands and knees, Eddard was surprised when they all started using a small bow to show respect to a fellow soldier, he had attempted to teach them a different way of saluting, raising the right hand in the style of the roman's was more appropriate when addressing a superior (however, given the oddity of the gesture few remembered to do so, not that those who simply bowed to a superior were punished by the superior, as they themselves forgot the gesture as well).
"My king, my good king, forgive my disrespect, I am Donien of Commander Qorgyle's cohort!" the soldier was breathing heavily as if he ran here himself, "there is trouble at the camp, you must come with me, I beg you, for my pack mate, I beg you!"
"What trouble?" Eddard asked, noticing the soldier's short sword was not in the scabbard and he was bleeding from a cut on his left forearm.
Moments later... At the Dothraki war camp...
"Listen to yourself, Gioum!" Gallan a soldier of Qorgyle's cohort was pleading with his pack mate, both wore the same armor making them of equal rank, the soldiers sent to inspect the camp to see if any slave were left, were now surrounding a single soldier, Gioum. he was standing protectively in front of a tent that was larger than any other in the camp, it's door was being barricaded by wooded poles, rugs, saddles and Gioum's rectangular shield, while Gioum himself was keeping the rest of the soldiers at bay with his short sword, "if the Wolf king comes and sees you like this, he will have your head... or worse"
"I can't let you do it, not to any of them, Gallan!" Gioum bit back, "they are children, little children"
"The Wolf king's orders were clear, you fool!" another soldier's panicked voice added "he said that there were no survivors, quickly let us have them before he arrives, it'll be quick, I swear!" The soldier took a step closer with a sword in hand, Gioum slashed at him, but the move carried no intent and the soldier dodged easily.
"Stay back!, Dwoll!" Gioum shouted, wanting to dissuade them from rushing all at once and overwhelming him "Donien will have explained my side of the matter and he will bring the king here soon, you'll see"
The soldiers all looked at each other trying to see if the one of them had some kind of a resolution to their predicament, but none of them seemed to be any wiser than the rest.
The sound of hoof beats approaching them interrupts their argument, the soldiers all look at the lean figure of Eddard Stark halting his horse and dismounting it. "Stand aside" Eddard commanded, The soldiers who encircled Gioum all bowed and gave way to their king. More soldiers flooded to the scene, kicking up a lot of dust as they did, Gioum saw that they were not wearing the segmented cuirass of the infantry, or the full body armor of the heavy infantry, they were instead clad in the lighter boiled leather armor that are worn by the arches, the plumes of arrow fletches on their back confirmed it.
"Explain yourself, soldier" Eddard's said with a calm voice that hid danger, the soldiers themselves dared not interfere. "quickly"
Gioum hastily dropped his sword to the side and fell to his shaking knees, "my king" Gioum started, his voice was trembling as he addressed Eddard, nearly all of the Essosi in the fortress believed Eddard to be a god or a demon because he had made them so many inventions and carried himself with an air of subtle superiority that no one in Eddard's age should have. this was due to the fact that the education they received from the sellswords who taught them was purely so they could read and count, their ignorance remained as did their superstitions. Gioum himself had never dared to come near Eddard, fearing he would be harmed or unworthy of the king's presence. "I could not bring myself to kill them, my King, they are but children, they are not Dothraki"
"They are Dothraki" Eddard countered, he knew that it was difficult to win an argument with an ignorant person, he could easily order the rest of the soldiers to kill their friend, but that would leave a bitter taste in their mouths and could potentially spread unnecessary discontent to the rest of the army "they are merely smaller and weaker, given enough time they will grow to be bigger and stronger"
"But, my King, this is not right" Gioum's forehead was now dripping with sweat, when Goron fell and his Khalasar flied, they had taken some of the children with them, those that stayed in the camps were killed by their slaves who wished to exact revenge for their cruelty, so Eddard had never faced such a decision before "Killing children is the Dothraki way, we are not Dothraki"
"I didn't say it was right" Eddard calmly answered as he picked up the discarded short sword "they are men like you and I, but their way is the way of slavery and savagery, it's in their blood, they know of no other way than this" He then pointed the sword's hilt to Gioum
Gioum looks up at Eddard with tears in his eyes, every fiber in his being screamed in protest at such an idea, to kill a child was unthinkable, but to outright refuse an order from the king was madness, what was Gioum's word next to that of the King. so he with his trembling hand he slowly took sword and stood up, Gioum then looks around and sees his pac mates all staring at him with both concern and confusion, just behind them was the archers with their arrows already notched and behind them was the king's gigantic friend, now bare chested and holding aloft his massive war axe appearing to have arrived at the scene just before Gioum stood up. Gioum then turns and approaches the tent housing all the children who cower behind the piles of wood and cloth they used to barricade the entrance. Gioum did not know how many there were, but he knew they were very young, too young, but all of them sons of Dothraki and the king's orders were clear.
"Help him" Eddard said, gesturing for the rest of Qorgyle's cohort to complete their mission, the soldiers then moved beside Gioum with their swords unsheathed, as they reached the entrance the children all move away from the barricade and dipper into the tent. Gioum takes a deep breath and, to the surprise of all the soldiers around him, returns the sword to its scabbard. Then turns and falls to his knees for the second time and lowers his head as far as he could and with a pained voice Gioum simple says "I cannot"
Eddard looks at Gioum with a face that give nothing away, the other soldiers, archers and Willis himself watch with rapt attention at their king, Eddard knew that some if not most of them shared Gioum's sentiment which had most likely prevented them from ganging up on him earlier, so he compromised "who among you would vouch for this soldier's loyalty?" Eddard asked the gathered men.
In an instant one soldier shouted "I will, My king, I vouch for Gioum's loyalty!" another shouted "I will, my king!" Then others joined by raising their voices and arms, others drumed their chest plates, soon the noise became deafening as hundreds of soldiers and even some of the archers vouched for Gioum. Edward raised his hand to quite the cohort down.
"Rise, Gioum" Eddard said, and the soldier slowly lifted his head to meet the king's eyes "your loyalty is unquestionable and for that I will grant you this mercy" Gioum's tear and sweat stained face lit up with relief "I shall give these Dothraki a chance to serve my Kingdom" Eddard then spoke louder "from this day forth any soldier wishing to spare a Dothraki child from death may claim one, but only one and raise him as their own"
"Thank you, my king-"
"However" Eddard interrupted Gioum, "if the child breaks the laws of the kingdom, he and the soldier who raised him shall share the punishment, until the child is old enough to lift a sword and carry a shield, is that understood?"
"YES, SIR!"
Eddard turns his back and returns to his horse while the soldiers behind him envelope Gioum in a tight hug, some begin to undo the barricade and coaxed the children out as Eddard rides his horse forward, while Willis catches up to him with grin of his face.
"That was kind of you, Ned" Willis spoke, his voice had now taken on a deep baritone that belonged to an older man, Eddard wondered if all men with giant's blood matured this fast, but he had no one else to compare him to. "I was worried you'd have them killed"
"You heard them cheer, it would be waste of a good soldier" Eddard answered in a softer voice, it was the only time Eddard could do so, loyalty was a strange thing, it could not bought, but it had a price, the price by which it was obtained was to be determined by person who gives it and it wasn't always the same, for Willis it's was purpose and pride that bound him to Eddard "those children might make good soldiers if not, good fodder"
"Would you have done it though?" Willis asked with careful curiosity, he Knew Eddard hated explaining himself to people even to Willis himself, that was why he never questioned Eddard's way of thinking, odd as they may be, but there were moments that needed clarification. "kill children?"
Eddard turned to Willis with his eyebrows slightly raised, Willis kept a warm smile on his face to make sure he meant no offense and his question was purely inquisitive, "yes" Eddard said softly and simply, that was enough for Willis.
Three days later...
The battle was won and the day belonged to the Kingdom of the Rose, while the battle only lasted a few hours, cleaning the mess lasted well into the next morning. The women butchered any Dothraki horse that were too injured to use before they spoiled and the men gathered all the Dothraki dead before they rotted and brought disease, bonfires were blazing with what remained of the their war camp, anything that could not be reused, repaired, sold or saved, was now feeding the numerous fires that illuminated the battlefield. every so often a body would move or react to the soldiers jabbing them with meat hooks to carry them away, but luckily the soldiers worked in Packs, a group of ten soldiers who worked, ate, slept and bathed together, every soldier would look out for his pack while the every pack would look out for its own.
Eddard allowed the people of the fortress to rest for two days, and for two days only the children moved around the fortress, doing the work of their parents so as to thank them for their hard work. None appreciated the peace more than Roose and his men who did the bulk of the war effort, on the third day however, every single occupant of the Fortress was wide awake. Every type of food they had was cooked and every type of drink was brought out of storage, the smell commingled and permeated the fortress, as usual Roose and Edmyne was tasked with organizing the whole miss when it became apparent that no one in the fortress had ever participated in a feast before.
The fortress was brimming with cheers and chants. men, women and children sang and shouted the name of Eddard. Food and drink was brought to the great hall and to the fortress' square in celebration of this day, flowers and ferns were laid out on the streets and on every door frame, men wore their newly cleaned and repaired armor, which glittered in the sunlight, while their blue robes billowed behind them, women and children wore their cleanest dresses and garland of Essosi flowers on their heads, for today would be a special day. It was Eddard's coronation.
The great hall was decorated with hundreds of Arhakses nailed to the walls and rafters, (the rest of the arhakses were melted down in the furnaces) along with golden medallions, jewels and beads harvested from Dothraki. A long red cloth ran from the entrance of the great hall to a large wooden chair placed in front of the high table, the wooden chair was made of Iron wood and bound together iron bands and bolts, its armrests were carved into wolf heads while the headboard was carved into a large rose with two wolves jumping out of it from either side and finally a wolf pelt was draped over the seat itself. Five long tables were set to accommodate the commanders, veterans and captains of the army and outside of the Hall tables were placed for food to be placed for those outside the hall.
After everyone had come inside and found their places when the ceremony began. Eddard wore a simple blue tunic that reach down to his knees, he strode forward as everyone in and outside the hall stood in complete silence staring at the boy who united them all, among them, Roose, Howland and Willis were situated behind the high table to Edmyne's left and the commanders Flynt, both Stones, Qorgyle and Snow were to the right of Edmyne, Eddard reached the throne and bowed to Iggar who stood beside it, Iggar gesture for Eddard to set and he did so, then Iggar gesture for the rest to set.
"When the first of our people came to Essos" Iggar's voice carried through the great hall gathering everyone's attention, "it was because they refused to bend the knee to any king whose last name wasn't Stark, and their only recourse left to them after King Torren Stark knelt, was Exile... or Death" the original members of the Rose company raised their chins a little higher at the memory of their predecessors "we did not spill the blood of our own that day, so we took what was ours and left" the former sellswords drummed the table "we would rather suffer leaderless in a foreign land, than suffer under the rule of a foreign king". They drummed the table again, "for three hundred years we roamed the land as soldiers turned sellswords, thinking the North would forever be vassals to the Dragons" the new soldiers joined old ones as they drummed the tables.
"For so long we've been lost and listless, moving from one battle to the next, never knowing peace!" the hall rumbled at all the soldiers drumming the table "for so long our brother, our fathers... our sons, died far from our homeland!" the hall once again shook "but the old gods have seen our suffering and deemed us worthy of their blessing, for they sent us a king! Who's last name is STARK!" Iggar picks up the silver crown of wolves, roses and thorns, and the hall erupted in cheer, he raises it up for all to see, then he gestures for everyone to be silent and they obey "at long last we are Northerners once more, at long last we are whole once more! At long last...WE HAVE A KING! A TRUE KING!" Iggar lowers the crown onto Eddard's head "EDDARD STARK! THE DOOM OF DOTHRAKI!" The hall exploded with cheer from both men, women and even children made what noise they could, all stood stomping their feet and clapping their hands, some were even jumping as Eddard stood and presented himself wearing the silver crown. "With this Crown, I Iggar, Exiled son of house Bolton!" Roose and Eddard's eyes widened every so slightly at the revelation, while Howland and Willis shared a less subtle expression. "Hereby name you Eddard of house Stark, King of the Ryonar, Lhazareen, Ghiscari, Andals, and the First men" Iggar then removes his green cape drapes it over Eddard's back, "and with this cape, I hereby name you captain and Warlord of the Company of the Rose"
Eddard waited and allowed them to cheer for him a little while longer before he spoke "Every king of every Kingdom that has every stood will use this moment to swear an oath, that he shall serve his people and all who swear loyalty to him" Eddard then steps down from the raised floor where the throne was placed, "an oath of peace and prosperity for all their days" he starts to walk along the red cloth "but the truth is, peace is poison" some of the older soldiers smile, while others swallowed at his words "you've all lived in peace your whole lives, it's all any of you have ever known and look at what it's done to you?" Eddard hissed out that last sentence "it's made you sick and stupid, made your limbs soft and your movements slow, none of you could even lift a proper shield before I came, much less brace it against a Dothraki on horseback"
"Look at your women" Eddard gestures to the doors and windows where most of the women and children were peaking into to catch a glimpse of the new king, all the soldiers turn and see them "when they were living in peace they were not but helpless sheep, praying for the Dothraki to ignored them" Eddard smile and added "but when the Dothraki came three days ago, they did not pray or hide in their homes, they rained fire and fury down on those horse-fuckers!" the women outside burst into laughter at the praise "your children, when they were living in peace, they only ever knew of farming or herding or stacking stones and mud to live in" the people within and without grunted in agreement "now they have the makings of thinking men and women, they can be merchants, engineers, builder, or even scribes"
"I am just a man, strip away all my clothes and colors, forget my name and nation, I. am. just. a. man" the crowd calmed at his admission, "and yet, thousands of Dothraki lie beneath the earth at Goron's Grave because you heeded my words. Before I came none of you would even think or even dream of fighting the Dothraki and even after two years of training you still feared there name" some of the soldiers laughed while most chuckled nervously at the reminder "yet when they came, you held your ground and YOU PUSHED THEM BACK!" they cheered again at their King's praise. "because I told you to"
"So I will not promise you peace, none of you will ever know peace within my Kingdom" Eddard turns and starts to walk back to his throne "I will however promise you one thing" they grew quite at their king's words, Eddard stopped as he reached the steps and turned back to his new subjects, a smile grew on Eddard's face "I promise you War, every man woman and child that serves beneath the Rose shall know nothing but war" A few soldiers started to drum the table again, their blood starting to run faster at their kings words "do you wish to return to life of calm ignorance?" a beat started as Eddard paused between sentences.
"NOOO!" they shouted out while rhythmically slamming their fist and cups on the tables.
"Do you want to hide in your holes and huts from whatever comes your way?"
"NOOO!"
"To labor on ships, fields and farms your whole lives, praying no slavers find you?"
"NOOO!"
"DO YOU BELIEVE THE THOUSANDS OF DOTHRAKI CORPSES OUTSIDE IS ENOUGH TO FORGET THE COUNTLESS LIVE THEY HAVE TAKEN... AND DESTROYED?"
"NOOO!"
"then I ask you, DO YOU WANT PEACE!"
"NOOOOOO!"
Iggar looked at his new king, pride radiating from his face, Edmyne raised his chin at Eddard silently accepting the boy as his king, Howland and Willis joined in the shouting, completely swept away by the moment. But their was one among them who sat quietly looking with a blank face at Eddard, Roose felt something he believed was only for the weak, fear.
Hours later…
Roose was walking near the western wall of the fortress, he ate and drank more than he had ever in his life and now he felt he needed to walk around in an attempt to burn off some of it, the nights in Essos are warmer than the hottest northern summers, however Essosi Winter were nowhere near as cold and the snowfall was thinner than summer snow.
Each soldier he passed would bow to him and Roose bowed back, it all started when the soldiers noticed Eddard's quirk of bowing every time he greeted captain Iggar, the soldier copied it and the rest sort of made it unofficial means to greet superiors. It was odd but in time it became mundane, mostly because Roose suspected Eddard just makes it up as he goes, not like Eddard had anyone or any thing to extrapolate from, the closest thing to a mentor he had was Iggar, but even he struggled to keep up with Eddard.
It was strange the first time Roose set foot on the Dothraki sea, he never thought that he would be so hot he had to wear thin clothes to stay cool. the dust and dirt was another thing, at first he thought that dust was dirt's vapor, but luckily he never voiced that assumption out loud.
Neither did he voice his opinion on accepting Essosi into their fortress. they were dirty, disgusting, degenerates that lack the foresight to stop building villages where the Dothraki roam, nor the intellect to watch their birders. it was their skin color that did the most to garner his discrimination, Roose had only ever seen people of fair skin and any blemish on them were caused by skin disease, mud or animal shit, all of which Rose associated with sickness and stench.
The first time he saw an Essosi was in Braavos, he thought he had covered himself in manure which gave him that skin color, the city's smell did little to disprove Roose' first assumption, Roose also hated their language and the accents they had when speaking in the common tongue, it sounded mumbled and mispronounced as if they were mocking his way of speaking, not to mention how they ate, with their hands while squatting in the dirt, they all shared a single trough and each one of them used their hands to pick food of like they were picking up coins and then they'd shove it all into their gaping mouths, more often than not food would fall on their chests or laps and they would often pick those bits off them so they could eat it, Disgusting.
These were the people Eddard had chosen to save and rule over, "did he want to be a king or farmer?" Roose chuckled at the thought.
"Evening, Roose" Willis' tall frame approached shakily from somewhere, a warm smile played on his face letting the smell of wine hit Roose's nose, he then turned his gaze behind him and see a group of men lifting a whole roast pig on to a table, fires were burning in multiple places all of which were surrounded by people drinking and droning while children were still playing even this late into the night. Some men still had pieces of their armor on, others seemed to be bare chested, others were already passed out and sleeping anywhere they wouldn't be stepped on. "They seem to be having fun" Wiillis said after following Roose' line of sight.
"Yes, they are" Roose answered reflexively while walking away from Willis.
"What's wrong with you?" Willis asked in a slightly slurred manner. "You're haven't been your usual murderous self lately"he said at Roose' furrowed brow, Willis then added "don't lie, Howl told me you didn't even try to berate or belittle him once the whole time you two were wearing down the Dothraki"
Roose turned away from Willis and pondered what he said, Roose would insult or incite Willis or Howland into an altercation as a way to keep them in line, sometimes Roose would even try to provoke Eddard by questioning his orders or point out holes in his strategies, but never outright challenging him out in the open, as he knew Eddard could only be pushed so far, however this in turn made Eddard rely on Roose even more as his confidant and 'troubleshooter', "walk with me" he said to Willis.
"But they're about to start carving up the pig!" Willis reasoned, Eddard had declared that tomorrow would also be a day of rest, so the people could properly enjoy themselves tonight, which is why those that have higher tolerances were still in the process of getting hammered as Eddard would say.
Roose looked at the group Willis was pointing at and declared "I doubt ten men can polish off a whole roast hog in a hurry" and continued on, leaving no room for Willis to argue.
Moments later...
Willis caught up with Roose as he was climbing the ramp that lead to the top of the wall, Roose looked over his shoulder when he felt the wood creek at Willis' weight and spies the now seven and a half foot Westerosi was carrying a large steaming hunk of pork shank wrapped in a piece of cloth dripping with fat.
"Do you really intend to eat all that" Roose said as he looked at where to place his feet next, the light from the bonfires bellow did not reach ramp, the walls themselves had no torches except for the ones that were only to be lit as a signal fire or an alarm, as any bright light on the walls would blind the watchers, "you're just at the coronation feast"
"And I would still be there had you not insisted we have a chat far away from it" Willis said as steam puffed out of his mouth from the cold night air and hot meat in his mouth, grease and juices covered his face as he took another massive bite out of the shank, after chewing thoroughly his swallowed and added "probably be with better company too"
Roose did not answer the barb to his character, usually he would point out Willis' many flaws or taunt the tall teen with some barbs of his own, though Willis may be the strongest warrior in the army, he was not the most skilled, that distinction belonged to Commander Crass who could (if not overpower) out class Willis with years of experience as a carrier soldier, but Willis was certainly a close second to Crass, Roose himself was no sword master, but he was good archer and hunter, but lately his talents for management and interrogation have been more useful.
They reached the top of the eastern wall, standing silently as the warm Essosi wind brushed through their faces, the stars were brilliantly twinkling in the sky giving them enough light to see each other's silhouettes in the dark and the song of summer insects accented the air. There were benches there that watchers used to rest and unlit braziers lined the sides. Roose sat on one of the benches and looked inward at the fortress while Willis continued to munch on his meat, I silently hung over the moment that seemed to stretch for a beat too long, "You've known Eddard longer than anyone here, why do you follow him Willis?"
Willis looked at Roose who did not meet his eyes, he thought for about his answer for a moment and gave it "same as the people here I suppose, we all want something better than what we have now, Ned is getting us there safely"
"Paradise, then?" Roose asked, balancing his chin on his knuckles "Howland said you swore yourself to Eddard the very night you and him eloped"
Willis chuckled "You stayed didn't you?" he then waves his pork at the Fortress, spilling grease and chunks as he did "and it's worked out just fine, for the both of us"
"so far"
"what do you mean?"
"Doesn't it bother you that he was capable of all this, with little to no experience whatsoever" Roose spied two children playing with wooden training swords and shields, they were too far and too young to determine gender, one child seemed to be stronger than the other and so used it to his advantage "It takes a very long time to be good at something, but not this soon, not this good"
"And if he were slow or sickly" Willis said with a bit of anger in his tone "would that be better?" Willis turns and looks at Roose who locks eyes with him "For you?"
They stare at each other for a moment longer than appropriate, one seemingly challenging the other, then Roose takes a breath and says "You know the only true way to tell when someone is lying?"
"You know what your problem is, Bolton!" Willis bit out, ignoring Roose' question, he hadn't used Roose' house name in a long time, even when he was outright insulting Willis he had referred to him as 'Roose' as Eddard explained it to Willis that it was Roose' way of coping, which in turn gave it some gravity when Will actually Referred to him as 'Bolton', "your afraid to admit your just a man, you afraid to admit you bleed just like everyone else, so you put on a scary mask and you shake your swords, but deep down you're just as vulnerable as the rest of us"
Willis turns and walks off knowing himself well enough to know that if the conversation went further he would do or say something he'd regret, he carefully retraced his steps in the dark, he was almost out of ear shot when Roose said out loud, "the best way, is to already know the truth" Willis stops for a beat then continues on into the dark.
