Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Ice and Fire Novels, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon TV shows. However, I decided to have a little play around with the characters. I do not earn any money from writing these stories, it is for my entertainment and is something I like to share.
Sam II
The journey from Kings Landing to Storm's End had been uneventful in the sense that it had been smooth and without trouble. On the other hand, Sam was getting tired of Bronn's constant chatter surrounding his plans for his brothels, whores, alcohol and fighting. Whatever had possessed Bran to make him Master of Coin puzzled Sam, but he didn't question the King as he was all seeing and all knowing. He had insight into matters that nobody else understood, therefore Sam hadn't given it too much thought before now. Neither could understand why Bran had sent Bronn with him, it wasn't as if Sam was going to run off with the precious cargo. Sam was too loyal for that, plus he had a desire to see what they would look like when set into the old armour which belonged the fabled Rhaegar Targaryen. His son was someone even more fabled, although he will disappear into the histories as the second to last Lord Commander of the Night's Watch who killed the last mad Targaryen Queen, barely remembered in the histories, not even celebrated for saving the realm.
Sam had decided many moons ago that he would write a tome regarding the story of the Long Night. He was intent on ensuring Jon's name lived on, although he wasn't exactly going to let it be know he was really the son of Rhaegar Targaryen. It would be forever be recorded his father was Ned Stark and he was a bastard. Sam didn't want to do this, but he knew it was better that way. It was better for the realm, better to try and forget what could have been, not that he didn't like Bran as King, but he knew deep down Jon was supposed to be the one ruling Westeros. This had all been playing on his mind as they travelled, or at least Sam had tried to concentrate on his thoughts as to how he would begin, but Bronn never seemed to stop talking.
"Fuckin' fightin' an drinkin'. It's the only way to live, and die if you ask me." Bronn grinned as their carriage approached the castle gates of Storm's End.
"Is that right?" Sam nodded, waiting to hear for the thousandth time about Bronn's plans for his brothels.
"Every man needs to fuck." Bronn said. "That's why brothels are the wisest investment. That twat Littlefinger might have been a poisonous cunt, but he knew how to get rich. Although how he got so rich and powerful in the first place baffles me." he frowned.
"I wouldn't want to be like Littlefinger, he wasn't exactly someone who loyal. He didn't seem very happy." Sam shrugged.
"Well, the big difference between me and that little shit, is I'm a much simpler man. I'm not all about wanting power, I have simple needs. Fuckin, fightin' an drinkin." Bronn added as Sam rolled his eyes, just as the carriage stopped.
"Who does there?" Sam heard the voice of a guard outside as he noticed Bronn become alert all of a sudden. Bronn pointed to himself and put his finger to his lips, suggesting nobody was to know Bronn was with them. His hand had reached immediately for his sword, which had been hidden under his black cape, Bronn's fingers wrapped around the grip, slowly removing the sword from its sheath, the dark blade slowly but silently creeping into view. The hilt was made of gold with a ruby inlay, as did the pommel. However the blade itself was what grabbed Sam's attention, instead of being bright like regular steel, it was darker, almost black in the low light of the carriage, not even the glimmer of sun could have made it shine. Only a certain type of sword would look like that, Valyrian steel. Just as Sam was wondering how Bronn had come to be the owner of a Valyrian steel sword, his thoughts were interrupted by the noise outside.
"Grand Maester Tarly, on behalf of the King." called out the carriage driver. "Lord Baratheon is expecting us." he said.
Sam heard footsteps approaching the carriage door, he opened the curtain and peeked through the window, just to prove who he was, he grinned and flashed his Maester's chain. The guard looked him up and down and turned his head to one of his colleagues.
"Hello." Sam smiled in his usual cheerful voice. "I'm grand Maester Tarly." he introduced himself. "I'm here to see Gen... I mean Lord Baratheon." he added.
"It's alright Cedric, it's the Grand Maester alright, open the gates." he shouted, bowing his head towards Sam. "A good day to yer Grand Maester. You can pass." he walked off as the sound of wooden gates being slowly opened rang through the air. Sam breathed a sigh of relief and the carriage moved on as Bronn slipped his sword back, covering it once more with his cloak.
Bronn's actions had confused Sam, clearly the guards were expecting the Grand Maester, but nobody had said a word about the Master of Coin, and Bronn clearly didn't want to alert the guards of his presence. Whatever Bran had told Gendry, it wasn't the entire story. Sam was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the journey, Bran and Bronn were up to something and were keeping it from him. Sam just wished he knew what the King was keeping from him.
Sam kept peeking through the curtain at the window up at the spectacular and oppressive looking castle as they continued towards the main tower. He was not usually one for being in awe, but he could hear the seagulls and the crashing of the waves beneath them, suggesting this place was one which could withstand even the most powerful of elements, as time had shown. The castle was practically impenetrable.
As the carriage pulled up in the courtyard, he could hear the normal sounds of a bustling castle, horses neighing, people shouting, the clashing of steel, suggesting someone was in the practice yard. Another sound was the hammering of steel by a blacksmith, Sam wondered if Gendry himself was working with the iron as he had heard Gendry ran the smithy himself.
The door of the carriage opened and a guard welcomed him as Sam slowly climbed down. He hated being stuck in a carriage for so long, it made his legs ache and it always took him a moment to appreciate solid ground. Behind him Bronn practically leapt from the carriage, as sprightly as anyone half his age.
"Who's this?" the guard asked.
"I'm Gordon." Bronn stuck out his hand to the guard and shook it. "I'm the Grand Maester's guard and skivvy. Get someone to show me to his quarters and I'll carry his bags. You can take 'im to see the Lord." he offered one of his most charming smiles, putting Sam even more on edge. He didn't like the idea of being separated from Bronn, not because Sam was scared for his own safety, but because he had no clue as to what Bronn was up to. He knew Gendry was going to recognise him as soon as he laid eyes on him, so why he was keeping his presence hidden was a mystery.
Sam was led to the Great Hall, a huge dark room with a stone throne, while Bronn disappeared leaving him on his own, scroll in hand, box of rubies somewhere in the castle with Bronn, a thought he was quite uncomfortable with. A wooden door to the side of the throne opened and a young woman walked through the doors. She didn't look like a typical woman, she wasn't dressed in a gown or even a dress. Instead she wore fighting leathers, her dark hair tied back more in a practical way than for decoration. Sam smiled the moment he laid eyes on her.
"Princess Arya." he bowed his head.
"I'm not a Princess." Arya growled. "Just Arya."
"Well technically..." Sam started but stopped when he saw the Valyrian steel dagger. "As the sister of the King and also of the Queen in the North and heir to both thrones, you can be called anything you want." he grinned.
"Arse kisser." Arya laughed. "Nice to see you Sam. Have you heard from..." she started but Sam shook his head. He already knew she was going to ask the question about Jon, one he couldn't answer and in part didn't want to answer.
"Did you find everything you needed on your travels?" Sam asked, beckoning his head towards the dagger.
"This?" Arya stroked the hilt lovingly. "Not exactly. I need more information. I need a Targaryen who can read High Valyrian." she sighed. "Gendry can't read Westerosi, never mind High Valyrian. I bet he can't even pronounce any of the words." she laughed before turning her face serious. "Can you read High Valyrian?" she asked.
"A little." Sam nodded. "But Tyrion's the best person to ask for that. He knows a fair bit."
"Pity he's not a Targaryen Prince." Arya sighed. "If only we knew where to find one." she shook her head.
Sam frowned. "Jon can't read High Valyrian."
"No, but he can see what is written on the dagger. Then he could draw the symbols and someone who can read High Valyrian would be able to translate it. I understand some low Valyrian, but I can't read it and I believe it is different to High Valyrian." Arya said.
"Oh. I didn't know." Sam nodded. "So why do you need Jon. Isn't Gendry a Prince?"
Arya shook her head. "The wrong bloodline. The person needs to be a descendant of King Jaehaerys II and Queen Shaera Targaryen. Gendry isn't born of their line. The only one left is Jon." she shrugged. "I suppose now we'll never find out, other than north of the wall, we don't know where he is."
"Erm, we might know soon enough." Sam told her. He knew she was going to find out, and had probably already heard mutterings about Drogon leaving Dragonstone. "Drogon has flown north. Bran thinks he's gone to find Jon."
"What for?" Arya asked, her face stony.
Sam shook his head. "Either to kill him or to bond with him. Two lonely dragons."
"He's a wolf." Arya hissed.
"He has literal dragon's blood running through him." Sam told her.
Arya shook her head vehemently. "No he doesn't, it's only a stupid sigil."
Sam looked down, clearly Arya didn't fully understand why Targaryen's were different. "Legend says, back in old Valyria, the dragon lords mixed their blood with that of the dragons which created the dragon bond. That is why the Targaryens are different. They're not fully human. Some of their babies were born with dragon scales." his face twisted in disgust. "It's why they're temperamental and often go mad. The dragon blood is unpredictable. And once Jon has bonded with Drogon, he won't be Jon anymore. He'll be Aegon Targaryen, another dragon rider with the power to kill millions of people with just one word."
"What are you trying to say?" Arya asked, her voice cold. Before Sam could answer Gendry walked through the door, filthy from working in the forge.
"Welcome Grand Maester Tarly." Gendry smiled, wiping his hands on a cloth. "How are you?"
"Lord Baratheon." Sam bowed his head, breathing a sigh of relief, he hadn't wanted to answer Arya's question. "I'm good thanks." he nodded, trying to avoid the scowl coming from Arya's face.
"Anything you want to say to me you can say in front of Arya." Gendry told him. "And call me Gendry. I hate all of this Lord stuff."
"I've come because the King is wanting to make sure that he has the support of the Stormlands should there be any...troubles." Sam smiled.
"What's he offering?" Arya asked.
Sam suddenly felt uncomfortable. "That's between the King and Lord Baratheon." he said meekly.
"Like I said, whatever the King has to say to me, can be said in front of Arya." This time Gendry a slight edge to his voice.
"Erm...he's erm..." Sam fidgeted. "He's offering a marriage." he closed his eyes. Sam wasn't stupid, he knew something was going on between Gendry and Arya, he just wasn't sure quite how serious it was.
"Who with?" Arya demanded.
"I..I don't know." Sam replied truthfully. "It's in this letter, I swear I haven't opened it." he handed out the scroll. Arya rushed over and snatched it out of Sam's hand, undid the seal and read the letter.
"No fucking way!" Arya said. "That is not fucking happening." she threw the parchment down on the floor and stormed out of the room.
"What's the matter with her?" Sam asked, pretending he had no idea anything was going on between them.
Gendry shrugged, picking the piece of paper up and handing it over to Sam. "What does it say?" he asked as Sam looked down at the two words written on the parchment.
Arya Stark
"I think Bran wants you to marry Arya." Sam frowned.
"Oh dear." Gendry sighed. "I don't think she's the marrying type. Not that I'd say no, but I already asked her to be my Lady more than once and every time she turned me down." he said.
"If her brother commands it..." Sam started.
"I don't think her brother knows her very well." Gendry shook his head. "She won't be used as a bargaining tool. Although I'm surprised he thought she might even consider it."
"If he had to force her he would." Sam said.
"If the King was going to try and force Arya into a marriage, I wouldn't support him. That is my answer." Gendry told him. "If Arya wants to change her mind and marry me, then I'll wait until she's ready, but I don't think she'll ever want to be ready. She likes to be free."
"I suppose the King might be able to find you a more willing bride. You will need heirs." Sam suggested. "I can take that to the King."
"Thank you." Gendry smiled. "I'll go and find Arya, tell her that I turned down the offer and made a deal to protect her from being married off instead. If you want to go and rest while I have a bath and then we can eat." he frowned and looked around. "I thought Lord Bronn was coming with you." he said.
"He's here somewhere. He went to take my things to my chambers." Sam said.
"Why would he do that?" Gendry asked. "He's not your servant. I was led to believe he was coming as Master of Coin."
"He is." Sam nodded. "We've got a gift for you."
"And it need the Master of Coin himself to deliver it? Or did you need a good fighter?" Gendry raised and eyebrow.
Sam frowned. "What for?" he asked.
"Now, I'm not clever or nothing, but Bran knows his sister, he can see everything. I wasn't shocked she ran off. There aren't many people that would be able to catch her and live." Gendry warned.
"Oh no!" Sam's eyes widened. "We need to find them."
"GUARDS!" Gendry called out as four guards appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "I need you to find Princess Arya and bring her to me. Tell her I said no. Whatever you do, don't try to fight her, you will lose." he warned. "I'll help." he said.
"I'll just wait here." Sam shrugged. "Just in case she or Bronn comes back." he offered. Gendry nodded leaving him alone in the Great Hall, waiting to see if he'd just lost Arya Stark.
A shorter chapter this time, but it will become obvious why.
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