Six months before
A man and woman stand in front of each other both holding swords in each of their outstretched arms, both of them examining the other carefully. They stand in a courtyard with a fountain in the centre and vines swirling around the pillars, it is beautiful and lavish. The sun is beating down on the pair, not a cloud in sight. On top the tallest pillar you can see a banner attached to it, a black panther graces the cover it with streaks of red coming out of its pair continued to circle each other, their footwork precise and with purpose, they both know what they are doing. The man darts forward and swiftly moves his sword to clash with that of the females. The female quickly lifts her sword to clash with his and quickly dashes behind the man forcefully kicking his back and sending him sprawling towards the onto his back the man starts scrambling and searching for his sword which had flew from his hand from the force of the kick but immediately stops moving the moment he feels the cool metal of the sword against his bare neck.
"Ah ah ah Ser Daavos, you should know when you are beaten," the woman said, a small amused smirk gracing her lips.
"Using a mans words against him my lady? I thought you were better than that," Ser Daavos answered, his voice teasing.
"And you also thought you were a better fighter than me even after all these years and look where you ended up and also I was merely reminding you of what you taught me all those years ago when you were the master and I the apprentice," she replied.
Removing her sword from Ser Daavos's neck,she sheathed her sword and walked over to a table under the shade which was filled with various goblets, some of which were filled with water,some with wine and freshly ripe grapes on golden platters. A map lay in the middle of the table, with various markings on it each marking having a significant meaning, several papers and letters scattered around it. The woman placed her sword on the side of the table and grabbed a goblet of water and took a large gulp of the cool liquid. She placed the goblet back on the table and sat down on a stone chair and looked at the map, a contemplative look on her face.
"My lady, may I ask what you are thinking?" Ser Daavos asked, he recognised that look on her face, it usually meant she was considering something important.
The woman let out a small sigh and turned her attention towards him, her green eyes piercing him with their intensity.
"You may ask what I am thinking but that does not mean that I will tell you what I am thinking, that is why thoughts are thoughts, they are meant to be private, that is why they are in your head and only you can hear them, if I thought something I wanted you too know about, I would have told you already don't you think?" She said coldly, turning her head back towards the map, missing his crestfallen expression. No matter how hard he had tried over the years, he could never manage to convince her to let him in completely, though he was the only person alive in which she slightly let go around.
Taking a seat across from her, he grabs a goblet of water and takes a large gulp. After he finished with it he placed it back on the table and gestured towards the map," Where to next my lady?Where do you wish to go next? Do you wish to revisit Myr? Qohor? Do you wish to go to Mereen?" Ser Daavos asked.
The woman sighed and brushed a strand of her black hair which had escaped from her hair tie behind her ear, looking thoughtfully at the map. She continued to stare at the map intensely, lost in her own thoughts.
After a couple of moments in silence Ser Daavos continued on, "My lady, If I may, what do you plan to do considering Magister Illyrio's proposal-"
"Decline of course! Accepting his proposal to marry Viserys Targaryen is pure madness,"she whispered furiously, "to do so would be practically forcing myself int exile and a price for my head. Not that many people don't already have plans to kill me but I do not need to add all of the people in Westeros to that list. Besides, I am still only ten and six, I have plenty of time to find a husband."
"My lady, what if Viserys Targaryen does somehow manage to sit on the iron throne, he will remember this and he will-"
"Ser Daavos if you really think that Viserys Targaryen has a chance of sitting on the iron throne, you are clearly not as smart as I thought you to be. For now he is not a threat, he is an arrogant, power hungry fool who will die soon enough. As for what I plan to do next," she paused, grabbing the maps and the papers and placing them carefully into there respective chests, shutting it roughly," I'll tell you soon enough. Now, if you'll excuse me I have things to do." She stood up and walked out of the courtyard, leaving Ser Daavos to his own thoughts.
Later in the evening
The lady from earlier is lying in a large bath, enjoying the steaming water, her eyes closed and her lips almost curled up at the sides - that is the closet they ever get to a smile- she is a beautiful woman, with a thin desirable body and firm breasts, but has a small scar on her left hipbone, the only sign of imperfection. The room she has is large and luxurious, with a grand view of the narrow sea from its balcony. Suddenly there is a loud knock on the door, "My lady, forgive the interruption but there is a woman here to see you, she says it is urgent," her handmaiden Laria's voice echoed from behind the large wooden door.
The woman let out a small annoyed sigh and rose from her bath, and sauntered over to a chair, where a white nightdress lay and slipped it on, "Send her in, Laria, I am decent." the woman called out, voice authoritative.
The woman sat in the chair behind a small wooden table which were stacked with papers and letters. The wooden door opened and in came Laria and a small old woman waring rags and whose face was folded over with wrinkles and covered with large patches of brown, her eyes were the colour of sand.
"Leave us Laria, I will call the guards if I need anything," the woman commanded. Laria shuffled out of the room quickly and shut the door, leaving the pair on their own.
They both studied the other carefully in silence until the young woman broke the silence "If you have any urgent to say, say it now, you interrupted my bath and I hope for your sake it wasn't just to waste my time," the younger woman said coldly, her face emotionless.
The old woman's face broke out in a pleased smile and she let out a small smile," Forgive me my lady, I was merely admiring your beauty, I have only heard rumours of it but to see it face to face is quite another matter."
"What is your name and what do you want," the younger woman was unimpressed.
The old woman sobered up a little at that and her face lost all signs of humour,"You needn't know my name my lady, it is not important, I do not want anything from you, I have seen things which you need to know about and which is of great concern of yours-"
"Forgive me but I do not realise the authority you have to tell what is and is not my concern," the younger woman interrupted.
"My lady, this is important, it is about the future of Westeros," the older woman replies urgently.
"You have the sight?" the lady asked, her eyes revealing nothing.
'Yes my lady. I am here to tell you of something I saw, which only you can change the outcome of,"the older woman said.
"Go on."
"My lady there is to be a war in the land of Westeros, they will call it the war of the five kings, it will be between the lions and the dire wolves and the stags and the krakens, it will plunge Westerns into darkness. It will start with dire wolves and lions and extend into stags and krakens and roses and fishes, it will be the darkest war this world has ever seen and the people who win the war, will plunge Westeros into darkness for good. Only you can change this, Lady Everra. The dire wolves must win this war, but they can only win the war with your guidance and your armies."
"Why should I care about the dire wolves? The Starks are honourable fools, they do not how the game works, why should I care for them ? Risk my life, go on to the losing side. I do not care for them," Everra uttered.
"You know why, Lady Everra, you know why," The older woman replied. There was a moment of silence as Everra regarded the old woman.
"I suppose you are right, I do know why," Everra admitted, though she did not look to pleased about it.
The old woman breathed a sigh of relief, the fear inside of her finally leaving. She had heard rumours of Lady Everra's intelligence, beauty and of how much of a good warrior and strategist she was, but she had also heard the whispers of how cold hearted and ruthless she was capable of being.
"I also have something else which I believe will interest you, my lady," the woman said, and lifted the ragged skirts of her dress to reveal a small ball of black fur which lay by her feet. She crouched down and gently picked the animal up and held it for Lady Everra to view.
"Is that a baby panther?" Everra exclaimed looking astonished.
"And she is all yours. I thought it might be a nice gift," the older woman replied looking slightly smug at being able to surprise the great Everra Legrath.
Everra stood up and strode towards the woman and gently took the panther out of the woman wrinkly hands and held it in front of her with an almost tender look in her eyes until she saw the look on the older woman's face.
"Thank you for your gift, you are mot generous. You may stay here in my home for as long as you please," Everra said stiffly, her eyes darted back to the black panther in her arms. The older woman waved her hand, "Thank you for your generosity my lady, but I am afraid my time here with you is done."
Everra glared at her and protested loudly, "Done? I have many questions for you about what will happen and who is involved in this war, what started it, why the starks lost-"
"And you will get your answers in time my lady, you will see what could have happened yourself," the older woman replied, "Take care, my lady, look after each other, have patience, the answers to your questions will come to you sooner or later."
"What do you mean by that-" by the time Everra had turned around, the old woman was gone, the only evidence of her ever being there was the black cat in her arms.
"What am I to name you," she said to the panther. The panther rubbed itself against her chest and purred in delight, the panther was a beautiful thing. Everra let out a small chuckle at it and petted her head,"Andromache, thats what I'll name you."
Everra gently placed Andromache onto the floor and sat back down on her chair, thinking of what the woman had said to her. she glanced back down at Andromache who was staring up at her with her wide green eyes and said "I guess its time to finally go home."
Authors note; Hello Everyone! thank you for all of you who favourited and followed this story and reviewed! it really means a lot to me. I hope you all enjoy this, I plan on going into more depth of Everra's background and what her home is and her family background and the like in later chapters. Please tell me your thoughts on this chapter! hopefully, the chapters will grow longer in time, I'm still learning the basis of writing a story. Thanks again :)