Tigre's P.O.V.
I found everyone.
I, I just can't believe my luck.
Everyone who died with me during the battle with the demon and even Rolland, who also died to that demon, are all together in this place.
We are in a small tent that we managed to set up for a meeting. I smile as I see everyone, the three newest additions are quite well right now. Ellen is to my right, challenging everyone else with a glare whenever they try to take this place, which earned her heated glares from Ludmila and Liza, the three almost ready to jump at each other and fight a battle fierce enough that even dragons would fall to them.
It still brought a smile to my face when I recalled how Sofya had immediately brought them under control with a solid bonk on each of their heads, that same innocent smile on her face that was present in her previous life the few times I saw her do so with just Ellen and Lim, clearly having no issue with including Liza as well.
Not that it would surprise me if they could fight in such a way, I have already seen each of the three kill a dragon at least once before anyway.
Lim was sitting beside Ellen and completely composed, if I couldn't notice the tiny smile on her face I wouldn't be able to say if she is happy or not. She is the second daughter of the Tarly family, a strong Reach family. However, as a second daughter, her prospects are bleak since that means she would likely be 'sold' to an allied family to tighten their relationships and being a woman in this world makes fighting much harder to be allowed, which is ridiculous since females are just as capable fighters and Limalisha would likely beat Jaime Lannister in a one-on-one combat and he is considered the best swordsman in the seven kingdoms bare Selmy.
I asked her if she wouldn't, instead, like to talk to her father about being fostered in the Vale. She said it would be hard but if her brother could come together then it should be possible for something to be arranged. I, of course, agreed to it quite easily. I want to improve the Vale as I will probably go there after this tournament and talented people in management like Limalisha will definitely be a great asset.
Not only her, Liza also decided to come with me. As, according to herself, she doesn't really have a place to belong to in Riverrun and the Eryie is even closer to the Bloody Gate than Riverrun it is better for her to go with me. This way she will have a place to belong and be even closer to her grand uncle.
As for the others, Ellen would return to Dorne, Mila and Olga will go to the North again, and Sofy will... well I am not sure. Probably she will stay at either the Vale with me or return to the Westerlands with her father, not sure which one yet. As for Rolland, well no one is really sure. He could return to Dragonstone but his father resents him there.
His resentment due to Rolland being like the ideal Baratheon. He is loyal, strong, loved by those of the Stormlands, possibly more than Renly, and he actually got the respect no one ever gave Stannis. Heck, I even heard some of the guards talking about the battle against the Greyjoys but everyone is only talking about Rolland, not Stannis who commanded the battle for the destruction of the Iron Fleet.
"Everyone, I thank you all for being here. I know everyone here would rather go and play around a bit or just enjoy the place but I have something important to discuss." I said. When everyone's attention was on me and they all were calm I continued. "I want to talk to you all about the reason for us to be reincarnated here."
"Oh, and what is it exactly, Tigre?" Ellen asked.
"I would also like to know this information, Lord Arryn." Limalisha stated, as formal as ever. The others also showed interest as I started talking.
I told them about the White Walker's awakening, about the threat they are and that we are here to help deal with this.
As my words sink in the one to speak up first was Ludmila.
"If what you said is true then we must prepare at least three of the kingdoms for what is to come. We must prepare to move at least the North, the Vale, and Dorne to be plenty ready for this fight." She said.
"We will need to breed horses capable of dealing with moving in the snow, that should only be possible in the North. I will help with this." Olga said with a serious face.
"Next is the matter of weapons. Does normal steel works on these White Walkers and wights or do we need specific weapons against them?" Rolland asked.
"I researched it during my time in Kings Landing, I believe that dragon glass should work to kill the White Walkers but fire works for the wights well enough." I said.
"If so then I need to return to Dragonstone and begin mining operations. There is plenty of dragon glass there." Rolland said.
"Very well, I will also look for it in the Vale. Considering the region not being that well explored it might have some interesting things there." I said.
"We must also consider fire, you mentioned that your knowledge includes ways of hatching and taming a dragon, how much time would it take for a dragon to grow and be ready to fight?" Lim asked.
"According to what I've learned, it should take about two years for a dragon to be ready to ride. They also grow depending on how well they are fed. But, it is necessary for one to have Valyrian blood in their veins, and a bloodline like the Targaryens, for it to work. As Rolland's great grandmother is Targaryan he should be able to have a dragon." I said, not really liking to have only one dragon on our side when facing who knows how many white walkers and wights.
"... I have something to add, a question for you Rolland." Ellen spoke and Rolland looked at her with one eyebrow raised.
"And what would it be?"
"Would you betray Robert's trust if it meant saving the Seven Kingdoms?" She asked and Rolland looked at her intensely before speaking.
"I don't owe my loyalty to Robert Baratheon. My loyalty is to the king of Brune." He said with a pointed gaze at me. This is not a situation that I can tell him not to think of me as such so I just let it pass.
"Very well, then I must tell you all that I do have Targaryen blood. I am Eleonora Targaryen, the youngest and only surviving daughter of Prince Rhaegar and Princess Ellia, as such I too can have a dragon." Eleonora said and everyone looks at her intensely at this reveal.
"... Do you intend to make a claim for the throne?" Liza asked.
"No, but I think my family will do so at some point in the future. If only to have an excuse to fight it out with the Lannisters. They hate them, no offense Sofy."
"None taken, most of my family is less than ideal and I only really like my father. If your family can avoid aiming for him then I won't care either way." Sofy said softly but with strength, she still is one of the strongest persons I ever met.
"Don't worry, they only really want the Lord Tywin, the Mountain, and Lorch dead, the rest isn't really an issue either way." Ellen said and Sofya smiled.
"Then that is good, if you can kill them I won't complain. Lord Tywin once contemplated having me marry the mountain to appease the man if not for my father staunch rejection, and Lorch is simply a stain, kill them for all I care." Sofya said and Ellen nodded.
"Well, if you do make a move I will not fight you. I would rather keep the Seven Kingdoms as stable and strong as possible before the war happens." Rolland said. "I will follow my king, that is it." He said finally.
"Good." Ellen said. "And when I become Queen Tigre can be king."
As she said those words everyone's eyes turned to her in shock.
"W-what are you saying you brute!?" Mila was quick to respond, lurching up from her seat, turning to face the silver-haired girl as she glared down at her. Ellen simply smirked back at her, puffing her chest out.
"Isn't it obvious, Potato?" Ellen began, getting an irritated twitch from the dark to almost blue haired stark at the hated nickname. "Tigre is the heir of a very powerful family, one of the ruling houses of the Seven Kingdoms. Who better to make my husband when I claim the Throne than him. I also love him, which will make it much better for the both of us." She finished simply, with a smile on her face.
"And what about us!?" Liza had joined in the argument now, her different colored eyes burning into Ellen's ruby red ones. "You might have met him first in our previous life, but we found him, and reunited with him long before you met us again! Do you really think we'd just leave it at that, to disregard the bonds that we formed with him!?" She all but snarled out at Ellen, furious at the idea of being separated from Tigre.
"Nn!" Olga grunted out her agreement to Mila and Liza, her face showing that she also shared the same sentiments.
Lim just sighed in exasperation at Ellen's antics. She had had some basic awareness that her silver-haired friend was going to state something to the effect but that she was so blunt about it...
'Eleanora-sama...' She thought in exasperation.
Sofya merely giggled, amused at how everyone was acting. However, she also kept an eye on them and saw their argument was starting to escalate past acceptable levels. This in mind she reached behind her back, no one noticing the movement.
Tigre was leaning further and further back from the argument as the girls' tempers flared even further, starting to become genuinely scared that they would start a fight in this very room.
"Take that!" A voice chirped out before...
"Gah!" Ellen yelped out in surprise and pain, a solid object smacking into her head with some force.
"Wha-Ah!" Mila grimaced in similar pain, having seen what stuck the silver-haired girl but was too slow to react, getting a solid hit to her own head.
"What are-ow!" Liza had seen the two girls get struck, and had tried to lean back to avoid getting struck herself, but a second object similar to the one in the perpetrator's right hand was suddenly in her left one, and she was struck on the head before she could register it.
All three girls clutched their heads in pain, looking up at the person who struck them all with a teary-eyed glare.
Sofya looked at the three of them, innocent and sweet smile still on her face, looking for all the world that she couldn't harm a kitten. The image was fairly thrown off by the sizable sticks that she held in either hand. They were both about eight inches long and one inch thick. She cheerfully regarded the girls whom she had casually stuck on the head, seeming to be entirely unperturbed by their glares at her. "Now, this argument was starting to get out of hand. You three should get along, besides we can just share in the end anyway."
"... Share? Are you insane Sofy?" Liza said.
"Yeah, if we were to even try such a thing it would be a huge problem with the faith." Ellen said.
"Then we just have to marry according to the Old Gods. There is no prohibition of doing it this way as there is no words about the Old Gods forbidding marriage between multiple people." Sofy said smoothly. She paused for a moment before continuing. "And besides, in our past life, the legend went that the founder of Ztched originally had his own harem. After all, the original Vanadises that were chosen for him were offered to him as his concubines. I myself have no true issue with being one to Tigre. He is the only one worthy of me, and all of us, after all. I don't really see the prospects of being with most of the lords around here in marriage as an appealing prospect." As she said that a shiver went down their spines.
"Weird that you know such things, Lady Sofya. How exactly did you come to this understanding?" Lim asked.
"I studied about it when on Winterfell. I needed to know if it would be possible on this world to do that or if I should just steal Tigre to myself only." Sofy said with a soft smile.
No one looked convinced, except for Ellen who was smiling brightly at this.
"Sofy, you are a genius! Now we just have to decide who is the second wife, I vote Lim by the way." Ellen said.
"Wait, wait, wait, who said this is a good idea?! I don't like using the Gods of my land for these sorts of schemes. And why exactly are we only talking about the second wife and not the first?" Mila said.
"Well, because I will be the first and main wife, you all can take him when I am tired or am doing something else." Ellen said and a discussion started again.
I literally did not speak a single word in this. I may be in a passive position, but considering all these girls could probably mop the floor with me and that I do like them all I can't really say much when they are on these heated circumstances.
One thing I learned on the battlefield and that is applicable here is that one should choose one's battles and this is one battle I am better to stay clear off.
At night father called for me, he wanted to talk to me about the fact I will be going to the Vale next and will stay there to learn how to rule. He also said he will go visit me regularly and expect regular letters to tell me about my progress in the administration of the Vale.
I agreed and talked about fostering Liza, Lim, and Sofy in the Vale and he agreed to it, albeit reluctantly. He, like most lords of the Vale, don't like bastards.
"And Tigre, I am sending with you to fostering in the Eyrie the niece of Lord Royce. She is a nice girl and her health is not good, she is the only daughter of the dead sister of lord Royce and unfortunately was born out of wedlock thanks to Robbert. If you can speak to her normally it would be great." Father said. "Her name is Valentina, she is in the castle of Lord Royce and I hope you can be kind to her. I will try and convince Robbert to legitimize her at least to be a proper Royce instead of a Stone."
As I heard this I remembered the other Valentina I knew in my previous life and I could not help the shiver that ran down my spine. From what little I knew of what she was doing I can say that it is almost sure that she would fit in perfectly with the Game of Thrones.
If it was her, that is.
Years passed, I made great changes to the Vale and the whole of the Seven kingdoms changed considerably, as had we.
I had grown considerably in the past several years, regaining much of my original physique back when I was an archer without peer, with additional training in several weapons and tools. I was no master with any of them, but I was no longer quite as vulnerable.
And as I read the latest letter from Kings Landing I clench my fists in anger.
My father is dead, and someone will have to explain a LOT to me.
The king is already on the way to Winterfell, and the worst part is that my father's death happened almost a full month ago! The people in Kings Landing didn't even have the decency to tell me about the funeral of my father!
Are the Lannisters that annoyed that I managed to make the Vale the richest kingdom of the Seven Kingdoms? Or that the 'Jewel of the West' prefers to spend time here instead of there?
Changing the Vale had taken some doing but I had arranged for the construction of mines in several areas of the Vale which had been promising. Not all of them had yielded anything worth the effort, but the ones that had, had quickly shown with some digging to hold quite the abundance of iron, silver, gems, or even gold in one or two of the mines. Some were more prosperous than others, but the resulting wealth had resulted in towns springing up near the relevant mines in which encouraged opening construction mills to improve the living conditions of those areas, and more besides. The end result was that now there were about 11 new medium-sized towns and one or two more large ones in the Vale, each one generating more money as some of it was sent to the Eyrie, which only seemed to increase as the years passed. Even now I had another 4 locations in mind that showed promise.
It wasn't my fault they treated Sofy so poorly during her childhood.
Or is it Petyr, who likely got angry when I canceled the contracts he had throughout the Vale that, thanks to Sofy and Liza's careful eye noticed how they were bleeding the Vale dry while only enriching the worm? He is only lucky my mother likes him and asked me to forgive him or I would have told father and I doubt Petyr would still have his head by then.
Speaking of mother as well, she didn't say anything and according to the letter she vanished with my younger brother to who knows where. I need to understand what is going on and quickly.
With clenched fists I look at the letter in my hand, noticing it is from the North as condolences instead of from the king as it should be!
I turn to Valentina who, unsurprisingly, is standing perfectly calm by my left ago she had indeed proven that she was from our previous lifetime, and the years passing had been incredibly kind to her, as with most of us. She had become incredibly beautiful, with amazing proportions. Her large and sumptuous breasts stood high and firm on her chest, each orb easily the size of her head, followed by a trim stomach, and a set of wide hips that would be all but perfect for childbearing. Her hair fell slightly past her hips and was a dark blue that nearly seemed black at times, and her purple eyes conveyed a sense of vulnerable innocence which belied the great intelligence and cunning she possessed. Intelligence and cunning that rivaled the major players of the Game of Thrones like Tywin Lannister or Olena Tyrell. She was currently wearing a dress that not only accented her beauty but covered her quite well, as the Eyrie was infamous for becoming quite cold at times. Years had passed and although I was quite wary of her at times, she had proven a near invaluable ally, her skill at intelligence gathering and ability at manipulation rivaled Sofy. Her guidance had also helped me manage the Vale far more effectively than had I been on my own.
By my right, as usual, is Titta, who was tearing up at the message. She had grown quite well in many ways. Her face had smoothed out, becoming both more innocent and womanly. And her body had developed nicely as well, with her breasts, while not as large as Valentina's or Ellen's, had still become quite sizable. She had taken to wearing the clothing of a servant, to better fit into my group. Titta quite liked my father, he treated better than her own father many times over.
"Valentina, why did you not tell me about this? Aren't you supposed to know these sort of things." I asked my second unofficial spymaster.
"I only had suspicion and with most messages being contradictory I couldn't tell you until I knew for certain." She spoke, her voice was as musical as I remembered with her usual light smile. "Besides, most of my spies in Kings Landing have been dealt with after I found and eliminated all of those in the Vale as for your instructions."
I grunted at this, this game of thrones is just annoying. I would rather not play at all if I could.
"Very well, call Lim and Liza. Bring 500 soldiers from our army and prepare to march. We will go to Winterfell to meet the king about this and will take advantage of this to take a look at the preparations for the war against them." I said and Valentina nodded.
"Very well, will you also take Sam? I think he would enjoy this chance to see more of the world." Valentina asked.
"Sure, tell him he can come. I do think he will enjoy seeing more of the world than the Vale." I said and Valentina nodded, leaning in to peck me on the cheek with her soft lips, surprising me slightly, before leaving, a very gentle sway in her hips.
I slump back on my chair, I might not have loved John Arryn as I loved Urs, but I loved my new father all the same. I will find out who did this and will properly deal with this situation.
'As High as honor' are the words of my house and my honor demands justice and justice is what I will get.
Tywin Lannister was sitting in his solar at Casterly Rock, once again pausing to stare with some measure of irritation in the general direction of the Vale. It still baffled him that that particular kingdom had grown so prosperous, and so quickly too! The spies he had in the kingdom had spoken of how the young heir of the Eyrie had brought a bastard daughter of King Robert into his service. While he may normally sneer at the idea, the boy's decision was proven to be extremely wise, as this girl, one Valentina Stone he recalled one report mentioning, knew the land incredibly well, and was helping him manage the various new industries and towns that had sprung up rapidly in response to the various mines that had been discovered and occupied as well as the improvements to the soil and techniques for agriculture. Many of those towns were surrounded by very fertile lands, which encouraged the expansion of them even further as more people flocked to them in hopes of finding work in either the mines or the towns near them. Some were put to work in the mines themselves as either miners, foremen, or guards in the mines to help keep order, others came to work in inns or in blacksmith shops, to make either weapons to deal with any group of bandits who decided to try and strike at any carts containing new supplies, or for mining tools for the men and women working in those mines.
Not only that, somehow the young Arryn discovered the way to produce Valyrian Steel and while he didn't produce much what he could produce he would sell to Essossy merchants and nobles that were just as rich as the Lannisters, if not more, for fortunes. The young Arryn also created a standing army led by the second daughter of the Tarly house, which sounded ridiculous when Tywin heard about it but when said army decimated twice its numbers in a battle against the Hill Tribes it proved it was a force to be reckoned with. On the seas, yet another demonstration of strength was put forth again when they used the money they obtained from the selling of Valyrian Steel to construct war boats that were used to build a navy. The said navy was then used to bring the Sister Islands back to the fold properly and following that they also eliminated the piracy from these islands and took the piracy center on the Stepstones and any other location suspected of having pirate activity near the coast of the Vale. After this was done they worked as escort ships to merchant ships towards the Vale and by now the Vale houses near the cost are getting quite a bit richer. Not only that, with the hunt down of pirate ships the Summer Islands were grateful and increased their relationships with the Vale and now many exotic and popular products from these islands are flowing out of the Vale by high prices.
By another point, corruption is being rooted out of the Vale as most lords that are counted as corrupt are being dealt with. It could be said that the Vale was turning into the promised land for the lower commonfolk as a group after group head to the Vale. Tywin estimated that at least 35% of Fleabottom already left to the Vale and more would go there soon.
That was one thing that both bothered and impressed him. As for the other thing...
He didn't resist the temptation to pinch the bridge of his nose as he sighed, thinking about the misstep he had made. When he had first heard of Tyrion's daughter, he had wanted her sent away, not at all caring about whether or not she was a bastard. He hadn't expected his hated dwarf of a son to defend her as fiercely as he did, but eventually conceded to letting Tyrion raise her, and when Tyrion had all but stormed into his solar all those years ago during that fool Balon Greyjoy's rebellion, he had been surprised at the burning rage in his eyes. When Tyrion had requested guards to be assigned to his daughter, he refused out of sheer spite, but thought on how it seemed like an opportunity to rid the Rock of Sofya Hill.
And sometimes, when he thought back on it, he still privately regretted it even if only slightly.
She was growing extremely influential as she was the one responsible for interactions with the nobility and merchants of Essos, she has proven a wonderful and more than capable woman as she struck deal after deal with Essos that by now was so close to the Vale that Tywin would not even find that strange when the merchant relationship between Essos and the other realms cooled off considerably. Why would the merchants of Essos go to other places to sell their wares when there was a big risk of pirates in other places and the Vale was such a great partner for production.
When he had met her again just a year previously he has expected to see a bookish girl who was as ugly as his dwarf son, instead he had been astounded to see that she had grown into a tremendously beautiful woman. What frustrated him more was seeing just how intelligent and practical the young woman turned out and that she clearly remembered his attempt at wedding her to Gregor simply to spite Tyrion.
He could still hear the seemingly sweet voice speak to him even now, with a potent undertone of venom to it as she spoke to him last time. How she managed to pack so much venom while maintaining the same innocent smile on her face still confused him to this day.
It still irritated Tywin to think about the girl. She was beautiful, intelligent, kind, and above all, practical. Lords would have torn a path to Casterly Rock from all corners of the Seven Kingdoms and beyond, as she knew many people of importance worldwide, for the chance to marry her, and he could have demanded just about anything from any prospective lords who wanted to wed her. That kind of future opportunity was long lost before he ever had a chance to see it. And he knew Tyrion knew it.
He resented Tyrion for it.
He had briefly entertained having Tigrevurmund killed, but almost immediately dismissed it for several reasons. The first one was that it wouldn't magically undo all the changes the Vale had gone through. Another was that if it was traced back to him, it could very well result in the destruction of house Lannister. He was the heir of the Vale, and had Tully blood, which meant that the Blackfish, a commander who even Tywin respected, would stand to avenge him. And that was without bringing in all the rest who would want his head on a spike. His aunt was Catelyn Stark, which meant that she could bring the fury of the North down on him. Dorne would take the chance for revenge in a heartbeat, especially since prince Oberyn liked the boy and was a normal visitor to Tigrevermud as the Vale has started producing strong alcohol a while ago and with the influx of the Summer Islands many whores from there went to the Vale, the best of the world according to many. King Robert also saw the young heir as a nephew of sorts and while he would not march on the Lannisters he would definetly not send any support for them either, many agreed the fat king liked Tigre way more than what he liked his three children combined, only less than what he liked of his actual nephew Rolland, who would definitely ride to avenge his friend with the Stormlands on his back even if he was no lord Paramount. The son of Stannis was quite loved by the Stormland lords and he was already a fine commander since he spent some time in Essos fighting as a mercenary and obtained multiple victories, even defeating a Khal of the Dothraki there by the name of Drogo who led 20000 Dothraki using an army of 8000.
So no, having Tigrevurmund Arryn was too large of a risk as of right now.
For now, he would have to make plans for the future, as his own coffers had more than a few problems. His own mines were experiencing serious problems due to exhaustion of some of the mines and competition with the Vale. He needed new sources of wealth soon, otherwise, House Lannister would be experiencing a severe financial crisis in the future.
Hmmmm... perhaps a betrothal between Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell could work. He would have much to do for that, the fat king might not agree, but it could well be a good start. He needs alliances to ensure the prosperity of his family's legacy.
And he will ensure it, no matter the sacrifices.
AN:
I jumped the interlude, but I just REALLY wanted to start it already.
IT IS CANON TIME!