The Farosi

I own nothing but my OC's

AN: Next chapter! This one has been fun to write and I hope you like it.

Also, I forgot to write this in the last chapter so I should do it now. The world has lost one of its greatest, a man of true imagination who has defined generations of us. Stan Lee was a great man, he will never be forgotten. We must also remember one thing. While there are people in this world who truly believe in heroes he will never be gone, not really. Rest in peace Stan.

Chapter Eight

The Stag Falls

It was in the early evening as Jon sat in Princess Radwen's private rooms finishing his assesment on his NCO's. It had been some days since their first kiss at the embassy and since then they'd kept it quiete, Radwen had only told her most trusted Ladies Maids while Jon had told his father and Arya, he hadn't told Sansa because he was certain that if she knew she'd be dancing around the Red Keep singing about it. His fathers reaction was a smile and a warning to not do anything to dishonour the princess, which Jon promised him he wouldn't. When he told Arya however her response was laughter, after he explained that he wasn't joking and that he was now "courting" Gods I hate that word, the princess she laughed again.

'What's so funny?' he asked her.

'What will my mother do when she finds out that you're "courting" a princess?'

She then laughed again and Jon joined her at the thought of Lady Stark realising that he could have a match higher than anything any of her own children could gain, except for Sansa with Joffrey, and he hated where that line of thought led, Sansa being forced to be with that little prick. Still though, one problem at a time, he had to finish this and hand it in to Captain Lowhill by the next morning.

'Shouldn't you have done that earlier?' asked Radwen who was sitting opposite him on her large settee while doing her own paper work, a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose.

'Probably. I think rules and regulations are made just to annoy the younger officers.'

'Don't worry,' she said as she signed something and removed her glasses, 'when you've had a few premotions you can give all the boring work to one of your lieutenants.'

'Can't wait then,' he replied as he finished his report on Corporal Donley. 'Well, next time a position's available Donley's getting promoted.'

'Good, so he can give his paper work to the next corporal.'

'Exactly,' was his response as he reached for the mug of beer on the low table between them and took a long drink of it.

'When are you expected in the officers mess?' Radwen asked him now they were both finished their work.

Jon pulled out his pocket watch to check.

'An hour, if my watch hasn't broken again.'

'Again?'

'It's a cheap one, I bought it just after I got off the ship at First Sight, a peddler was selling them on the docks.'

'Let me see it.'

Jon handed it to her, the casing was made of brass and was badly scuffed by years of hard use on exercises and patrols.

'You really should get a new one. You're an officer after all, not a smithy,' she said and passed it back to him.

'I know but I like this watch. What were you working on anyway?'

'Just singning an authorisation for something top secret that I am under no circumstances allowed to tell you at the moment.'

'So what was it?'

Radwen chuckled and shook her head.

'Alright, it's called the Lannisport, Kings Landing Line. When His Grace returns from his little hunting trip I'll be presenting the plans to him.'

'You mean a railway line?'

'Exactly. Look, our merchants have to sail all the way around Westeros to get either here or the Free Cities. That takes weeks and costs a lot of money so, our idea is to have a permenant merchant fleet here in Kings Landing, have ships directly from Farsos dock at Lannisport and travel over land by train here and then on to the Free Cities. It will cut weeks off of the travel time and save us a lot of money.'

'You want to build a railway across the country?'

'Well it's the First Senator of Trade's idea to be honest. It's going to start at Lannisport and follow the Gold Road here, we'll build up the villages along the way into stations, it's going to cost a fortune.'

'Can the kingdom afford it?'

'Of course, besides, the kingdom isn't paying for it.'

'It isn't?'

'No, the Senate is going to allow businessmen to bid for the rights to do it and they'll be paying for it, in exchange they get a tenth of the profits from trade for the next fifteen years.'

'I hope it all goes according to plan.'

'It should do,' she said and took a sip of her wine. 'So, anyway, you have about an hour.'

'I do,' was his response as Jon moved to sit next to Radwen.

'Good.'

The two of them sat there for a moment until Jon moved first and kissed Radwen who responded by wrapping her arms around the back of his neck. Feeling a little emboldened Jon held her tight quickly moved her so that she was under him.

'Rogue,' she chided him but then kissed Jon again.

Jon wouldn't go any further than this, the last thing he wanted to do was do anything that could get either of them in trouble. However, after only a few minutes of this the door knocked and Radwen sighed in annoyance. Jon got up quickly and returned to his seat while Radwen at up and straightened her blouse.

'Who is it?' she asked.

'Captain Howmer Your Highness.'

'Enter.'

The commander of Radwen's company of Royal Guardsmen, like all of them, was over six feet tall with neat hair and a large moustache. He wore a dark purple uniform and peaked cap, none of the black armour they wore at important occasions, and a revolver was at his waist. He briefly aknowledged Jon with a nod before facing Princess Radwen.

'I'm sorry to disturb you Your Highness, but your meeting with Mister Greenwood needs to be rescheduled.'

'For when?' she asked, hiding her disapointment.

'Ten minutes, his doctor had to reschedule an appointment which you can thank for the change.'

'I see. Alright, tell him I'll see him.'

Howmer bowed before leaving the room, as soon as he shut the door behind him Radwen rolled her eyes.

'Is the True Queen planning on ruining our private time?'

'Probably,' Jon chuckled. 'I'll see you in the morning.'

'Alright.'

...

The rest of the evening went fairly quietly, the officers mess was alway entertaining though, Jon got dragged into playing the Duke Game, a challenge where he had to repeat a ridiculous phrase with a slight variation over and over again while drinking a lot of whisky. He just managed to make his way though it, although he had a feeling he'd have a head ache the next morning. The only odd thing that happened was when a Military Policeman came in just before the end of their dinner and went straight up to sam.

'Lieutenant Tarly?'

'Yes Sergeant?' he asked the man.

'There's a situation at the Red Keep, Colonel Donnah has requested your presence.'

'What's happened?'

'I don't know sir but Colonel Donnah insists that you come with me now.'

'Alright,' he turned to Jon, 'I'll see you in the morning.'

'See you in the morning Sam.'

After he left and the officers finished their meal Jon proceded back to his troops barracks and, after watching the ending of his card game where Trooper Hensin managed to beat Corporal Donley and Sergeant Osoni, to their annoyance, managing to win half a months pay. After that he bid them all good night and then he went into his side room, got changed into his night shirt, left that days uniform in the washing basket for the cleaner to deal with in the morning before climbing into the bed.

When he awoke it was to the stand to signal being given the bugler, for a moment he wondered who wakes up the bugler, when he realised that the sun wasn't up yet, it was still dark. He opened his windows shutters and looked outside to see the horizon just turning pink with morning, usually the call didn't come for at least another hour.

'Is this a joke?' he asked himself as he put on a burgandy dressing gown and entered the main room where his troopers were getting out of bed.

'What's that damn bugler lad doing?' Osoni growled. 'If this is a prank I'll dip my shaving tin in his rum.'

'No idea Sergeant. Get the men dressed, we have twenty minutes to be armed and on parade.'

'Yes sir,' he said and grunted as he came to stand up before addressing the men. 'You all heard the Lieutenant! Dressed in ten minutes, armed in fifteen and on parade in twenty. Move it!'

Jon nodded and walked back into his room where he quickly started to get dressed, finding a clean uniform in his wardrobe and put it on before adding his belt with sword and revolver. When his hat was on he entered the main room as the rest of the men started leaving towards the armoury. Jon walked with his men of course, the corridors were packed with hundreds of men, all of them looking tired and annoyed. The armoury was soon visited, the men acquired their carbines and sabres before marching out into the embassy gardens where they formed up into parade formation.

'Alright men, Troop,' Jon began to order, 'atten, shun!'

The men carried out the order.

'Stand at ease!'

Again his men followed him while the other Lieutenants gave the same orders to their Troops and Platoons, the higher officers watching, all waiting for news. Jon and Osoni came to stand on the right side of their Troop as the front doors of the Embassy opened and Radwen, escorted by two of the Royal Guard in their black armour and rifles in hand, emerged. She was soon followed by Brigadier Curn, the commander of the Embassies garrison, and Colonel Donnah, looking very tired and now wearing a pair of revolvers as well as a leather coat which reached past his knees.

'It's an MP battle coat,' Jon muttered to himself.

'You're right sir. This is trouble.'

Radwen was wearing one of her dark blue dresses, although this one was very simple and must have been put on very quickly. Jon then noticed that Sam was walking behind Donnah, his face as white as a sheet. Radwen came to stand in front of the men, for a moment looking at them all, her eyes stopping on Jon and he saw a side of her he hadn't seen before, it was nervous and ready for action.

'Gentlemen,' she said loud and clear, 'I'm sorry to have disturbed your beauty sleep but this couldn't have waited until later. In short, King Robert has been injured in a hunting accident. In short, it appears that within the next day there will be a regime change here, for that we must remain on full alert, we all know what happens during these times and I will not have any Farosi businessmen or civilians harmed by these people. Brigadier Curn.'

The officer, stocky and muscular with no neck, stepped forwards and spoke loudly.

'All infantrymen will pratrol the streets in shifts, Light Horsemen will remain in the Embassy and act as a tactical reserve. If the Westerosi bring their quarral to these streets, shoot on sight.'

He ordered the troops out and, after his men took up positions on the embassy's walls, he went out to find Sam who was sitting on the porch of the embassy's main building.

'What happened?'

'The King's dying,' was his answer.

'How?'

'Last night I was taken up to the Red Keep where Colonel Donnah told me that His Grace was hunting a bore when his shotgun exploded.'

'How? Wait, no, why were you brought up there?'

'At the academy I did a course on ballistics and fire arm maintenance. That made me qualified to work out what went wrong.'

'How did it explode then?'

'I talked to Ser Barristan, he was there, and he says that it was in constant use and the kings squire didn't get a chance to clean it. I think the build up of debris and the heating up of the barrel caused a shell to warp out of shape and then it turned the gun into a bomb.'

'Damn. This is why we don't let any idiot buy a gun in Farsos.'

'In fairness we did give his Grace a maintenance book,' said Sam. 'I wish he actually read it.'

'How badly was he hurt?'

'It's bad. Shards of the barrel and the bullet into his face and chest, his right hand was blown clean off and three of the fingers on the left are gone.'

'How long does he have?'

'A day at most. One of our surgeon's is helping but all they can do is keep him comfortable.'

'Damn. Now we have to deal with Joffrey on the throne.'

'Apparently the king made your father regent before they gave him milk of the poppy.'

'I see. He might be able to break Sansa's betrothal.'

'I hope so. I've not met Prince Joffrey before but from what you've said I don't ike the idea of your sister marrying him.'

'That makes two of us.'

The two stood up at once to see Radwen standing close by, a cup of tea in her hand.

'Your Highness,' the two men said to her.

'Jon, I need to speak with you, in private.'

'Of course.'

He bid goodbye to Sam and followed Radwen back into the embassy, past Royal Guardsmen at every corner, and finally entered Radwen's rooms where they entered her study, Radwen sitting behind her desk and Jon sitting in the chair in front of it.

'Well, you know what's happened.'

'Of course.'

'It wasn't a question Jon. The point is that we need to move quickly.'

'Of course. The Queen will probably use this to force my father to give all the power to Joffrey and make the Lannisters all powerful in the Seven Kingdoms.'

'You're learning Jon, but I was thinking of a different matter.'

'What different matter?'

'Jon, I want you to know something. Everything I've said to you has been true, I wanted to tell you everything, even more so since the ball, but I couldn't.'

Now he started to worry.

'What's going on?'

'Jon,' she sighed and shook her head. 'I have to tell you now. We have to act fast to secure House Cassius's claim to the Iron Throne.'

The silence between them wal all powerful, stronger than iron, as Jon tried to keep down his shock.

'What?'

'You heard me right. All of this has been done to secure the claim of my family to rule Westeros.'

'You lied to me. You told me,' he said and stood up, angrily turning away from Radwen before facing her again and pointing his finger towards her, 'you told me that you would support House Stark, that we woud fight together!'

'I said that it was in the interest of House Casius and House Stark to form an alliance and I meant that.'

'An alliance to do what? Install your father on the Iron Throne when he has no right being there?'

'He has every right to be there. Can you really say that Westeros would be better under Lannister rule than my fathers?'

'There won't be Lannister rule. My father will do what he can to stop the Queen from controlling Joffrey.'

'Really? Your father is a good man but right now he's lost. The City Watch already support the Lannisters, his household guard are outnumbered.'

'So are you. In the open field we have every advantage but in this city it will be hand to hand fighting. Our men don't have armour! You'll be slaughtered!'

'We have the numbers to win.'

'No you don't.'

'I have the Embassy guard, my Royal Guard, the Military Police and the rest of them.'

'What do you mean the rest of them?'

She gave a soft smile, the look of a gambler about to reveal their winning card.

'What did Arya see under the District?'

'What?' he asked, remembering that Arya told him. 'A large store room or something.'

'If she'd gone down a floor you know what she would have found. The secret barracks, with three thousand Farosi infantry.'

Now he was stunned. Three thousand extra men, with that they could take the city easily, it would be no contest.

'How long have they been there?'

'The last of them arrived a month ago. We predicted, by that I mean the Senate, predicted that soon their would be civil unrest in Westeros and it would be necassary to install House Cassius as the rulers of Westeros to protect the people of this realm.'

'So you've ben smuggling in an army?'

'Yes, for the greater good of Westeros.'

'House Cassius has no claim here!'

'Yes we do. It's old but it's valid. Besides, does that really matter?'

'Yes. What matters above all is who has the right to the throne, my father will never support someone with a claim so distant it may as well be made up.'

'And you think Robert and Rheagar were talking about rights when they fought at the Trident? No, Robert was stronger so he took the throne, the rest was just a matter of formalities. Do you know what will happen if Joffrey sits on the throne? Tywin Lannister will keep everything the same, the people will still be oppressed, Gregor Clegane can do whatever he wants and nothing changes.'

'You can't force your way onto the throne. How many will die in the war you'll start?'

'Many,' she said and slumped in her chair. 'I don't want war but it's the only choice we have,' she fixed her gaze on Jon and stood up. 'And when the killing is done, Westeros will be reborn. Every village will have a school, the roads will be rebuilt, every Dragon of the thrones debt will be repaid, railways will cross the country, factories will bring work for all. The National Code will be brought here, no more Lords gleefully cutting off thieves fingers, judges and juries will decide every case on a strict legal code. We'll tear down the ruins of the Dragonpit and build the Westerosi Senate Hall. Westeros will prosper.'

'And all of this is for the good of the people?' Jon sarcastically asked.

'For the good of both kingdoms,' she answered. 'When Gwaithol attacks us the might of Farsos and Westeros will fall on them. This lands knights will swell the ranks of the Heavy Horse, maybe another hundred thousand men will serve as infantry. When Gwaithol comes for us, we will drive them back to their home land and bring down their Grand Council forever.'

Jon and Radwen stood there, staring each other down and Jon was the first to drop his gaze. He knew what he had to do. Before he could speak Radwen walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

'There's something else. Another reason I was sent here was to make a physical link with Westeros, something that could make both lands true equals. My father instructed me to,' she looked at the floor, blushing slightly. 'He told me to find a husband, he told me I could make the choice myself as long as he was Westerosi and of noble blood. You are the son of the Warden of the North. If we marry, we will be King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Farsos and Westeros.'

Jon just looked at her, disbelief on his face.

'You've planned everything out haven't you?'

'Of course I have. Well, most of the planning was done by the Senate and the General Staff but yes, when you arrived here I looked up your record when I heard who your father was. The Warden of the North's son.'

'Bit I'm still a bastard. The Lords of Westeros would never accept a bastard as king.'

'They will accept you. In the fighting to come our army will not plunder or rape, they will only kill the enemy. Jon, trust me, this is for the best, for you and me, for Sansa, for Westeros as well.'

'You think that you can take Westeros with just the garrison here and the 8th Corps?'

'No, the 8th Corps can establish a foothold until reinforcements arrive.'

'It will take months for them to arrive.'

'They can survive until then and they can defeat any force that outnumbers them up to five to one.'

'What is this claim of your fathers? Is it even real?'

'Of course it's real.'

'Then expain it to me, what is this claim of yours?'

She appeared worried for a moment, indecisive but now she closed her eyes, let out a long breath.

'Fine, but you can't tell anyone else. If the Spider finds out the Lannisters will storm the embassy or fortify themselves in the Red Keep and that's the last thing I want.'

So she told him and when she did he just looked at her, not fully believing it for a moment but a look in Radwen's eyes convinced him that she was not lying.

'Alright. What do you want me to do?'

'Tell your father what I want to do, what will happen to Westeros under Farosi rule. Get him on our side, make him see reason.'

'I'll try my best but I can't promise anything. My father's a stubborn man.'

...

Her rooms in the embassy were luxurious, there was a living room, a study, a bedroom and her own small private chaptel. Like all chapels dedicated to the True Queen it faced towards water, in this case the Narrow Sea. In the east wall was a stained glass window, a little taller than Radwen was, bearing an image of the True Queen herself. The room was well lit with oil lanterns, displaying the small stone bench beneath the window and the objects on it. There were two small photographs sitting on it, one showing a man in a naval officers uniform, hat under his arm and hand holding the grip of his sheathed sword. The man himself was very thin and tall, his moustache was small and thin, almost like ink drawn in lines above his lips. The other picture was mud stained slightly, it was a miracle she had gotten it in the first place, and it displayed a man wearing a greatcoat staine with random muddy patterns, a breach loading rifle with a small telescope atttached to it in his hand and a wide brimmed hat on his head. He had grown a beard and was standing under a tropical tree.

'True Queen grant my brothers your blessings and your guidance wherever your kingdom meets the land. Grant me your blessings where your kingdom meets the land. Grant your soldiers your power wherever your kingdom meets the land. Grant us your protection in the dark days to come.'

She stood up again and walked into her living room, since that morning she had changed into a much more formal gown, it was just after midday according to her clock. It was strange, they were on the eve of war and there was nothing left for her to do. She herself didn't know how most of this had been planned out, she was the royal presence in Westeros but most of this had been planned out by Colonel Donnah. In political circles he was one of the most important assets, a silent work horse who desired neither power or fame for himself as long as the Kingdom prospered. In truth she didn't want to know how he did most of his work so she never bothered, instead she stuck to her job, a figurehead for the troops and, soon, the leader of the Westerosi Provisional Government.

The knock came from her door.

'Who is it?' she asked.

'Jon.'

'Come in then,' she said, the feeling of nerves in her were overpowering, if Ned Stark didn't agree they'd have to fight the North and she wasn't sure that Jon wouldn't join them. At least she had persuaded her father to supply them with older flintlock riles rather than the newer caplocks, if they had to fight the North the Farosi would still have the advantage.

Jon walked in and Radwen stood rooted to the spot, looking at Jon, waiting for him to just say something. The look on his face was completely neutral, no emotion whatsover.

'He's with us,' said Jon and Radwen let out a relieved sigh.

'Thank goodness,' she said and sat down, relief filling her.

'There's more though,' Jon told her and sat down on the opposite chair.

'What?'

'My father, he found out why Jon Arryn died.'

'Why then?'

'He found out that Joffrey and the other children, their not King Roberts.'

'What?' she asked, that was a surprise. 'Then whose the father?'

'The Kingslayer?'

Radwen had a bad feeling that her eyes were as wide as saucers after that revelation.

'What?'

'My father, he found out that no other Baratheon has ever been born with golden hair. Think about how cruel Joffrey is. Every time a Targaryen was born the Gods flipped a coin, this time it landed badly for the queen.'

'It makes a surprising amount of sense actually,' she said and shook her head slightly. 'We'll deal with all this once the king is dead. What's his condition?'

'He'll be dead by sunrise tommorow.'

'Then we just have to wait.'

'I'll go and rejoin my men.'

'Actually,' Radwen said and walked quickly into her study and retrieved a leather folder, 'I thought you should take a look at this.'

'What is it?' he asked as Radwen passed it to him.

'Our marriage contract,' she said, the words causing a strange feeling inside her.

Jon smiled, it was a small smile but it was there, as he opened it and read it.

'It looks good.'

'Also, we'll have to get you a promotion. I mean, a princess can't marry just a Lieutenant.'

'If you say so,' was his response as he closed the folder.

'I do say so. Now, we will need to make things official of course. We'll need an engagement party,' she said, trying to bury her excitement under her usual facade of formalities.

'Radwen,' he said to her, 'please, just relax.'

'Sorry Jon. It's just everything that's been happening, we're living in the days which will change everything.'

'For both of us.'

The two just sat there for a while, waiting.

AN: The King is dead, Long live the King! Which king though? Killed by an accident while hunting, or was he killed by incompetance or something far more sinister?

The Farosi plan is revealed, House Cassius now plans to sit on the Iron Throne and many plans are afoot.

The Duke Game by the way, which Jon was roped into playing in the mess, is this worlds equivilent of the Cardinal Puff game, watch the game from Dad's Army Episode "Fallen Idol", trust me it's funny.

So, what did you all think of this? Should Renly claim the throne or will Westeros be better under the rule of House Cassius? Let me know in the reviews, what you thought and what you think will happen next.

Review Responses:

sddc0: That was the response I was hoping for.

The French Dark Lord: First off, awesome username. Second, I've given "Guns of Dragonstone a read and it looks pretty damn good. I didn't read it before you brought it up so thanks for that.

Tertius 711: Originally I was going to call it the Farosi Empire but your name sounds better, hope you don't mind me using it. So your prediction was pretty close.

ATP: Exactly.

I hope you all enjoyed it, please review, let me know what you think and see you next time.