For those who don't like lemon, skip the first pov.
King's Landing 298 AC.
Jaehaerys Targaryen.
After spending time with his sister on Dragonstone he'd arrived back to find his wife awake and waiting for him. That she was lying in their bed wearing a shift and reading a book shouldn't have been enough to inflame his passions and yet it was. Jae finding himself standing at the doorway and just taking her all in, each little movement she made was simple and yet incredibly arousing to him for some reason. As he looked at her she'd wet her finger and turn a page, or bite her lips as she read something interesting. Occasionally she'd brush her hair back when it fell across her face and though she was well covered up, the small glimpses of her body were enough for him.
When she had noticed his presence he couldn't be sure, but the look she gave him was both one of annoyance and one he'd come to recognize. The thoughts that this was why she'd not slept were enough to excite him even more. Had that not been enough then the way she placed the book on the table and then slowly removed her shift almost had him tearing his own clothing off and he would have had she not demanded, no ordered, him to take them off slowly.
"Stop." she said and he looked at her "Disrobe slowly." she said biting her lip once more and he smiled at her as he did as he was bid.
Whether it was the newness of their being together in this way or a sign that they were far better matched than most, they'd found they took great pleasure in each other's bodies. Not just in the things they did together, not just in the act itself but in the looking, the touching, the soft caressing of each other before, during, and after they'd lain together. Jae had found watching his wife remove her clothes to be just as arousing as when he removed them for her. Margaery he now knew preferred for him to remove his own while she watched.
So that's what he did, unfastening the buttons on the tunic, removing the tunic itself, his shirt, and then his boots. All of this taking more than thrice the time it would normally take to remove them. As he even more slowly undid the laces of his britches he watched as Margaery moved the covers to one side and lay back against the pillows. His wife looking like the maiden herself and Jae finding his fingers wouldn't follow his commands as he stared at her.
"My husband likes what he sees?" she asked, the smile on her face playful but true.
"Very much so and never have I been so grateful for the gift of sight as much as I am when looking at my beautiful wife." he said to a small laugh.
He felt almost short of breath when she ever so slightly parted her legs, Jae's eyes drawn to the soft brown hair she had at the junction of her thighs. Every inch of her was absolute perfection he thought as he looked at her. The small little spot she had on her right breast, her pink nipples that were standing hard and seeking his attention, her legs, and what lay between them. He almost laughed when she raised her eyebrow and then pointed with one of her fingers at his britches.
"Off." she said her voice a little huskier now and he was glad he'd affected her as much as she had him, another thing he was more than thankful for finding out since they'd married.
It was no surprise to him that he was already fully erect, nor that he saw the almost involuntary narrowing of her eyes when she looked at his manhood. Once he took the britches off he moved closer but not to the bed. He stood almost at the end but not quite as he moved his hand down his stomach and saw Margaery squeeze her legs together. When he took his cock into his hand, he saw her bite her lip a little harder and when he began to move it up and down, her nostrils flared ever so slightly.
"Come to bed." she said and he climbed up, his hand soon replaced by her own as his fingers began to explore her body instead of his.
Their tongues fought for dominance, both of them as eager as the other to direct their attention to what they wished for. When he moved his mouth from hers, he felt her hand leave him and reach up to grip his head almost dragging him back to kiss her more. He allowed her to think she'd won for only a moment before moving to kiss her neck rather than her lips, Margaery's fingers almost pulling his hair out when he bit her softly on her neck. Soon though her hands were directing his head to where she wanted, her lips, her chin, her chest, and finally her breasts. Margaery moaning when he took her nipple in his mouth and bit on it gently.
His hands weren't idle either, as he softly licked and tugged on one nipple with his teeth, he rolled the other between his thumb and forefinger. His other hand slowly stroking down the outside of her leg. Moving to the other nipple he did the same, though this time when his hand slid down her leg he changed direction. Margaery stiffening when his fingers touched her hip and when they slide over the front of her thigh and then when they moved up the inside of it. He felt her legs part some more and then she moaned loudly when his hand finally reached its destination.
"Jae." she called out as he touched her wetness, his fingers brushing over her gently.
He bit her nipple a little harder and she raised up slightly from the bed, his finger slipping inside of her making her moan once more. When he moved his hand away he felt her own try to reach his, but there was no need, he wasn't finished, he'd not even started. He found her nub not by any great feat of knowledge of her body but by sheer luck and the moan she gave him as his fingers began to move it in a circle was the greatest reward he could have asked for. Around and around, once to the left and once to the right, his fingers moving in alternate directions as Margaerys's hips began to rise. The small shudder and loud exhale of breath was just the beginning he knew and when he slipped his fingers inside her and began to move them in and out, he felt she was on the verge of a much larger release.
Moving down from her nipple, were he not so intent and focussed on what he was about to do then he'd have laughed at her hands pushing the top of his head. He knew she both wished him to hurry and not and so he decided to compromise, moving faster than he would normally do but slower than she wished. When he reached the soft patch of hair he blew on it gently before watching as his fingers did their work. She moaned once more when he withdrew them and then again when he used both hands to spread her open. The sight before him one he'd never tire of, no matter if he lived to his uncle Aemon's age.
His tongue moved of its own accord and then he was tasting her. Nothing in the world came even close and he savored every single lick his tongue made. He pushed it inside and stretched it as deep as he could go, feeling her hands grip his hair tightly once more. Then he withdrew it and licked all the way up to her nub and her hands shot back and slammed on the bed.
"Jae, please." she cried out and he looked up to see the need in her eyes, it was a need he shared and one he'd see satisfied for both their sakes.
His tongue flicked her nub from side to side, his fingers slipping inside once more, and as he took her nub in his mouth, as his fingers curled up inside her, he began to suck down and he felt the pressure build.
"Jae"
"Jae."
"JAE." she said louder than the other two times and he knew then she was close.
She shuddered as she called out his name, his fingers still moving as her hips lifted from the bed and crashed down again and again. He moved his mouth from her nub as he looked up to see that her eyes were closed, his fingers coming out slowly and carefully and then he softly kissed her between her legs once more. Then he began to lay softer kisses on her body until he reached her neck. Knowing his wife better now than he had when they'd first done this, Jae lay back on the bed and took her in his arms feeling her snuggle against him.
Once she'd had her release Margaery was sensitive to being touched down there. Their coupling afterward had caused her some discomfort and not as much pleasure as he'd wished to give her. It was something they'd learned together, something they knew now that they did not then and so rather than seek his own pleasure right away, he'd lay with her, hold her and wait until she was ready for him to do so. His hand sought his cock which had withered some, no longer as hard as it had once been but not fully soft either. It didn't take long until it was back to its former state and when he felt his wife's tongue in his ear and her hand brushing his own away so she could wrap her fingers around him, he stiffened even more.
"So ready for me." she whispered and then he felt her gently bite his ear "So ready for me" she said once more and he knew their night had only just begun.
Beyond the Wall 298 AC.
Kinvara.
The new babe was doing well and it had certainly helped with her welcome into the camp, though she was still not fully trusted she knew. Some had questioned her on her god and asked her or her men to show them what they could do with fire. But other than when she'd wished to light a fire to look into the flames, she'd not done as they'd asked. That it had led to Val being annoyed with her was understandable she supposed, the woman now being considered a liar by some who'd not seen what they could do.
But R'hllor's gifts were not a mummery, not some act or illusion and though she knew that some in her order used mummery to spread his word, she would not. She, Benerro, Moqorro, Melisandre and even Thoros of Myr were gifted by their god to help the prince and to fight the war for the dawn. To become nothing more than a mummer who did parlor tricks would be to spit in R'hllor's eyes and only a fool would dare do that. So instead she'd kept to herself and waited for the answer to the questions and offer the prince had made the King Beyond the Wall. An offer that only Jaehaerys could make and carry through and one that Mance had not believed to be true.
"You're saying he'll let us through the wall?" Mance asked after reading the letter.
"No, my prince is," she said in reply.
"Why?"
"Because here you'll die, all of you, you'll die and rise once more and when you do then my prince will be fighting a larger army than the one which already comes his way."
"You know of the White Walkers?" Dalla asked.
"I know many things, Dalla. I know that he comes and seeks to end all life, men, women, children. I know that the Free Folk can't stand against him alone. I know that should he win then Westeros, Essos, Sothoryos, Ulthos, nowhere will be safe from him. He will cover the world in dead men and none shall escape him." she said looking to the woman who looked worried now "I also know my prince will bring the dawn" she said with a smile.
"How, the Targaryen's hold no power in Westeros?" Mance asked.
"My prince will either already be or soon become King of the lands south of the Wall. He has woken dragons from stone and possesses a power that makes my own seem like the briefest flicker of a candle against the light of the sun. He has done this before reaching six and ten namedays because he is the Prince that was Promised, the Song of Ice and Fire."
That he'd not accepted her words or the words of the prince himself outright was to be expected, but he had to make a choice and make a choice soon. Cold winds were rising further north and Kinvara didn't need the flames to see them. What she did need the flames for was to help these people as well as she could and so it was with that thought that she, her men, and a number of the Free Folk walked from the camp to try and find things that would help them.
The flames had shown her that there were some at the Fist of the First Men, knives, arrowheads, spear tips, enough to arm twenty or thirty men but she could not risk traveling so far. There was some buried much nearer, not as many as at the Fist, but some and though with her god's and prince's favor these people would be gone before the dead arrived, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. Val, Tormund, Ygritte, and a warg called Orell had joined with her own two guards, each of them eager to find whatever it was the crazy witch had told them was there. Tormund having been embarrassed when he'd noticed she'd been listening to his conversation with Val and heard him call her that.
It took them half a day to reach their destination and another hour or two once there to find where to dig. Kinvara looked on as her men broke the ground and dug down a few feet. That the Free Folk with her were skeptical was no great surprise, though she was pleased to see that Val seemed keener to believe her. The distance that had grown between them since she'd come to camp, not one she enjoyed. When it was dug up, Kinvara looked eagerly at the sheet, watching as her men opened it up to reveal what was hidden.
"This, we came here for this?" Ygritte said dismissively while picking up one of the knives.
"This can kill the dead, these." Kinvara said picking up the arrows "And these." she took one of the knives in her hand "Can kill their masters".
"Nothing can kill a White Walker, nothing. If you see one you run, as we do." Orell said.
"We do not flee." she said simply as her men handed out one of the knives and some arrowheads to Ygritte who now seemed eager for them.
When she arrived back at the camp it was to Mance's tent she went with the rest of the weapons, finding the man holding his babe while Dalla cooked some stew. Once he saw her, he placed the babe in the crude crib they made for him and turned to see what it was she brought. Val, explaining what they were and where they'd found them. Mance held one of the knives in his hand a few moments later, turning it over and looking at it as if it was something he'd seen before and it made her curious enough to ask him about it.
"You know this thing?" she said and he nodded.
"Aye, obsidian, Dragonglass some call it. The old Maester at the Wall would speak of it often, how strange a substance it was and how the Dragonlords of old used to carry some of it on them at all times until they did not."
"You knew Aemon Targaryen?" she asked.
"Aye, a good man, and should his grand-nephew be like him then mayhap's we have a chance." Mance said with a soft smile.
"You think the offer true?" Val asked.
"True enough to consider. I want you to go with Kinvara, Val, travel beyond the wall, go south and take the measure of this prince, this king. See if his words when spoken carry the same promise as those written." Mance said looking to his goodsister.
"And should they?" Val asked.
"Then we arrange a parley and see what the offer truly entails, we cannot fight a man with dragons, all we can do is hope he fights alongside us. Go, seek him out and speak to him, Kinvara I'm sure can get you an audience with a king?" he said looking to her.
"I can." she said.
"Then you both leave on the morrow, you'll need to change Val, to blend in." Mance said with a smirk.
"I'm not dressing like a fucking kneeler." Val said angrily.
"You must, you don't need to kneel, but to go past the wall you need to be just like Kinvara." Dalla said and Kinvara saw Mance was on the verge of laughing aloud.
The laughter did come the next day, from Tormund, Ygritte, and from many others once they saw how Val was dressed. Though to Kinvara's eyes, Val looked every inch a red priestess while wearing one of her dresses. That she was absolutely freezing in it only making her look angrier than she did normally.
"The next one who says a fucking word, I'll gut here and now." Val said loudly, the laughs soon stopping.
Kinvara watched as Val said her goodbyes to her sister and nephew, to Mance, and to some of the others. Mance then walked over to her and handed her a note, a smaller letter than the one the prince had written but from one king to another.
"For your prince. I hope we meet again Kinvara, but should we not I thank you for my son." Mance said warmly.
"We will meet again Mance Rayder, though the next time I'll be standing by my prince's side. Until then I wish you good fortune and I ask my god to keep you in his good graces."
"I'll take all the help I can get, be it from gods, men, prince's, or priestesses."
They rode out of the camp without looking back, Val seeming afraid to do so and Kinvara because she had no need to. She would return here and once she did it would be under a dragon's protection, she, Val, and the Free Folk all of them would be.
King's Landing 298 AC.
The Melee.
Brienne.
She had not truly fought during the war for the throne, nor had she spent as much of it by Ser Walder's side as she had hoped. Here today both of those things would change she knew as she looked up as the herald announced some of the competitors. She along with Cregan Snow were amongst the youngest of them. The vast majority of the others were men who'd fought not just in the last war but in the ones before it also.
Despite being from the Stormlands, Brienne stood with men and women of the North, the Small and Greatjons, Maege Mormont, and two of her daughters, Cregan who was to be named the new Lord of Sea Dragon Point. There were men and women of Dorne too, Ser Daemon Sand and Prince Oberyn's daughters, and the Prince himself to everyone's delight. Besides Ser Walder stood the other two Kingsguard's who'd be competing, Ser Richard Horpe and Ser Jors Whitewolf. All three wearing their Kingsguard armor and having their king look down proudly upon them.
There were men of the hundred too, Ser Jareth and Ser Mark, men from the Riverlands, three of the new Lord Paramount's sons, Brynden, Lucas, and Hoster along with Harry Rivers the supposed bastard son of Lord Bracken. Then there were the men of the Vale, Lord Yohn, his heir Ser Andar and second son Ser Robar all were taking part. As were Lord Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr along with Ser Rolland Storm who represented the Stormlands among others. While the West had The Strongboar, his father, and Ser Addam Marbrand. Perhaps the oddest pair out there though was the two representing the Princess of Dragonstone, The Hound, and a man she knew little of that was named Strong Belwas.
"Your Graces, My Lord's and Ladies, good men of King's Landing, Westeros and beyond, Welcome to the Grand Melee." the Herald shouted, and then as soon as he was done the fighting began.
The first man she faced was a fellow Stormlander, a man representing House Swann and who swung a mean-looking morning star. Brienne easily dodged his strikes though, the man using far too much strength and not enough skill in his movements. After allowing him to overextend, she kicked his legs from under him and watched as he crumbled to the ground. His day was done as he yielded a moment later and she moved on to her next fight. She didn't have far to look as apparently the man she'd beaten had some friends and two of them took his defeat to a woman badly.
"What are you doing fighting here, shouldn't you be off birthing babes?" the taller uglier of the two said with a sneer.
"Leave it out, Errol, what man would lay with someone who looked like that?" the other said mockingly.
There was a time when she'd have felt the pain of those words. A time when she'd have let her anger and feelings of unworthiness overwhelm her. She was no longer that girl though, that girl had no friends and few who believed her as able as any many to wield her sword. Brienne could count the king himself among those who considered her a friend and who believed her to be capable, Jae, Loras, and Ser Walder all believed in her and so she did too.
The swing of her sword caught the first man so much by surprise that the yield after it was a forgone conclusion. Brienne smirked as she saw the expression on both men's face change, one looked abashed and ashamed, the other fearful. It was to the latter she moved and though he put up a better fight than either of his friends, soon he was on his knees yielding and Brienne heard a voice call out to him.
"Maybe next time you'll remember that women can fight too." the voice said and she turned to see Prince Oberyn give her a bow before taking his spear and moving elsewhere for his own fight.
That the men she'd just beaten didn't offer up apologies for their words proved them to be exactly what she thought they were. It mattered not though as she moved on to find her next opponent and took a quick look around the ring. Watching Walder wield and axe was she thought a thing of beauty, though compared to watching Prince Oberyn spin his spear, it perhaps came second. Brienne moved to back up her knight as she watched Prince Oberyn toy with some man from the Stormlands, obviously one who bore a grudge for the defeat by the Dornish army and their prince. She chuckled at the idea that this fool thought himself capable of finding his satisfaction in defeating the clearly playing with him Oberyn.
"My Lady shall we?" she heard a man say from behind her and turned to find herself facing one of Lord Royce's sons.
"Ser Robar, Aye, why not." she said and the man smiled at her as they took their stances.
Oberyn.
He had not intended to fight in the melee, but he got bored and when he got bored he did things to relieve that boredom. Besides, it was fun to see the jealous look he got from his nephew when he'd announced it that morning. That he kept looking up and offering a bow to Jae each time he beat someone was no doubt rubbing it in a little, but it amused him and the scowls he was receiving back each time he did so were worth it.
After watching the Lady of Tarth beat three men as if they were nothing, Oberyn found himself faced with a fool from the Stormlands who came seeking revenge. Just quite how this man thought he'd actually manage to get some was beyond him, his talent with his sword passable at best. Still, Oberyn found amusement in making him look bad, spinning away easily from any attempt the man made at hitting him. Keeping him at bay with his spear as he turned to face him. Eventually, upon seeing a nicer more worthy target, Oberyn had enough and so with three moves of his spear, a strike to the man's middle, a feint to his head, and then using the shaft of the spear to take his legs from under him, it was done.
"And I thought Stormlander's could fight." he said with a snort after the man had yielded.
He moved away and looked at the man he would be facing, the new Lord Paramount of the Vale, and a man whose loyalty to Jae he was unsure of. Yohn Royce looked at a fight to his side, Ser Robar his second son, and Lady Brienne had started to fight each other when Oberyn was playing with the Stormlander, now they were fighting side by side against three Riverlanders.
"Your son is impressive." Oberyn said and it was true Ser Robar had come along well.
"As is the lady, my prince." Yohn said looking to his spear and raising his morning star "Shall we?"
"Why not, today seems as good a day for it as any." he said with a chuckle which the Lord of Runestone returned.
While he had the edge in speed and reach, Yohn had him beat on strength, and dare he say it, experience. Oberyn still remembering watching as the man had beat all in Harrenhal those very many years ago. That he had beaten Robert Baratheon to victory in that melee was a little known fact. The stories that had been told about the Stag King for years later always naming him the Warrior Reborn, something he was anything but. When he had time to think of things from back then and when those thoughts were not of Elia and his niece and nephew, Oberyn would think long and hard on the Trident.
In his mind, Rhaegar was a far superior warrior than Robert and while that didn't always lead to a win, given the stakes it really should have. Sometimes when in his cups, Oberyn would imagine it was he facing the so-called Demon of the Trident, even back then he'd have been able to take him, he believed. As he moved to face Yohn Royce, though he tried not to let it, his mind was making this victory to be about proving one that could never have been.
He thrust with his spear and Yohn brushed it away, getting inside Oberyn's guard for a moment and then almost catching him with a swing to the head. Oberyn jumped back and brought the spear around in an arc, forcing Yohn to duck before Oberyn brought the spear down hard, the shaft catching the older man's shoulder. Seeing him wince, Oberyn increased the pace of his swings, faster and faster, and forcing Yohn to almost run away to keep out of their range. The blow which he was hit with caught him completely by surprise and almost cost him the day. Yohn having thrown a tourney dagger in either desperation or a pre-planned move.
"An interesting trick." he said as he rolled away and wiped the blood from his lip.
"One tries, my prince." Yohn said as he swung at him again.
This time Oberyn was the one on the defensive, using the shaft of the spear to deflect the blows and trying to find both respite and an opening while he did. It took him some time to do so and he had to give it to the older man, not once did Yohn breathe heavily of falter in his attacks. On and on he came, the blows barely missing and the kick Oberyn caught him with a shin was so unexpected the man almost dropped his morning star. A moment later he did just that as Oberyn brought the spear crashing down on his arm before he then spun holding the tip of it to Yohn's throat.
"I Yield." Yohn said and Oberyn nodded.
"I thank you, my lord, an excellent fight." he said with a bow and Yohn nodded before walking away.
Oberyn looked to see Daemon and Obara were fighting against all three Mormont ladies and he smirked before looking up to his nephew once more. By the time he was walking to face his next opponent he was laughing loudly. Jae's hands had gripped his seat tightly and his face was angry as he'd looked at him, Oberyn knowing it was annoyance that he was fighting while he could not that was truly what bothered his nephew. Perhaps he shouldn't make so much fun of him while he did it he thought before he laughed and shook his head.
"Where's the fun in that." he said softly.
Maege.
These people were no competition she thought as her mace caught yet another head. She hadn't even been aiming for the man's head, it was supposed to be a feint and she swore the man had actually head-butted her mace rather than face her properly. Damn southern softies, she thought as she moved on to the next one. Three, four, five men and she'd not been tested once, Maege looking around to see if there was anyone worth a damn to fight in this ring.
Seeing the Great and SmallJons she was sorely tempted to crack her mace against Jon Umber's skull or against Goatsbane's, but they'd agreed not to fight each other until there were only true opponents left on the field. That was when she saw them, the two Dornish girls and the Dornish knight, three on two, and the two they were facing just happened to be her daughters. Maege smiled as she hurried to even the odds, only to find that by the time she got there the prettier of the two Dornish girls had already yielded. She would have turned and left as the odds were now fair, she was actually in the process of doing so when the Prince's daughter signed her own doom.
"Oh, did you girls send for mother, Look Daemon, it's three little bears, Mama bear, and her cubs" she said and Maege looked to see that at least the Dornish knight looked displeased by the girls' words.
"Aye it is, and you little girl are about to find out what happens when you make a bear angry."
While Daemon faced off against Jory and Lyra, Maege looked at the spear in Obara Sand's hand and smirked. She quickly dodged out of the way of a strike and then she went on the offensive. Though she didn't put everything into her swings, she did put power into them and Obara struggled to keep her spear in her hands each time Maege connected with her mace. Behind her Daemon was using her two girls against each other, moving and deflecting blows from one to the other. Obara was having no such success against her and Maege moved in and swung even harder, the girl looking on shocked as the spear crashed to the ground.
To give her credit, Obara pulled out a set of knives and at first took up a stance to face her with them, only to realize it was no use and so she then threw them at her instead. Maege easily swatted them away with her mace and saw that the girl had been smart enough to use it as a distraction. As she looked on she saw Obara roll and try to reach the spear but she was too fast for her. Obara's hands had already gripped the shaft but Maege's foot on the spear stopped her from lifting it up. When the girl turned her head it was to face the mace and she nodded her yield, a small smile on her face as she did so.
"I thank you for the fight Lady Mormont." Obara said when Maege lifted her foot from the spear.
"And I, you, Obara."
Maege turned to see that Jory and Daemon were helping Lyra who had a cut over her eye. Moving quickly to them she found that while Jory and Daemon had yielded, Lyra had not. The cut though not terrible would be enough to end her day and that her daughter was pissed about it only showed the bear that she was.
"Lady Maege." she heard the accented voice behind her.
"Prince Oberyn." she said turning to face him.
"It seems that Dorne and the North are destined to be the end of each other this day. So what say you, shall we give my nephew a show?" Oberyn said with a smile.
"Aye, why not." she said raising her mace.
Finally a worthy opponent to face she thought as steel clashed against steel.
Sandor.
He was a fat fucker, but the man could eat, drink and most especially fight and though he'd never admit it to anyone, Sandor quite liked Belwas. Together they'd beaten more than ten men and he knew that tonight they'd drink and eat and the fat fuck would annoy and amuse him at the same time. Just as he had at the wedding feast he thought as he looked as Belwas once again tried to cut himself with a blunted blade.
"I told you, there's no fucking edge on your blade you stupid fucker." he said glaring at the man.
"Why fight with no edge, you people make no sense to Strong Belwas, just like you not eating the locusts that do not fly." Strong Belwas said a confused look on his face.
"They're fucking cockroaches you fool, they're not fucking locusts, and pouring honey on them doesn't make them taste any fucking better." he said not wanting to have this argument once again.
"That, my friend is where you are wrong, honey makes everything better." Strong Belwas said as he laughed loudly.
"Well, I hope you brought honey for these two fuckers." Sandor said as the Great and SmallJons came their way.
Sandor gripped is greatsword and looked on as Belwas did the same to his arakh, or what passed for one here. He even chuckled a little when Belwas slapped his belly and then once again made as if he was cutting it. Each scar represented a man he'd killed Belwas had told him and though he'd found his reasoning for doing so to himself odd, it was clear looking at them that he'd killed even more men than he.
"Clegane, Strong." The Greatjon Said.
"Are we going to fucking do this or what?" he growled and saw the smirk on the Greatjon's face.
"Which of you is to face Goatsbane?" the Smalljon cried out and this time Sandor did chuckle when Strong Belwas slapped his belly.
"I will, I've brought the honey for you" Belwas said winking at him and the confused look on the two Northerner's faces was something he'd remember for a long time.
As was the fight itself, the sound of the two greatswords colliding together was loud and the sheer force they hit each other would have taken the swords from the hands of lesser men. But he and the Greatjon both had the strength to spare and so their swords slammed against each other over and over, neither man giving an inch. On and on they fought, long after Belwas has won and he saw the man look at him concernedly, his eyes willing him either to win or give him permission to join in and help. It would turn that neither was to happen this day.
The blow which caught him certainly broke a rib, the blood he spat up a clear sign of that, he tried to retaliate, his sword coming back hard but the sheer effort of the swing had him coughing up more. That the Greatjon then just patted it away was disconcerting and that the man didn't respond with a swing of his own, much appreciated. Instead, he simply took the sword from his hand with a blow to his shoulder, and moments later Sandor yielded. He nodded to his friend that he was well, though he knew he'd need to see the Maester to be sure and that Dany would certainly make him do so. The Greatjon though had given up all he had in beating him too, as even before Sandor had left the field, Belwas had taken his revenge for him.
Sandor tried not to laugh when Belwas slapped his belly once more, as he found it hurt to do so. There were eight maybe nine men left out of the almost one hundred who'd entered. His defeat was no shame, not with the men who were still out there, and that two of the princess's men had made it so far would reflect well on her. As he finally left the field Sandor spat out a bit more blood and found himself feeling the pain in his mouth. It made him feel better knowing that was where the blood was coming from and not deeper inside, though he did feel a bit of a fool for having bitten the inside of his cheek.
Walder.
Ser Jors and Ser Richard had fought well, both making it to the last dozen or so competitors. That both had in the end fallen to the same blade was a surprise and he wondered if Barristan was watching Ser Robar as much as he had been. Walder had seen it first when the man had faced off against Brienne, something he was now doing once more as their first fight had been interrupted. He looked as Prince Oberyn faced off against Rolland Storm, the prince having beaten Maege Mormont in a fight for the ages.
As for him, his opponent was one he'd not expected to fight, having thought the Strongboar would have been too much for Cregan only to e proved wrong. Still, he'd rather face him than the crazy priest whose flaming blade looked and felt much different than it once had. That it gave Thoros extra belief was a worrying thing and as he and Strong Belwas readied to fight, Walder wondered who would carry this day.
"You've done well, Cregan, just like your namesake." he said seeing the boy nod.
"Aye, shame Jae couldn't fight today, we'd have been able to recreate the Dragonknight's fight." Cregan said.
"You really wish to lose that badly?" he asked and Cregan chuckled.
"Shall we Ser Walder, for the North." Cregan said.
"Aye, my Lord, for the North." he said seeing the smile grow ever brighter.
His axe and his size gave him the strength and the reach but just like in his spars with Jae, Cregan had speed and technique on his side. The boy's longsword was everywhere and nowhere and while he didn't use as many spins as his king, he threw in just as many feints and laid just as many traps for him to fall into. The main issue the boy had though was the difference in strength, though Cregan landed blows they were easily able to be absorbed. Walder could see it was frustrating the boy and he took full advantage of that frustration.
He began to use his axe to thrust not to swing, taking the blows he got in return but landing more and more of his own also. It allowed him to move closer and he purposely faltered in his stance which gave Cregan an opening, or so the boy thought. Instead of sweeping Walder's legs to take him down as Cregan had thought he'd been in a position to do, it was a smack of his head that the boy got for his trouble and that was to be the end of his day. As Cregan staggered back, Walder thrust the head of his axe once more and the boy fell. He moved quickly and stood on his sword before lowering his axe to his neck.
"I yield, Ser Walder." Cregan said and Walder helped him back to his feet.
"You fought well, the final eight, Cregan, look at those around you and feel proud of that achievement, you deserve to." he said softly and Cregan nodded before looking his way.
He looked to see that Brienne had yielded as had Strong Belwas. They were down to four and while he'd much prefer to face Ser Robar than the others, it was not to be, with Thoros instead moving to face the Vale Knight. Walder turned to see Oberyn move his way, the prince spinning his spear and smiling all the while and Walder decided to do the same with his axe, watching as Oberyn laughed when he reached him.
"Ser Walder." Oberyn said.
"My prince." he replied.
The spear moved even more quickly than Cregan's sword had, the blade had it been sharpened would be hard to avoid. As it was, the blunted nature of it meant it didn't need to be. Walder finding that just as with Cregan he could take and absorb the blows aimed his way. The swings and having the spear crashing down on him were more problematic though and Oberyn was having his own problems with Walder's axe too.
Damn, but the man was fast and Walder was finding air when there should have been a body there to receive the blow. Oberyn had something else in common with his nephew too, spins, he used them both for defense and offense, spinning away from his axe and back into range to attack and hit him once again. When he finally did get a blow to actually connect, it was a glancing one, the damage not as much as it could have been but it was enough to create an opening. Walder moved quickly so that the prince couldn't get away, Oberyn rolling on the ground as the axe came down again and again.
Finally, he'd had enough and as he thrust his axe forward he decided to do something unexpected, he pushed hard and let it go. Oberyn had jumped back to avoid the thrust but the axe being thrown as part of the move had caught him by surprise. As the prince tried to shake off the blow he was caught with another, this one a clubbing forearm across the back, and the match was done. Using the prince's now fallen spear, Walder got the yield and helped a shaken Prince Oberyn to his feet.
"Now that I didn't expect." Oberyn said shaking off the effects of both blows.
"Which is why the day is mine, my prince." he said to a laugh.
"Perhaps our friend with the flaming sword may disagree." Oberyn said and Walder turned and grimaced seeing that not only had Thoros won, but he'd done so in far less time than Walder had.
Bending down he picked up his axe and turned to face the man and his flaming sword. As soon as it came near him he knew two things, the flames on the sword were true and he feared them greatly. Each time they came near connecting with him, Walder would almost shrink to avoid their heat. Unlike the green they had once been, these were a more natural flame and as for the man himself, Thoros seemed to enjoy wielding this blade far more than ever before. Whether the flames made the man or the man made the flames was a question for another day, as Walder soon felt the heat of them on the hand that he held his axe in. Instinctively he pulled his hand away only for the flaming sword to move close to his face and he knew then he was done.
"I yield." he said and Thoros nodded, Walder looking on as he placed the sword tip down in the dirt and the flames were extinguished.
King's Landing 298 AC.
Aemon.
He'd quite enjoyed the melee and knew his nephew both had and had not, though he'd cheered the victor and had smiled much more than he had scowled. Aemon had watched as Brienne of Tarth had been defeated by the Royce Lad, the way she wielded a sword so reminiscent of Duncan that he'd felt himself almost traveling back in time. While Ser Walder didn't use a sword, he did possess a lot of the same qualities as his famous ancestor once had. Aemon now sure that he, Brienne, and the two large men who guarded Lady Olenna were in fact blood kin to Duncan the Tall.
After he'd noticed it and looked through both the Lineages of the Great Houses and through both the listing in the Book of Brothers in White Sword Tower. He'd then looked through notes on Egg and Duncan's adventures. Some he'd known, of course, Ashford Meadow, Dorne and when he and Egg had come to visit him in Oldtown after their time there. In Egg's letters to him that he still kept, he had spoken of Standfast and Duncan's attraction to Lady Rohanne and of their time at Whitewalls. There were few with such a storied life as his brother's closest friend and while most of the tales were famous, most of his dalliances were far less so.
Egg having been embarrassed more than once upon entering to ready his knight for the day only to find that Duncan had found someone to share his bed. Common folk, noble ladies, married women, and those unpromised, Duncan bedded many and shamed none. It had been harder to confirm the two giant guards were his and yet not so much once you knew where to look. The only thing that now remained was to speak to them all about it.
"I wish you to take this note to Lady Olenna's guards, the giants." he said to a serving girl who hurried to do as he had bid. Aemon looking to see the girl do just as he had asked and he saw one of the two large men look his way.
That Lady Olenna did likewise was to be expected and he'd not meant to do it so publicly. But they would be heading back to the Red Keep soon and he'd wish for a meeting before or during the night's feast. As for Brienne and Ser Walder, his nephew would help with that and once he had a time when the twins could come and see him, he'd see to the other two as well.
As they readied to ride back he got his answer, they'd come to him before the night's feast and Aemon walked to speak to Jaehaerys before then. His nephew was as usual listening keenly as his wife spoke about something and it brought a smile to his face to see them both so clearly happy in their marriage. He'd been lucky to find someone so well suited and it put him in mind yet again of both his own mother and of Egg's wife Betha, Though his father had been an unforgiving man, his mother had always brought the best out of him while she'd lived and Egg's own words about Betha had always stuck with him.
"I married for love not duty and it was the one time that I truly felt the gods favor."
Looking at his nephew, he felt that he too felt the god's favor in his choice of bride and for that he was grateful. He waited until they were finished speaking and then walked over before they got into their carriage, Jaehaerys looking at him curiously as he did so.
"Uncle?"
"Ser Walder and Lady Brienne, your grace, can you ask them to meet me before the feast." he said using the title in case anyone overheard.
"Is there anything wrong, uncle?"
"No, your grace, there's just something I'd like to discuss with them."
"Of course, uncle, I'll speak to them both." Jaehaerys said looking at him with that same curious look.
After riding back and heading to his rooms, Aemon prepared the evidence he'd gathered that proved his point. He knew had he told anyone what he wished to do they'd look at him oddly. They'd no doubt wonder why he was going so far on something that perhaps would mean nothing to those he was about to tell. But it meant something to him, Duncan had protected his brother and his family, he'd saved Princess Rhaella allowing her to give birth to Rhaegar, and had gone back inside when others would not. For a Kingsguard, there was no greater honor than to die for your king and Duncan was one the few who'd done so beside theirs.
Time stretched on and then Brienne and Ser Walder arrived first, the twins arriving almost an hour after they did. Aemon finding out that Lady Olenna wished to know why both of them needed to go to this meeting. The Queen of Thorns was curious no doubt as to the nature of it. Looking at all four in the room, any doubts he'd ever have that they were kin would be dispelled most easily. That all four seemed to know each other and had some camaraderie boded well too.
"I know you may wonder why I called you here." he began only for Ser Walder to speak.
"You wish to talk about Duncan." Ser Walder said and Brienne and the twins looked to him and then to Aemon.
"Aye, you know?" he asked.
"My grandmother told me who I was before I left Winterfell." Ser Walder said.
"Who you were? Know?" Brienne asked.
"Ser Duncan the Tall was my great grandfather." Walder said to shocked looks.
"He was kin to you all." he said as all four looked his way.
"What? How can that be?" Erryk asked.
"The shield, what father said." Arryk said while Brienne looked at the three men and then at him.
"I can show you the evidence should you wish it, Erryk, Arryk, and Walder here are Duncan's great-grandsons, you Brienne are his twice great-granddaughter. All four of you share the blood of one of the greatest knights in Westeros. A man who served my brother with honor right up until they both died. You, Ser Walder, have been serving my nephew for many years, you Brienne have been doing likewise." Aemon said.
"We have not." Erryk said sadly.
"No, but you've been serving his queen's family just as diligently, have you not?" Aemon said to nods.
"Why did you wish us to know this?" Brienne asked and then realized her tone may be taken wrongly "Not that I take issue with any of you being my kin." she quickly added.
"Ser Duncan was a good man, his legacy I had thought was the life he'd led, what he'd done for my brother and what he'd done in Summerhall. But I was wrong, you, each of you are his legacy. Each of you should be proud of him and of yourselves too, take comfort in the fact that you are kin, that you are family, listen to a man who'd once thought himself to be the last of his own. There is no greater joy in knowing that you're not alone in this world and while you have other kin, does it not feel a relief to know there is more?".
They didn't need to answer and later that night at the feast after Aemon had spoken to Jaehaerys to see it so. Lady Olenna now guarded by a Kingsguard and Royal Guard for one night instead of her two giant ones. As he sat in his seat and looked out, as he spoke to Shiera, to Dany, and to Jaehaerys and Tyrion, Aemon looked to see the four of them sitting together, laughing and japing at stories they were telling each other. He looked at them and he smiled, remembering the giant who'd come to visit him and that he'd taken the measure of so many years earlier.
King's Landing 298 AC.
Jaehaerys Targaryen.
He'd been surprised that Thoros had won until Walder had told him about the flames on his sword. Something that he'd resolved to speak to Melisandre and Thoros himself about. Though he and others had been even more surprised by the efforts of Ser Robar in the melee, the knight made it to the final four much to his father's delight. Jae had asked Barristan if he'd missed something, had the man faced an easier path, or being lucky somehow, his Lord Commander telling him that he had not.
A Vale knight would politically be good and one talented with a blade would be a welcome addition to the Kingsguard. Ser Barristan didn't just seem to agree but he had suggested it and Jae asked him to arrange a meeting with the knight himself. It wasn't the only meeting being arranged it would seem, as his uncle Aemon wished to speak to Ser Walder and Brienne. Even that, not the last meeting people wished to attend, his uncle and brother both wishing to speak to Theon before his sentence was carried out.
As he dressed for the night's feast, he thought on his own meetings that were soon to come. The private trials that weren't to be so open where sentences had already been decided. Riverlands lords, Vale lords, men who'd fought against him and who had only bent the knee when they'd been defeated. The line between fairness and being too forgiving was one he feared he'd get wrong. That his uncle, his new Lords Paramount, and his own inclinations were one thing, while his wife's, his families, and his other uncles were quite another had been something he'd found an even tougher line to worry about. In the end, though practicality won the day and though they'd lose lands, it would in the purse he'd truly hurt them. Blood debts were owed and were to be collected and then put to use and his plans had need of coin.
Yet truthfully it was another set of meetings he was thinking on, ones he'd done everything he could to free up his schedule so as to make room for. Meetings with his sisters, time spent doing what each of them wished, sparring with Arya, and finally taking her up on Rhaenix's back. Time with Sansa doing whatever it was that pleased her most, be it just sitting and talking or singing her some songs, maybe a walk through the gardens which was something she seemed to enjoy according to his good lady wife. With Joy it was easy, Apples and Winter would ride and they'd race outside the gates once more, each of them would get a day at least, king or no he'd see it done.
"You're not ready yet?" Margaery said and he turned to look at her and frown, how had she managed to dress so quickly.
"I may have got distracted." he said and she looked at him with a smirk on her face.
"And I wasn't even in the room." she said making him chuckle.
"Had it been you that distracted me so, dear wife, then I'd have come to distract you back." he said as he took her hand in his.
"Then whom has my husband been thinking of and should I worry that it's not me?" Margaery said her laughter light as he raised her hand and spun her into his arms.
"While I was thinking of other women, these I think I'm allowed. My sisters." he said as he kissed her neck and felt her move against him.
"Aye, those I'll allow, they and your aunts, but only them Jaehaerys Targaryen, am I understood?" she said trying to look serious and failing as she laughed one more.
"And I'd ask my wife the same, though I know I have no need, nor she of me. There is no one else I do this with." he said kissing her lips, her head tilted to one side as she leaned her back against his chest "And no one else I'd ever wish to." he added as he kissed her again.
"Jae, we must.." she said when his hand strayed from her stomach.
"I hate being king" he said to a giggle.
"Well I love being your queen." she said kissing him as they readied for the night ahead.
It was as they were in the feast itself that he felt it, the tingle in his mind and he knew he couldn't give in to it there and then, instead waiting until the night was done and he was back in his room. That it would stop him from doing what he wished with his wife, at least temporarily, was a huge price to pay, but he needed to see it for himself and so he spoke to her and was happy to see she was as disappointed as he. He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes and went looking for the door. Soon finding the eagle as she flew over Gulltown.
Gulltown 298 AC.
Rodrik Rivers.
Six bards working together were far more than usual for any operation that the boss wished them to do but this was a particularly delicate one. That the man himself only had a dozen guards and that three of the bards were expert bowmen would prove the difference. Yet Rodrik wondered more about the where than anything else. Gulltown was well garrisoned and though Alayn had told them the guards wouldn't interfere, it was still a risk. One that he was being well paid for of course and they'd never been steered wrong by Alayn in all the years they'd worked for him.
Capturing wasn't killing though, which made it a far trickier endeavor, capturing you targets unhurt making it even more so. But that's what he and the others were being paid for and so they watched the ship readying for the arrival of their quarry. When word had come to them to follow the eagle's lead, Rodrik had thought it some sort of jape, yet the eagle had appeared on the ledge of their rooms and had taken them straight to the man and woman.
At first, he'd thought to take them there but the eagle had screeched when he'd suggested it and Rodrik had felt the hairs on his neck stand on end. It had made them speak more of the dangers of taking them indoors and he'd then seen some of the problems that arose from it. Tighter surroundings were more easily defendable, while there was only one way in or out that was not always as big an advantage as it could be to those attacking. A bottleneck could be created and a small number of men could hold out for a long time.
So they'd abandoned that plan and now all six of them sat and waited and then he saw the eagle flying in the sky and he knew it was time. He nodded to the bowmen, watching them take up their positions, and ready their arrows and he and the other two swordsmen quickly ran to their own. The carriage arrived and when he saw the small man and the two guards who helped the woman out of it, Rodrik gave the signal to fire.
"We go as soon as the second volley is launched." he said.
"Alive?" Desmor asked.
"Alive." he said.
The first arrows hit home cleanly, the second volley wasn't as successful and Rodrik saw the panicked look on the thin mustachioed man's face. He drew his sword and rushed in, looking on as two of the guards simply ran away, and as another one was hit once again with an arrow, this one taking his life. It left them with just four and the two who were dragging the clearly half-asleep woman to the ship, the man running on ahead like the craven he was. As Rodrik made his way towards them, he saw one of them fall with an arrow in his leg leaving him only one to face. That one let go of the woman and pulled out his sword, the woman collapsing to the ground.
"Who the fuck sent you?" the guard shouted at him.
"Does it matter, you should run." he said back.
"Fuck you, a man's gotta earn a living." the guard said as he aimed his sword at Rodrik's head, Rodrik dodging out of the way.
"Dying's not much of a living." he said and the guard faltered.
They circled each other for a bit, the woman still laying on the ground, the man on the ship torn between running to her and getting the ship to set off.
"Cat, Cat, Run to me, my love, run." the man shouted though the woman looked in no fit state to respond.
Rodrik watched as the guard looked behind him and then dropped his sword. Once it hit the ground he motioned to the archers not to fire and then moved to the woman. Her eyes were heavy and she barely seemed to notice him. Rodrik soon noticing that there were marks on her neck from where her husband had no doubt gotten a little too amorous.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked the guard who looked to the ship.
"He fucking drugged her most days." the guard said disgustedly.
It made Rodrik look to the ship and see it had cast off and then he gave the signal to the archers. Only one of the arrows hit home and the man on the deck crumbled. Rodrik looked on hopefully only to find that he rose and the arrow was just in his shoulder and not anywhere lethal. He cursed they'd not used poisoned tips but then again this was not supposed to be a killing. Still he knew Alayn wouldn't be happy that Littlefinger had escaped.
"What were you giving her?" he asked.
"Not me, Harden has it in his pack." the guard said pointing to one of the bodies on the ground.
"You should go, find another line of work my friend, you'll live longer." he said as he helped the woman to her feet.
"Yeah, whatever." the guard said grumbling as he left.
Rodrik looked to see the eagle staring at him and then watched as it flew out to sea, he followed it's flight all the way to the ship and looked on as it landed on top of the mast.
"Come Lady Catelyn, there are people who wish to speak to you." Rodrik said as one of the other bards reached him and helped him put the woman back in the carriage.
A/N: Things in my job have gotten a bit crazy since lockdown, so once again I've not managed to get to the reviews and the chapter was delayed in time, not day, anyway, I want people to know that's I've read them and will respond. Up next the Joust begins, Jae spends time with his sisters and Robb and Ned say their goodbyes to Theon.
