Chapter 6
One Last Supper

Lincoln had been making his way to the dining room, nervously fidgeting with his clothes. He was about to enter the room, nodding at the Unsullied keeping the door, when he suddenly heard the sound of boots clicking on the ground. He looked up and found Octavia quickly making her way toward him, determination set on her face. He tried a smile but all she did was grab his arm and drag him away.

"Hey, wait!"

He protested, almost falling twice before Octavia finally let him go, once they had rounded the corner and were out of sight. She placed him against the wall and stood before him, arms crossed.

"Clarke told me you were coming to dinner. I hope you know what you're doing."

"Look, Lexa thought it would be a good idea if I met your father. That way I can reassure him that you'll be fine in Meereen."

"I can handle myself perfectly, he knows I'll be fine in Meereen."

Lincoln looked down, sighing.

"It's the right thing to do, okay?"

"You better be careful at what you say then."

"Your father is not that terrible, is he? Lexa told me he's a very generous man. I mean he allowed Lexa to marry Clarke, didn't he?"

"Lexa is the Queen, you don't say no to the Queen when she wants to marry your adoptive daughter. But you can say no to a foreign man who wants to take your daughter away. Wouldn't you?"

Lincoln tried to ignore the fact that Octavia had alluded to the possibility of marriage. It must have been an accident. Instead, he shrugged.

"I don't know, I suppose?"

He looked down at Octavia. She was bitting nervously her lower lip. He wondered why she was so worried, and whether he should be more nervous, too. Instead, he placed a finger under her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. She had the deepest green eyes he'd ever seen.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's going to be fine."

She sighed and nodded.

"Alright fine, let's go."

She turned around to walk away from him, but she then paused. He frowned and waited for her to step away. Before he could ask her if she was really okay, she turned around and pushed him back against the wall, kissing him quickly. The height difference was a bit awkward and if he'd been prepared he would have reciprocated the kiss, but she pulled away before he could.

"For luck," she replied before walking away.

He had to take a second to recompose himself and smooth the small wrinkles on his shirt before he finally followed her through the door.


Just like Lexa had promised, all of Octavia's family was there. Her father, obviously, who hadn't said anything since they'd been introduced and dinner had begun. His wife, Clarke's mother, hadn't said anything either, though she didn't seem the calm storm her husband was. Clarke and Lexa were there, thankfully, though they didn't attempt any sort of conversation. Lincoln was half-sure Lexa was only there to witness his imminent demise. And then there were Octavia's brothers. The older one, she'd introduced as Bellamy, was sending him glares and intimidating looks every time he swallowed his food. The younger one, Aden, was trying to do the same thing, probably on Bellamy's advice, but instead of looking threatening he looked kind of cute. Lincoln had to hold his laughter, and when Octavia finally noticed what her brothers had been doing she kicked Bellamy under the table, making him jolt and almost knocking his cup full of wine on the table.

The main course had been eaten in a thick silence, which Lincoln didn't mind so much. It reminded him of their annual execution of all the slavers who'd been caught the previous year. Tense but necessary.

When the plates were taken away and dessert was ordered to be brought, Lord Kane poured himself a cup of wine and cleared his throat. His eyes fell on Lincoln, who'd been seating straight in his chair the entire time.

"So, Octavia told me you are part of the council of Meereen."

"That exact."

"How did you come to such a position?"

Lincoln answered truthfully:

"I own my position to her Grace. She took me in when I was just a boy and decided I would be taught everything I needed to know to help rule the city, once they would leave the Pyramid. It was thanks to my close friendship with her that I was chosen to represent the city in Westeros."

Kane nodded.

"Your parents must be very proud of you."

"They died a long time ago. My mother giving birth to me, and my father was killed by Sons of the Harpy. It was the reason why I went to see the Queen in the first place. I was orphan starving in the streets of Meereen, and she gave me a home and a purpose. I owe her more than just my life."

His eyes never once left Kane's, but he knew Lexa must have been smirking beside him. Kane nodded.

"You don't have any family left in Meereen then?"

Lincoln didn't know why he hadn't been expecting this question. He smirked at the double meaning hidden there.

"No my Lord, not that I am aware of. I may have uncles or aunts, but the business of slaves is so that scattering families all over the continent never bothered the masters."

Kane drank from his cup, sipping, taking his time. Everyone around them had been silent, listening to Lincoln's interrogation. Octavia had been the only one fidgeting in place, waiting for this whole mess to end.

"I assume ruling over a city must take you quite some time?"

"It's the reason why we are seven, my Lord. We all have our work to do. I serve as an ambassador for half of the year when I make my annual trip to King's Landing, and in the city, I serve as Master of trades."

"You have risen quite high. It's impressive, truly. But I wonder, where do you allegiance really lie?"

"What do you mean, my Lord?"

"Well, if you went home and suddenly discovered Meereen was about to attack Westeros. Would you side with your city, or would you side with the Queen?"

Lincoln chuckled.

"I don't see that scenario very likely, my Lord, but fair enough. The only reason why Meereen would attack Westeros, the only one I can think of anyway, is if the council has been toppled by a new ruler, most likely a slaver. I was a slave once, I have defended my city from slavers my entire life. My allegiance would not be in the city of Meereen if it returned to its slavers way. My allegiance will always lie where freedom can be found, and if it is in Westeros than so be it."

The dessert was brought, and Lord Kane waited until the servants had left the room to change the subject:

"That woman Octavia told me about, the one who can train her. Can you assure me she will train my daughter?"

Lincoln nodded.

"Indra taught me how to fight when my previous master retired. She's been at the head of Meereen's army for almost five years now. I'm sure she will be glad to see another woman ready to receive her knowledge. It will be hard and she will have to stay determinate and never lose faith, but I'm sure Octavia can and will make it through in the end."

Lord Kane reclined in his chair and finished his cup. He stopped asking questions, and they once again ate their dessert in silence. Lincoln could feel his hands sweating. He really hoped he hadn't said anything that could be wrongly interpreted, that he hadn't ruined Octavia's chances.

When everyone had finished their dessert, Lord Kane finally spoke once again:

"I hope you realize what is going to happen if you go through with this?" He asked Octavia.

"I know, I've been thinking about nothing else in the past week. Three moons of travel on a boat, and then training night and day, probably. But I'm ready, and I know it's going to be worth it in the end."

Her tone was assured and strong. She was ready.

"If I let you go, there's a condition."

Octavia sighed. Bellamy seemed quite stunned that their father would even consider it.

"If you go, I want a letter at least once a moon. Does that seem possible?"

Octavia seemed surprised by such a light condition, but she quickly nodded with a smile.

"Of course, I can even write once a week, if you want to!"

Kane then looked at Lincoln.

"I am counting on you to take care of my daughter and keep her safe. You seem like a capable young man, I'm sure you can stop her from doing something stupid."

Octavia was about to protest, but Lincoln replied quickly:

"You have my word."

"Then its decided."

He looked at Lexa with a smile:

"Now that you've helped me get rid of my daughters, perhaps you could help me get rid of my sons as well," he joked.


After dinner, Lexa left Clarke to talk with her family and excused herself to return to her office. She still had to deal with some decrees before the end of the day. Two Unsullied followed her, keeping guard outside while she walked in. She headed toward her desk, as usual, but stopped when she spotted a figure in the corner of her eyes.

"You know, you really shouldn't sneak on people like that, Princess."

Raven stood up from the armchair, and limped forward, to stand in front of the Queen.

"Sorry. I wanted to speak to you, but I didn't know where to find you. I just thought I'll wait."

"Had I not returned to my office you would have waited there all night."

"Lucky me, then."

Lexa crossed her arms.

"What is this about?"

"I had a question, about the line of succession."

"I'm sure Anya can answer you better than me."

"She doesn't know I'm here. She's playing with the twins, I think."

Lexa looked at her longly, wondering what the brunette had in mind.

"Look," Raven finally declared, "I know Anya told you about us. I don't care that you know, or anyone else knows. But last night she started to talk about it, about marriage and line of succession. And I know, she's right. I know I can't let my House died, but I don't want anyone else."

Raven tried to stand tall on both her legs and ignore the pain shooting through her left leg.

"You made the choice of marrying the woman you love because you knew the twins could take your place one day, and have children for the line of succession. I don't have anyone. I don't have a father. My mother's dead. I don't have siblings to give the throne to one day. How do I make this work?"

"You want to marry Anya?"

Raven continued to look at her, not blushing once.

"I would if she wanted too, but we both know it's not happening. She told me everything, you know. About her parents. I get why she doesn't like weddings, and I won't force her into it if she doesn't want to. But it doesn't really matter, right?"

"The only way your House is going to live on is if you have a child, there is no other way around it."

"Okay, but do I need to get married?"

"I think it can be bypassed. All you have to do is ask me to legitimize them."

Before Raven could celebrate her victory, Lexa added:

"But you really should talk about it with Anya."

"I will. I really don't want to hurt her, you know. She's the only family I have now."

Lexa smiled sympathetically.

"If she's your family then you're mine too. Be careful with her heart, okay?"

Raven smiled back.

"That's a promise I think I can keep."


After her discussion with Raven, Lexa didn't feel like working anymore. Instead, she returned to her bedroom. She didn't bother to have any torch lit. She walked through the room and straight to the balcony. The fresh night air was entering through the window. She leaned on her elbows and looked at the sleeping city, and the thousands and thousands of stars above, only outshone by the moon. She couldn't even tell which ones were her parents like she could when she was younger. There were so many.

She was still thinking about the twins, about whether it was a good idea to separate them, to send them on the opposite side of the world. She knew it wasn't too late to change her mind, but it would be weird now that she'd told them.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't even hear the door open and close, or Clarke walk toward her. The blond discarded her shoes as she walked, and once she reached Lexa she wrapped herself around her, hugging her from behind.

"I thought you'd still be working."

"I couldn't put my mind to it."

"Is it because of the twins?"

Lexa turned her head to look at Clarke. Her wife explained:

"Lincoln told us Aegon was going to Meereen with him. I suppose Lyanna is not staying either."

"She's going to Winterfell."

Lexa sighed longly.

"I always knew this day would come. Lyanna was always bound to go north, and I knew I couldn't keep Aegon here. He would have been so sad here on his own."

She sighed.

"You actually helped me made the decision more easily."

Clarke frowned.

"Me? Why?"

Lexa turned around in the blonde's arms, keeping them close. She looked into her morning sky eyes.

"I didn't want to let them go because I was so afraid I would be alone after that. But now you're here and..."

Lexa could feel a tear running down her cheek. Clarke chased it away for her.

"I'm not going anywhere, you know that, right?"

"I know."

"Good."

Clarke placed a tender kiss on Lexa's wet cheek, then on her lips. Lexa placed her hands on Clarke's cheeks, cradling her face.

"I love you, I hope you know that." the brunette declared.

"I don't think I can ever forget it. And I love you too."


A/N: Hi guys! This was the ending of House of Kings! I hope you enjoyed it! As usual, I wanted to thank everyone who's read the story till the end, everyone who's favorited and followed and left reviews! I hope you guys have a great week and I hope to see you guys again soon!