A/n:
Been a while, and warning! I talk about potential future plans for the story and if you want to be surprised "skip" the bottom note.
"Impressive, even if it's a bit bland for my taste." Azula drawls beside him as she takes in the castle they are approaching, big enough to be seen from such a distance, his beloved home Winterfell.
Benjen himself lets out a mock scoff of offense to which it is ignored, not that he expected a reply.
He has come to find out that Azula is extremely blunt with her sharp tongue and has no qualms about hiding her feelings. She is very articulate in how she responds and acts, prim and proper in a way that is more refined than the royals he's seen in his life. In his defense the only royals he knows are a whoremonger and a family of madmen who decided his family was a toy they could destroy.
She looks at him with a sniff, "It looks like a child took different pieces of a castle and then proceeded to smash them together, reminds me of something my brother would make." He catches the last part under her breath and it piques his interest. She doesn't mention her family often and doesn't seem to be forlorn about being separated from them so he guesses there is bad blood.
She chose to leave them because there was no way anyone could force the tiny hellhound. He recalls seeing her lay one of his men out for trying to cop a feel, much to his shame, but what can anyone expect when they only have lowly criminals as black personnel?
Alas, that's a conversation for a different time.
"Aye, I guess you could say it was like that," he responded with a chuckle, finding the imagery of that analogy funny.
Seeing her inquisitive look he explains, "My ancestor Bran the builder and founder of House Stark was the one to start the building of Winterfell. Our people prefer practicality over looks, as you can see." He says waving to the gray-toned keep.
"Our home was designed to survive the coldest of winters. My ancestor had an ingenious idea to weave running water through pipes from the hot spring that sits under the castle. Feeding the warm water through the walls heating the castle to a more moderate temperature throughout the year." Benjen says, feeling like a child who is boasting about his favorite toy.
He watches as a strange glint enters her eyes as she asks, "So, you're saying you have plumbing?"
"Plumbing?" He asks, feeling unfamiliar with the term.
She gives him a superior look, flicking imaginary flint of her coat as they make way, "It's fairly common where I'm from." Upon seeing his intrigue she continues, "By using what we call valves you can control the pressure of water and its output to create plumbing." He blinks at that, not understanding exactly what she means but can get a sort of idea.
Azula gives him another haughty look, her tone indicating how unimpressed she has been with Westeros, "I have to applaud your family, I didn't expect such ingenuity from this place, a point for you and yours I suppose."
She waves the conversation away, "On to more important matters, what should I expect when I meet your brother and lord?" She demands, for Azula doesn't ask anything. She expects everyone to bow to her whim simply because she exists.
'Definitely a princess.' Just one that can put even his most experienced men on their asses before most could blink.
Her abrasiveness reminds him of his sister and it's a breath of fresh air from the cold stuffy and plain dull atmosphere that has arisen since half his family was taken from him or murdered. He also enjoys the fact that she takes no shit from men, and says 'fuck you' to roles women are forced into.
Maybe he is trying to push his sister's image onto her, but he can't find himself able to stop the flickering of affection that seeps in whenever he sees Azula reflecting his sister's personality.
"My brother is an honorable man," he says, coming back to himself, and ignores how her face scrunches up at the word honorable.
"Ned is a respectful lord who will listen to your words and hopefully we will be able to survive this fucking shit." He ends before remembering he's talking to a young woman, but then again says the woman has spewed more vile things to cowering men.
It doesn't take long to approach the entrance, his presence infamous enough to not need any checkpoints despite being of the black he will always be a Stark in the eyes of the north. He nods to the guardsmen as they lower the drawbridge to allow them to enter and breathes in the familiar scent of home as they make their way through.
"Brother!" He hears Ned speak as he comes out of the door that leads to the training yard, his gait rushed as if caught off guard. "I thought you would arrive in two days?" His older brother asks hauling Benjen into a hug as he hops off his horse.
He laughs, hugging Ned back, "I was expecting it to take a little longer, but we had someone who kept insisting we hurry." He says looking over his shoulder to Azula to see her walking up to them after handing her reigns to Kenna.
"I don't see you complaining," The girl who approaches says with a sort of tone that makes you feel stupid, and Ned has to withhold his smile at seeing his brother's banter with the strange girl.
He bows his head as a lord would to a Princess, even if she isn't his sovereign, "I am Eddard Stark and it's my honor to have you in my household and I'll endeavor to make sure you feel as comfortable as I'm able." He says and a multitude of emotions pass by at his earnest introduction.
"Seems your brother was right," Ned barely catches her murmur. He looks to Benjen in confusion when she doesn't elaborate, to which his brother gives him a shrug just as his wife catches up.
"Benjen it's good to see you," Catelyn says as she reaches them, hugging her good brother, and Ned can sense her wariness of the whole situation, especially with the King arriving in a few months.
"My lady," his dear wife in tones formally towards the girl. The small thing speaks with her accented voice, the confidence in her voice reminds her of his Arya.
"I'm the daughter of Agni Himself, Azula and it's your privilege to have me." She says, holding her head high.
He hears his brother groan and slap his hand across his face and Ned can't help but feel like this will be a recurring theme. His Cat, ever-a-lady, offers Azula a curtsy, "If it would please you Princess, I had you a room prepared, I think you'll enjoy our hot springs."
Benjen must see something on Azula's face as he tells her in a fatherly voice, "You've been telling me how much you wanted a real bath, go on, you won't miss anything important." he can see the cracks in his dear wife's cold exterior as she sees the interaction between Benjen and the girl.
She gives him a huff, spinning on her heel and giving him a look, "Fine, but only because I need to get this grime off of me." She then marches the way Catelyn gestured as if expecting his wife to catch up.
Ned shares a look with Catelyn as she follows, he gives her a grateful smile while she rolls her eyes.
After they are out of earshot he gives his brother a stern look inclining his head towards his study, "She responds to you well, considering the abrasive nature you mentioned about her."
Benjen shrugs, "I think she appreciates how I treat her like an adult and not a young girl." After a moment of silence he hears Benjen speak, "She is a tough one, reminds me of Lya," and that makes Ned's heart throb with the familiar aches that have stuck with him since his sister's death.
"I see," is all he says, it makes sense.
Benjen and Lyanna are closest with them being only a year apart.
As they enter the room he reaches for a bottle of something heavy and asks, "So, we have the dead to worry about?" He asks after a big gulp. Feeling like they are gonna need it for the discussion they are about to have.
Benjen only nods, "Winter is Coming."
"And here are your quarters for the foreseeable future, please forgive the sparseness, we didn't have much time to prepare you the room," Catelyn says as she shows the young foreign girl around.
She would have introduced Azula to her girls, but they are busy with their studies and she doesn't want to interfere with that when it's already so difficult to get Arya to stay.
"After being held up in that Agni-forsaken bar this is most adequate," Azula says, running her hand across the bear fur draped over the bed.
"I thank you for the words," she says, not sure how to treat this girl.
From what her husband and the girl herself said she is some self-proclaimed princess, but they have no way of validating that since the strange kingdom she describes sounds so far-fetched.
Fluffing her skirt, Catelyn waved to her servant, " I'll have them draw you a bath and leave you to rest after your long journey, I'll have a maid posted to escort you around when dinner comes." She says bowing slightly.
Azula looks away from inspecting the room they gave her and Catelyn has to withhold the urge to back up at the sheer power that seems to glint from her gold eyes,
"You are too kind, truly," Azula says with a diplomatic smile, and she simply nods and leaves.
Her heart rate calms down the further away from the girl. Catelyn is dreading just thinking about how Arya is going to react when she meets Azula.
Why can't girls be more like her sweet Sansa?
A/n:
So, I've decided that azula is going to be with Jon. The whole thing just feels right. I think she would be intrigued by him and I would like to think she'll be able to sense his Targaryen-ness.
Honestly with the way she reacted to that guy on the beach episode I can see her seeing his prowess and instantly being like "let's rule the world." While Jon is like, "I just want to be normal"
Sorry for the lack of stark children interaction.
How would you guys feel about azula acquiring her own dragon? I heard a something about Cannibal being on Skagos and since they are known for being cannibalistic… I like the ideas of cannibal themselves but I could do their eggs if y'all think the dragon couldn't survive that long. Though I think the other dragons died because of war stress more than age.
Sorry for the long rant.