Dragons and Thrones: An Unusual Union

Chapter 19 of my crossover story, enjoy.

Reviews

Boris Yeltsin: Thanks :)
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, just to note Bran's dream is featuring the same Elder One we saw in the Prologue, surprisingly, he is still alive. Yup, they've made it, although not without difficulty.
Marina Ka-Fai: Yeah, glad you like them.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
Umbra Venator: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well, all the POV characters have appeared by now, so there won't be anyone new, but here we go :)

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin. Dragon Age belongs to Bioware.

Cersei

Cersei prepared herself, maintaining a calm and composed expression, making sure it was obvious to any who doubted her that she was superior to them. After all, she had been Queen, was now Queen Regent and contrary to what people thought, hers was the real power.

'I am, after all, in the best position to influence Joffrey.' She noted to herself. 'However there are things that must be dealt with, they will require a firm hand; that is where my influence will come in handy.'

She knew of course that something wasn't right in the way Eddard Stark just up and left, despite finding out the truth about her and Jaime.

She fought to keep her expression neutral at that thought. 'He is up to something, I'm sure of it. But until he makes some move, I have no valid reason to move against him. Luckily we managed to keep Sansa here, she will be perfect leverage. So too will that little animal Arya, if we ever find her, if she ever returns from wherever she has hidden herself.'

She couldn't deny that she disliked the younger Stark girl intensely. It wasn't simple dislike either.

'Gods help me I am jealous of her.' Cersei realized much to her shock. 'It is not vanity, jealousy of her looks, she is so plain that would never be an issue…It's her, personality I envy.'

Contrary to what was expected of a lady, Arya Stark was openly rebellious of proper behaviour; seemed to do as she pleased, was free in fact and seemed to face no repercussions. It was that freedom that made Cersei jealous of the girl.

Cersei quickly pushed these thoughts from her mind however; determined to focus, after all she was standing in the throne room, ready for an important visit. Finally, after much negotiating and wrangling, they had finally arranged for the leader of the Qunari to come and meet with them.

'We need to work out why they are here, come up with some means of compromise, then we can put an end to this tension and focus on what matters.' Cersei thought to herself. 'This leader of theirs, this…Arishok; speaking with him will be the key.'

She knew that much depended on this meeting, the Arishok needed to be placated if there was to be any chance of success. It was then the doors opened and their guests were announced, there were two of those Qunari, each one towering over the gathered nobles, heavy with muscle, many of them rivalling the Kingsguard in size.

'Only Ser Gregor could be considered bigger than them…But, Gods…' Cersei thought, amazed as she beheld the central of the three figures.

She had no doubt this was the Arishok; he was taller than both his fellow Qunari, more muscular. Apart from armoured breeches of some sort, he wore only large red shoulder armour with a white design and some sort of harness across his chest. Most of his body was covered in what looked like red paint of some sort.

He had long white hair, braided back and rather rigid pointed ears, each with at least three square gold earrings. His eyes were dark and narrowed with what appeared to be disgust. His most distinguishing feature however was his horns, they were larger than his fellow Qunari; sweeping backwards and curving upwards at the end, a second smaller set of horns were also present beneath the first ones.

There was no doubt, this certainly was the Arishok.

They stopped before the stairs leading up to the throne, paying no heed to the Kingsguard directly in front of them. The two Qunari on either side of the Arishok bowed, somewhat half-heartedly, the Arishok merely inclined his head in a short jerking motion. Joffrey scowled at this, but thankfully chose not to comment.

"King Joffrey Baratheon." The Arishok spoke; his voice was deep and rang with authority. "As agreed, we have come to meet."

Joffrey nodded. "Yes, you must the leader of those…Qunari or whatever; that have been causing my people distress."

Cersei inhaled sharply, she saw the flicker of anger in the Arishok's eyes and knew she had to act fast. She leaned close to Joffrey and whispered.

"Joffrey, we cannot address them like that; we don't need an incident. We are trying to reach an agreement with them." She paused before adding. "We need to know how they ended up here, what they're doing here."

Joffrey rolled his eyes. "There won't be an incident, they'll agree to whatever we put to them if they know what's good for them, but fine."

He cleared his throat and began again.

"Arishok; if we are to have any sort of understanding; I must know what you are doing here and why?"

There was a deathly silence after this; Cersei noted the Arishok seemed to be observing her suspiciously.

Finally however he seemed to make up his mind and spoke.

"Very well; an important artefact of my people has been stolen from us." He revealed. "We were searching for the thief by ship when that explosion occurred; that was when we found ourselves here."

Cersei then realized exactly how to deal with the Qunari, it was clear now; they were seeking this artefact, all that remained was to find it and return it to them.

The Arishok continued. "The thief and the artefact are likely nearby, hiding in this very city."

Joffrey rolled his eyes. "So, you're here for some sort of hunt for some simply item, for that you cause my people difficulty, you should…"

"We will remain here until the artefact is found. Then and only then shall our ship be ready to depart and only then shall we leave." The Arishok replied darkly.

Joffrey glared and it was clear he was about to respond inappropriately. Cersei knew she had to step in at once.

"Arishok; if those are your terms then I say we should agree." She remarked; earning Joffrey's shock. "Search for your artefact; find it and return home, all I ask is you do not disrupt the lives of the people of King's Landing."

To her shock, the Arishok snorted derisively. "Lives, you called what the people here have 'lives'. These are not lives, they are mere cattle, lost and cast adrift by the selfishness and greed of the so called nobles. This place is nothing more than a mire of greed and avarice."

That drew shock and anger from the gathered nobles; but Cersei was quick to reply.

"Arishok, we agree to your terms, you may search for this item, I am sure, there will be no disagreement?"

Joffrey seemed in disbelief at this but then grudgingly agreed, especially when, apart from Pycelle, the Small Council added their voices to hers. The Arishok seemed to accept this and left; yet Cersei could tell, the tension still remained.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.