The healer
Naruto whistled a cheery tune to himself while his mare walked the forest path at a sedate pace, giving him time to think about his next steps.
His most dogged pursuers had given up a few days ago, after he had led them on a merry chase through the forests around Whitewalls, or well, what remained of it. The castle had been torn down seventy years ago, after all.
Which meant it was almost liveable when compared to the castle he had been made lord of.
Not that he was ungrateful, but it was another reminder of the games played around him, whether he cared to take part or not. But there was nothing to be done about that now and he had other things to worry about.
Like somehow getting through the armies camped south of him without garnering too much attention. Leading any pursuers around in circles until they realised and then eventually gave up would probably work just as well a second time, but it would take time. Time he could use making progress into the Stormlands.
Even if he had a good idea where to search now, the area around Nightsong was still large enough to take him a week at least to cover, not to mention the possibility of changed locations. Better to have more time than less.
So, make quick work of getting through any armies, if he encountered them at all.
He could always just walk into any encampment normally. As far as anyone was aware, he was a loyal subject of King Rhaegar after all, and an outrider getting separated from his men surely wasn't the strangest thing.
But that would involve questions, a lot of questions, and answering them, whether he actually lied or only evaded giving the truth, would be such a hassle. Ashara might have enjoyed the game of it, but he didn't. And thinking about that only reminded him of the risks she had willingly taken on, and that he missed her, fiercely.
Naruto sighed deeply and leaned back in his saddle to look at the clear sky peeking through the treetops. It was still summer, and very warm, though the Gods Eye helped cool the surroundings slightly.
He should reach the southern edge of the lake soon and finding some way around any of the armies while pilfering a few supplies couldn't be any more difficult than sneaking into and out of Harrenhal had been, and he had managed that just fine.
Well, nothing to do but continue. "Come on, girl," he said, nudging his horse into a trot. "Let's get some miles behind us before nightfall."
Six days later, with the Gods Tear barely out of view and the sun slowly beginning to set, he faced a new, unexpected conundrum.
The noises echoing through the trees could be nothing but a collection of soldiers. A hundred strong, perhaps, certainly not more than two hundred, judging by everything he could make out. Foolish men or desperate, to be so noticeable here.
He was travelling as one man, silent and invisible in comparison, and he had still kept his guard up all the time while lingering in contested lands. You never knew what might happen.
Naruto doubted that the Blackfish's outriders would have crossed the river often or in great numbers, and any larger forces were still weeks away, but a small party raiding for any sightings of the enemy might well have used any opportunity that presented itself.
Only one way to be sure.
Dismounting, he drew his bow and notched an arrow. Just in case. Carefully, he crept closer to the voices and other sounds of activity. At this time of day setting up camp seemed the likeliest explanation for what might await him, but it might just be something else.
Slowly, with every step bringing him closer, he began to catch glimpses of armour and insignias. Steel and iron dirtied by combat and weeks in the field and cloth torn and tattered and marked by dark splotches of mud and dried blood.
A crossed mace and dagger in silver, six stars on purple, the green river on gold and green, and many more.
Naruto knew those sigils. He recognised them from King's Landing. Chelsted, Mallery, Hayford, there was the Rosby sigil as well, and that of House Gaunt. All of them from the Crownlands, except for one.
Griffins facing each other in red and white. And he recognised that fiery red hair too, its owner barking commands at the men around him. Damn.
Some of the splotches and cloths he saw were wrappings, haphazardly applied to stem at least some bleeding or to keep a broken wrist or arm in place. Some of the wounds looked weeks old, very likely from the actual battle at Stoney Sept, but others were fresher, earned days ago at most.
Not his enemies and certainly no great threat. That was a relief.
Relaxing behind the thicket he was using for cover, Naruto quietly walked back to his horse while absent-mindedly spinning his arrow between two fingers. He had grown to like using a bow, even though it had barely been two years since he had started using the weapon. Throw his wind into the mix and he could still be as devastating as he had a need to be.
Not that he wanted to be, but sometimes there wasn't any other way.
When he reached his horse, she was munching on a small patch of grass. Naruto returned his arrow to the quiver hanging from the saddle and debated unstringing his bow. The likelihood of encountering a fight the further south he went from here was pretty low and only continued to sink.
Well, he could do it later, when he stopped for some water and rest himself.
Doing a quick check of his saddlebags before he mounted up and left, more noises drifted to his ears. The clack of wood and metal on wood and the quiet rustle of armour, muted fragments of conversation about perimeters and watches, and strewn between it all the groans and curses of the injured; those healing and those not.
It tweaked at him and the link of silver hanging from his belt weighed heavier than it should for a moment. The strap he was about to tighten covered those medical supplies durable enough for travel he had taken with him. Not much, certainly, but definitely enough to help at least a few of those that were not beyond his reach already.
Running a hand through his hair, he sighed and reached for the reins, turning back towards the camp. Lyanna Stark could wait one day more.
His mare shook her head with a snort, stubbornly remaining in place.
"Oh, I know, I know. I'll be on my way again tomorrow," Naruto admitted, feeling as cross as he did silly. He reached out to stroke the top of her muzzle with a grin. "Who knows, maybe they'll even have something for you. Something better than those grasses, at least."
When he tugged on the reins again, she followed.
Only minutes had passed, but by the time he returned to the proximity of the survivor's camp there was someone standing guard. Without any special effort he got only a few yards past the man on watch before being noticed.
"Stop right there! Not another step, or I'll gut you!"
Naruto obeyed readily enough and turned to face the haggard man clutching a pike. He wore a shirt of mail for protection, the coloured tabard above it slashed in the front and ripped near the groin, though even damaged and dirty it still displayed the colours of Lord Chelsted.
"Hello, good man," he greeted with an easy smile. "If you would allow me to pass unbothered. There are men in your company that I can help, men that would not be so quick to accept assistance if they had word of me injuring one of their own."
Stumped, the soldier took a moment to gather his scattered wits. "Are you mad? You think I'd let you go on without any idea who you are?"
"Well, if that's the issue, I'm Naruto. It's nice to meet you." The pike's tip gleamed in the late afternoon sun, now pointed directly at his face. "Or, you could simply tell Lord Connington of my presence. He knows who I am. I promise that I won't tell him all about how I almost got past you without even trying."
The soldier hesitated again, hands wringing around the wooden haft and nose wrinkling. Then he jerked the tip of his weapon towards the noisy camp. "Walk, but slow. The Lord Hand will decide what he will do with you, and I won't leave you here to do as you will."
The camp was slowly beginning to take shape in the natural clearing. During flight from a battle there was no consideration for tents and beds and all the other luxuries afforded to those of noble blood. If you were not surrounded you might rally parts of the supply train, or at least grab everything you could carry, but if you were, getting away with your life was a better fate than most.
Pits and a small ditch circling the camp were in the process of being created, while other men gathered wood for campfires or prepared to do some last bit of hunting before the sun fully disappeared. Temporary or at least not particularly time-intensive, all of it, but Lord Connington likely wanted to be on the move again as soon as possible.
Men noticed him quickly — being led into camp at pike point would have that kind of effect — though his horse might be just as much of a reason for some of the curious looks. There were only few mounts he could see, half a dozen at most and all of them tired, and another would inevitably be cause for interest.
Horses usually didn't just appear in the forest, after all.
Jon Connington was surrounded by a few other knights in plate, no doubt those of the highest rank left in the group of survivors, and was busy quietly giving out commands when they drew close. He looked haggard and his fiery beard had grown unkempt and wild.
"Pardons, milord Hand." The soldier had moved to his side, pike planted in the ground. "The man claims he knows you. And that he might be of some assistance."
Pale blue eyes took only a moment before narrowing with recognition. "Ser Naruto. How is it that you find yourself here?"
He glanced around the camp for a moment, to take stock of men and weapons, should anything go awry. "Happenstance, mostly. I had orders near Harrenhal originally and once I was separated from my men, I had to make my own way south again. I was forced into a few detours along the way."
They had been of his own choosing of course, but the Lord of Griffin's Roost had no need to know that.
Jon Connington continued to scrutinize him for a few moments before turning towards the Chelsted man on watch and waving him off. "Return to your post." Pale blue eyed him again. "I have men enough to scout and would rather avoid any confrontations if I can. We had to fight of pursuers just two days past and my men are either injured, tired, or both. Another horse has value, but I can't see what one man more could change about the situation."
"Against an army? Most likely very little," Naruto admitted. Even he had his limits. He reached for his belt and held up rings of silver, black iron, and tin. "My chain doesn't have a Maester's length, but it's only the silver link your men will care about. I have only limited supplies, but I'll help as many as I can."
Lord Connington worked his jaw before deciding. He chose two of the younger knights nearby. "Very well. Noryk, Edwyn, a spot to the north. I don't want to have sickness gathering near our water source. Arrange matters with the men on watch right now and those on duty later."
"Give me those that can still be saved," Naruto put in before they could leave. "Broken limbs or uninfected wounds, things like that. Those that have been hurt for longer will likely manage until you reach allies and a proper Maester."
They nodded and set off to observe the tasks, while all around them men watched on in curiosity. Jon Connington was not pleased. "Back to your orders, everyone," he barked. "We have only hours before nightfall."
Then he turned and walked away, off to keep another part of the camp in working order.
Naruto went in the direction the two young knights had gone while looking around for his first patient. A crossbowman, who had suffered a cut to the armpit, ended up being the lucky first.
Mail and padding had kept the man from losing the limb when lines had broken and Baratheon cavalry had forced ranged troops to rely on their side arms, but there had been enough damage done to make it a close thing.
Once the area had been cleared, a fire started, and water boiled, he began. He worked slowly and carefully, trying first and foremost not to make anything worse than it already was. Maybe he was only a second-rate healer at best, but he was the best available to these men.
Hot needle and thread stitched skin to skin, splints fashioned from available wood attached to arms or the rare leg, wounds were cleaned of dirt and grime, and bandages would hopefully keep infection from getting in. He could do little about pain except hold them down and tell them to endure while he worked, but better some pain in the moment than a slow, agonizing death later.
Rather soon, the sun began to truly set, and he was forced to work by the light of torch and campfire. Not for long, though.
When Naruto looked up after the tightening the latest binding, there were no more men waiting to be treated nearby. There had to be more in the camp of course, he had gotten to two dozen at most, but none had been sent to his part of the camp. There was only Jon Connington, waiting alone.
The Hand of the King was not visibly injured.
Cleaning his hands, Naruto met the man outside of the gathering of those too injured to work getting necessary rest on cloaks or blankets or even a patch of cleared forest floor.
Torches flickered all around the camp, and more of them were bright spots further out, where men stood guard in the black of night.
"You have done me good service today, Ser," Connington admitted grudgingly. "It was a savage defeat at Stoney Sept and a long flight afterwards. The Blackfish was dogged in his pursuit, even if he only harassed us with short skirmishes. Few as they are, I would rather not lose any more men than I already have."
"It was only right to help when I could," Naruto said, shrugging, and waited for the man to say his piece.
Jon Connington crossed his arms. "When you appeared alone, I took you for a deserter, fled from battle, oaths, and duty."
Reasonable enough, Naruto decided for himself. And good for him that defeat seemed to have taught the young lord patience, or at least consideration. That wouldn't have ended well. "I assume you have since revised that view."
The other man eyed him strangely before turning to look into the dark again. "Are you?"
"A deserter? No," Naruto answered, choosing his words carefully. "The oaths and vows I've made I will keep till I die."
"That is good to hear." For a moment, the man almost sounded like normal young man, and then the lord was back. "How many supplies do you have left? Feed for the horses I have, and enough to sustain my men for a few more days, but there was only so much that could be saved after the battle."
"Not much. I will see how many I can still help in the morning. Half a dozen, maybe, depending on what ails them. After that there is little I can do here."
"You intend to leave by yourself?"
"As I said, I happened upon you by chance. I intend to make my way further south from here. Lord Whent is travelling to the capital on the King's Road, but I cannot say exactly where the lines have been drawn now that Lord Stark holds Harrenhal. I would advise against the straight path east in any case."
"The siege is truly broken then? That is good. We had only rumours until now." Lord Connington nodded to himself, clearly considering the war as a whole. "Brindlewood and Antlers, that line seems likeliest. We should be barely north of that, still." He sighed. "Either way, if you intend to make your own way, do as you will, but as I said before, I have need of your horse. If we continue to force them further the ones I have will collapse soon, but we cannot stay here."
Naruto did not take long to consider. If might be less comfortable to travel on foot, but he would be faster. He also had no intention of staying here. "Take good care of her, then. And good luck to you, Lord Connington."
Stumped, the Hand of the King did not seem like he knew what to say. Brow drawing down and looking thoroughly vexed, he shook his head. "Do as you will."
Moving towards the spot he had decided on for his own rest, Naruto waved over his shoulder. "I intend to, my lord Hand." He left at noon the next day.
A few hours past sunrise and just north of Nightsong, a cry split the air, and he only had the time to look up before deep brown wings knifed down towards him. Powerful talons closed around his hastily raised arm and clacked against the steel vambrace, and then a feathered head was pushing against his temple with a happy trill.
It took no more than a glance for Naruto to see the human awareness in gold-rimmed black, and he breathed a deep sigh of relief, letting some of his anxiety fade. Ash was okay. Probably not yet arrived in Starfall, even with fortuitous winds, but okay.
"Hey." He smiled and gently stroked Morning's feathers. The eagle remained an eagle, even sharing a magical bond with his wife. Their minds merged when Ashara wished it, but Morning was still there. "Are you just here for me or have you found something?"
A curious tilt of the head and then Morning's turned to face the sky again, wings ruffling in preparation for flight. Naruto raised his arm and with a mighty push, she was off, rising higher and higher with every flap of feathers and flying off due south.
Stuck to the ground, he followed on foot, one eye always on the winged silhouette in the sky above.
Nightsong rose in the distance and Morning wheeled east, cutting a curve around the castle and its manned walls.
Naruto took to the trees when possible, travelling in the way only he could on the way further south, though those instances were rare in the Dornish Marshes. The land here was plains and grassland for long miles, often flat and only interspersed now and then with moors and marshes.
The Red Mountains, which had been a thin line on the horizon for some time already, slowly began to grow in size, reaching for sun and sky as the hours passed. Directly south, the mountains dipped visibly against the surrounding curtain of reddish rock, making space for the Prince's Pass, the wide, largely flat path into Dorne.
High above him, Morning sailed on. Further south and clearly intent on entering the pass.
It was no wonder he had not found any sign of Rhaegar. Starfall had been a possibility, with Arthur missing as well, but he had thought the arduous trip to be an unlikely choice, especially while trying to avoid loose tongues.
It turned out that he needn't have worried.
As the afternoon faded, and with restocked supplies, he entered Dornish lands. Instead of cutting a straight path south, Morning led him roughly south-east. Naruto did not know why, according to the map he had memorised Kingsgrave was the nearest Dornish settlement, and that castle was some fifty miles further on, but he trusted that this all had a point.
The Prince's Pass was wide enough for armies to march or even fight comfortably, only truly narrowing near Skyreach much further south, and largely flat, ascending at a gentle incline at most, but close to the edges the terrain was rocky and treacherous.
Hidden against the uneven patterns of surrounding stone were uncountable ridges and ledges. Most of them too small for anything but small critters to hide with, but others big enough that archers positioned there would have made pincushions of anyone that tried to enter the pass from the north.
Naruto stayed clear of them for now, as Morning lead him deeper into the pass before sounding a shrill cry and beginning to circle.
With the sun shining on the rising mountains to the east, he had not noticed the unnatural shape from a distance, but the closer he got, the more he was able to see the cylindrical structure stand out.
He stopped to catch his breath and wiped the sweat that had gathered from his brow. Even his stamina wasn't endless, and running in the sun and in armour for weeks now was quite exhausting.
Standing on a large ledge some two hundred yards away, was a singular tower, overlooking everything below. A watchtower used to defend the pass in the past no doubt, though it obviously hadn't been in use for quite some time.
Reaching it from this side would mean climbing thirty feet of sharp, vertical rock, though there would very likely be a more traversable path on the Dornish side. Doable, both of them, but not while remaining undetected.
Climbing silently was already difficult enough; in armour it was entirely impossible. And the intended approach would definitely be watched carefully.
Well, waiting for nightfall it was.
Now, to find a place to make a small, temporary camp. Scanning the mountainside nearby, Naruto found an outcropping he liked. Hidden from view, even during the approach, but close enough for observation.
Fingers gripping rock he climbed. Then he observed and waited for the right time.
The moon was a sickle in a dark, sparsely clouded sky when he began and his nose told him that there would be a storm soon. Maybe as early as the morning. But for now, the night was cool and calm.
Clad in only his arming doublet and similarly dark pants, he was just another shadow among many as he flitted from rock to rock. Bow and arrows he had left behind, they would be less than useless anyway, and after some additional thought he had left his sword as well.
Usability wasn't the issue there, the blade was short enough to be used indoors, but he wasn't looking for a fight. If anyone else was, he still had his dagger. Valyrian Steel should be more than enough.
Naruto climbed, instead of taking the easier path, finding purchase among pieces of reddish rock washed almost purple in the dark. While observing he had seen no one watching from the outside of the tower, but there were plenty of windows all along the outside.
Pulling himself over the edge, he stayed low, circling left – away from the entrance. If someone was on watch even at night, which seemed entirely likely, they would be down near the bottom. What he was seeking would be near the top. There was a small outbuilding there, the roof damaged and some of the wood rotted away, but a quick peek inside revealed the two horses stabled inside.
On quiet feet, Naruto went for the stone exterior of the tower, hoping not to disturb animal or human.
Finding handholds in mortared stones was different than doing it in a natural cliff face, not necessarily easier or more difficult, but different. He went slowly, pulling himself upwards in smooth motions one stone at a time, to make as little noise as possible.
Eventually, he reached the topmost window. The inside was dark, as were all the other windows he had climbed past, but stars and moon supplied just enough light to make out rough shapes on the inside. A bed with the quiet, laboured breaths of someone sleeping a disturbed sleep, a table just below the window with two chairs to sit on, and a few wardrobes and other pieces of furniture to make the room seem less empty.
Palms flat on the windowsill, he pushed himself up, careful not to slam the hilt of his dagger into the wall. Slowly, cautiously, he entered the room.
A cloud moved behind him and the light in the room was suddenly just bright enough. He remembered the face in the bed from Harrenhal.
Then, it had been marked by mischief under a sudden bit of fear caused by his appearance, grey eyes bright and innocent. Now the eyes were closed, her forehead beaded with sweat and her brow creased in pain. She tossed feverishly now and again, the weakness apparent in every movement. And she was heavy with child. Not as far along as Ashara, Naruto thought, but not that much less either.
He allowed himself only a controlled release of breath and nothing more. Unfortunately, mad with prophecy did not mean wholly incapable. There went that little bit of hope.
"Hng." Lyanna Stark frowned, turning in her bed, and Naruto held his breath, completely still. A silent moment and just when he thought everything was alright, grey eyes fluttered open, hazy with a combination of sleep and fever. Even in the dark, her eyes found him. "Huh? Who- Ser Arthur?"
It had been a few months, but Naruto tried to pitch his voice to overcome the flawed perception of fever and tiredness. "Yes, my lady," he agreed quietly, hoping. "Only a worry in the night. I did not mean to disturb you."
"Oh… That is… is good," she mumbled, and another cloud made the light in the room change again. Her eyes seemed a little clearer. "Do you think, we… think we could ride out tomorrow? Not long. Just, just for a bit."
Naruto barely stopped himself from taking more than a small step forward. She was just a girl, sick and alone and caught up in a horrible situation. He softened his voice and ignored the lie. "We will see how the day looks in the morning, my lady."
"Thank you..." she trailed off and her grey eyes, formerly trained only on his rough position in the dark, suddenly widened in surprise as Lyanna Stark finally saw him. Naruto was already moving as her voice rose with panic. "You are no-!"
His hand clamped shut over her mouth, silencing any more words, but she struggled against him as well as her weakened body allowed while running on panic and adrenaline. "Mhmm! Hmmhmm!"
The hand coming to strike at his face was caught and twisted down as gently as he could. He tightened his fingers for just a moment to get her to listen. "Please, my lady," he insisted quietly, hoping that no one in the tower had heard anything. "I mean no harm to you or anyone else here. You met me at Harrenhal, that night at the godswood, if you remember. Naruto Uzumaki. I fought your brother Brandon in the melee. I promise, I mean you no harm."
Lyanna seemed to calm slightly, once the words managed to penetrate the veil of fright, her struggles ceasing slowly even as her breathing shook her entire body. Counting to five, he released her mouth again and retreated slightly, giving her space.
She didn't scream, which was a good start, though her body was still pressed against the wall farthest away from him. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't recognise you," she said almost shyly and then the panic was right back. "Wait, please, you can't tell my lord father about any of this. He will- I mean, I know it wasn't right to leave like that, but I… I want to tell him myself." Her shoulders slumped with misery. "He should hear it from me. All of it."
"Your… father?" Naruto repeated, disbelieving. "But—" And then he understood and stopped himself from saying more. She didn't know. Oh hells. She didn't know.
She had gone with them of her own will, but she didn't know what had happened since.
He wanted to hit something. He didn't.
Steps rushed up the stairs, granting a distraction he gladly accepted. They had been heard, but there was no changing that now. It paled in comparison to the disaster possible in this room.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto put it out of his mind. He stepped away from the bed, into the open space in the middle of the chamber, and faced the door. 'Five, four, three, two, and...'
The door flew open, revealing white armour and sharp steel barely lit by the moon and stars, and Lyanna recoiled in fright. The first man saw him and struck, obviously too used to combat to hesitate in the face of an unknown intruder.
"Wait!" And that was Arthur recognising him, only two steps behind his sworn brother, but the words were too late.
Steel flashed and Naruto snapped a hand up to meet it. Fingers closed on the flats and held fast.
Training said to pull in and disarm, or to force the blade wide and move in close to disable, but he did neither. He wasn't here for a fight. Muscles strained against his grasp, and he added a touch of chakra to be safe. "Listen to your brother, Ser Oswell. I bring no will for violence."
Another jerk on the steel, fuelled by adrenaline and instinct before Arthur's hand clasped Ser Oswell's shoulder. "Enough, brother. I know him. You do as well, from Harrenhal and Dragonstone."
Naruto saw the thoughts in dark eyes, and he could spot the exact moment that Oswell Whent made his choice and relaxed. Releasing the man's sword, he put his dagger all the way back into its sheath and exhaled a grateful breath. "Good choice."
"How did you get in here?" Ser Oswell asked harshly, sheathing his own blade. He was right to be furious at being circumvented so easily.
"Through the window," Naruto said simply, pointing over his shoulder. "I'm a pretty good climber." In his peripherals, he saw Lyanna in her bed, pregnant and anxious and sick. He clenched his jaw and looked at the two knights of the Kingsguard. "Let us speak outside."
Arthur seemed to understand his meaning, giving nothing but the barest of glances to that part of the room. "Of course. There is no need to disturb the lady's rest any more than has happened already." He turned towards Lyanna then and bowed his head. "Excuse us, my lady. Please, return to your rest."
Lyanna looked between all of them, unsure and not knowing, and that drove a thorn into his heart, but he kept silent for now. She needed rest. "Alright," she said quietly, even though the excitement of all this would keep her up for some time yet. "But I wish to speak with him, in the morning."
"Of course, my lady." With a smile and another bow of his head, Arthur ushered him and Oswell from the room and closed the door. Ser Oswell began descending the serpentine steps and Naruto followed with Arthur at his back.
One flight down, another woman waited anxiously, fully opening the cracked door she had been hiding behind when Ser Oswell stepped onto the landing.
"Sers, is everything…?" Then she spotted him between the two familiar knights. "Um..."
Ser Oswell continued to walk, leading Naruto further down the tower, while Arthur stopped for a moment to exchange quiet words. "Everything is in order, Wylla. There was no need for alarm."
"Pardons, Ser, I only thought—"
"There is no need to worry," Arthur said kindly. "You were right to alert us. But please, return to bed now. We will see to everything else."
A few more quiet, unintelligible words followed, before steps echoed down the steps behind them. Ser Oswell continued further down, and Naruto could see the slight tension remaining in his shoulders from behind.
The Dornish watchtower sported five stories and the knight of the Kingsguard did not stop until they reached the very bottom, where a narrow staircase on the outside presented the only ordinary entrance. Easy to defend for two men, even against multiple assailants, and there was always the option of retreating upwards, where murder holes looked down from the floor above.
Turning to face him with his back to the barred door, Ser Oswell rested a hand on his sword and waited. Leaning against the opposite wall, Naruto used the few moments until Arthur would join them to think on how to approach this.
Because right now he was angry, and he knew himself well enough to admit that he wasn't good with angry. So instead, he simply breathed deeply, calmly, and focused himself on the serenity of nature and meditation.
Somehow, every little thing he encountered in this world had a wrinkle and he didn't have someone else here to help flatten them out. Not Ashara, or even Shiera. There were Arthur and Oswell, of course, but he didn't know them well, and he wasn't even sure if he could trust them to do the right thing.
Damn it all, what a mess.
Steps on the bottom of the stairs and then flint sparked a flame on steel and lit a torch, illuminating the room. There were two simple cots in the corner, to catch a quick wink of sleep when possible and a few simple supplies. Dawn was leaning against the wall, sheathed.
Naruto sighed to himself and stepped away from the wall. "I'd ask what you were thinking, but you weren't thinking at all, were you? You were following orders."
"Have care how you address us, sellsword." Ser Oswell was clearly still a bit agitated.
"A lord and a knight now, by your king's own decree, Ser Oswell. Either way, I'd address you how I like." A subtle shake of his head and he crossed his arms. This wasn't helping. "But that isn't what's important here." He lowered his voice, just to be safe, though he couldn't keep all of his frustration silent. "Bad enough that you told no one what occurred in the first place, but the girl doesn't even know what is happening? Her family is in tatters and the realm at war. They've been fighting for months now! And you know it."
Grant them this much, at least neither of them tried to lie and deny it. Rhaegar had heard about his father's death. They knew.
"Yes. We know." Arthur's eyes were calm despite it all. He exchanged a look with his sworn brother. "Our king wanted us here and he commanded our silence on the matter, until the babe is born."
Which was a small mercy in all of this. Burdening a mother this young and already fragile from sickness with that kind of loss might have had disastrous consequences, that much Naruto knew. It was still wrong, but somehow the best version of wrong he could think of.
Gritting his teeth, Naruto accepted that there was no changing that right now. "You are lucky she went willingly." He didn't like to think about what exactly he would have done then. By marriage, he and Arthur were brothers, after all, and explaining to his wife that he had killed her sibling would have been rather awkward.
"Meaning?" Ser Oswell asked. Judging by the tired slant to his eyes, it had been some time since he had last slept.
"Meaning if I had found an unwilling captive up there, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Before anyone could get reflexively hostile, he continued. "But I didn't, so there is no need to dwell on it. We have different things to worry about." He gave them both a hard look. "If it gives you peace of mind, I'll return to my own camp for the night, but I will be back in the morning."
"To do what?" Arthur asked without accusation, still just as calm. His hand wasn't even near his side sword or dagger.
"To see to her fever. I don't imagine you want someone else involved who isn't already, or there would already be a Maester here. After that..." Naruto shrugged. "We'll see then."
He wouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer either way, but there was no need. The two knights of the Kingsguard exchanged another silent look, no doubt they would talk about a lot once he was gone, before Arthur answered him. "Very well. Until the morning."
I hope you enjoyed chapter 45. Took way too long, but I was visiting family and didn't get much done. I hope the next one gets done more quickly. We'll see.
Maesters are a privilege of the nobles in ASoIaF, so much so that even landed knights don't usually have one. There are barber surgeons, of course, and woods-witches, hedge healers, and whatever herb woman you can find, which are far more common and available to the common man and soldier. And priests, though we often falsely believe that the catholic church, or really any religion, was counter to advancement of medical science in the middle ages. If anything they were the major driving forces for that progress.
That the Citadel is the only university-like institution in Westeros is another one of those world-building details better not thought about too much, keeping in mind that it is a landmass roughly the size of South America.
Naruto is obviously far from the education of someone like Sakura, much less Tsunade, even ignoring the advantage of healing ninjutsu. He didn't even spend a whole year learning at the Citadel, but battlefield wounds are usually comparatively simple to understand. That, he can help with easily enough, though some things might reach the edges of his knowledge. Maesters can earn multiple rings for the same discipline, so even they acknowledge the difference in competence within a discipline that way.
Personally, I can see multiple ways for the Jon Snow reveal in the books. None of them involve Rhaegar marrying Lyanna like in the show. Whatever happened between Rhaegar and Lyanna, Jon is a bastard. There is no need for him not to be.
As for this story, I don't think the kidnapping/rape scenario fits any of the involved characters as I have laid them out until now. But neither does the tale of star-crossed lovers of the show. Lyanna simply not caring about her family doesn't fit either. So, this is what I have decided on. As a combination of Arya and Sansa in some ways, I can absolutely see Lyanna running off with the gallant Prince, but I can't see her staying if she knows what happens.
She is fifteen/close to sixteen, it might not be smart to run off, but teenagers aren't known for doing the smart thing. In a desperate situation, most adults don't do so either.
Generally speaking, pregnancy is a very complicated process involving a laundry list of factors. Physical disturbances are pretty obvious, pregnancy simply takes the body to the limit and going beyond that is a bad idea. But there is also a body of research that the mental health of the mother during gestation can influence the mental and physical health of the child. Prolonged stress is never good for you, but especially not during pregnancy. Hating yourself for getting your father and brother killed probably qualifies. But I'm no doctor, so obviously take this with a grain of salt.
As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. Until next time.