Shireen
The first man through the gates was Uncle Robert, a larger-than-life figure whose eyes were always laughing, unlike father who rarely chuckled. His booming laugh made father grind his teeth so hard she thought they may shatter. Behind Uncle Robert came five knights of the Kingsguard. An order of seven, but only five followed King Robert. The other two were elsewhere, guarding her cousins Tommen and Joffrey. Shireen beamed at the beautiful beast that strolled behind one knight with a long, solemn face. It was bigger than any dog she had ever seen, and she wanted to hug it and stroke its majestic fur coat. But she was a Lady of House Baratheon and could not run and wrap her arms around the noble beast. It would disappoint father. After the Kingsguard came other knights and lords who funneled behind them with a couple of squires attending to them. Shireen held her courage being out in the open, feeling the stares drawn to her deformity. It saddened her as they stared, but a Baratheon had to show courage. She held her head up high.
Ours is the Fury!
Everyone in the household was out in the courtyard awaiting Uncle Robert. Father stood in the front, strong and stern, with her lady mother off to the side by Lady Melisandre. A red priestess from Asshai who arrived to Dragonstone a few months ago. Mother converted to her religion, thinking father was the Prince that was Promised. It is what she saw in the flames. Shireen noticed, though, that Lady Melisandre neither confirmed nor denied her suspicions. It seemed obvious the reason, but mother saw what she wished. Shireen didn't have the heart to speak of her observations because it pleased mother and gave her life a sense of meaning. It would be wicked of her to dash that. Father is a dutiful man, but isn't a doting husband. Dozens of banners had converted to her god the Lord of Light, especially among her mothers kin. Other men held to the Faith of the Seven, especially the Onion Knight Ser Davos. Shireen loved the Onion Knight. He was a kind and humble man who never looked repulsed by her or showcase pity. Pity was almost worse than scorn. Its wounds are almost as deep.
Father went to his knee, and the rest of them did as well. All of Dragonstone kneeled before its king. "Up damn you!" King Robert roared. "Up, you grumpy bastard!"
"Dragonstone is yours." Father said stiffly.
"It better be! I commanded you to hold this damn rock!"
Father stiffened.
Uncle Robert didn't notice and smiled. He kissed mother on the cheek and laughed at what Lady Melisandre was wearing or the lack of wearing much of anything. "And who might you be? And why are you hiding such beauty on this desolate rock?" He grinned like she had seen squires do to girls in the courtyard.
"I am a servant of our Lord of Light." She said, and her songlike voice sent a shiver down her spine. Lady Melisandre was beautiful, but terrifying. She held great power in her predictions and in her spells, but she doubted a warrior king like her uncle would be frightened. He had faced great villains like the vile Prince Rhaegar who ran off with Lady Lyanna Stark.
"I'd love to hear more about this Lord of Light." Uncle Robert winked. "Thoros told me about his religion, but I think they should have sent you! I might have listened better!"
Lady Melisandre nodded. "I think we shall fix that, your grace."
Father glowered in silent disapproval.
Uncle Robert twirled around and scooped her up. "Where did my favorite niece go?" She giggled at his antics.
"I'm up here, uncle!"
"Your grace." Father mumbled.
"By the Seven your right!" Uncle Robert laughed. "How old is my favorite niece?"
Shireen almost rolled her eyes. I'm his only niece. But father was watching. "I am twelve name days old, your grace." She answered.
"Twelve?" Uncle Robert seemed taken aback. "Gods I'm old." He slapped her father's back with a loud thump. "You too little brother! Looking weathered as the seas."
Father raised his brow. "Good formality is done." He said in a blunt tone. "Now tell me what is this foolishness of you leaving your throne for some crusade to the east."
Uncle Robert waved a finger in warning.. "Don't-"
"A Kings duty is in Kings Landing."
"Damn you! I said don't! I've decided. This is the last I want to hear about this Stannis! You hear me! I shall rest for a night, dine with you, and I shall secure a sizable escort of ships. I command this as your king."
"My ears can hear."
Uncle Robert grumbled and stormed off with the knights of the Kingsguard struggling to keep up. Everyone vanished like leaves into the wind. Mother left with the Lady of Melisandre, though Shireen noted her fiery red eyes seemed to be transfixed on Uncle Robert. She didn't dwell on it too long, as kindly old Maester Cressen guided her to her lessons for the day. "Come, child." He said as she tried to get one last look at father's grim face. Ever since his return from Kings Landing, she caught him speaking in hushed whispers with Ser Davos and Maester Cressen. Something had happened in the capital, but they would never tell her. She was only a little girl. It was most irksome. If only she were only older than she could help father ever burdened by his duty. I want to help him. Without a son to be his heir, it fell upon her support to aid father in his duty as Lord of Dragonstone. Shireen sighed as she went off to her lessons. "We'll be discussing your favorite period in history, the Dance of Dragons." Maester Cressen told her with a kind smile. Shireen brightened.
Maybe being a child wasn't so terrible thing after all.
Melisandre
The flames whispered to her.
It was a soft whisper of things she already knew as she listened to what her lord showed her. A powerful man wielding the sword of heroes against the one true enemy. The Great Other. A loud booming laugh that echoed like thunder in her visions while dragons roared. She had seen him in the flames for months. My Prince. It had led her to the court of Lord Stannis. She saw her prince would come to her aboard a ship to the shores. He would leave for the East and start his journey to unite the free peoples of the world under his banner. A trail of blood and laughter would follow him as he conquered. "Show me more. More." She sang, and the flames complied, showing her a new snippet of the puzzle. A boy wrapped in a white cloak traveled with him. Hundreds of eyes followed him. Red piercing eyes. A servant of the Great Other? She wondered, but pulled away from the flames before she could see more. It was not wise to stare for too long into the flames and she had already stared long enough. On her tongue she tasted snow. Why snow? It was an unfamiliar taste, and she wondered where it fit. Snow? Why does he show me snow? The fate of life itself depended on her reading this correctly. Life. Beauty. Passion. Would be consumed by frozen hands if she failed.
A boy entered her chambers, half terrified and filled with desire. "My lady?" He asked. "You sent for me."
Melisandre offered a half smile. "I did. I wish for to deliver this message to His Grace." And she handed him parchment as the boy blushed when their hands touched.
He bowed.
Tonight she would speak with her prince in a language he understood very well. He would come to her and they would speak and she would open his eyes up to the truth.
Naked flesh pounded into the warmth of her sex amid a sea of grunts and groans. Sweat beading down his brow as King Robert's breath became labored from the effort. She wasn't even winded, but still cried out went he spilled his seed and collapsed on the feather bed. "Now, as I was saying." She continued. "You are the Lord of Light's chosen champion against the Great Other."
King Robert looked dazed in a way of a satisfied man drowning in the aftermath of his pleasure. "Hmm." He replied. "Am I now?" Leaning back on the soft pillows, and laughed. "Do I get some special sword as well?" He japed. "If your God were smart, he would have made it a hammer Gods with a flaming hammer. Nothing could stand against me!"
"You think this is a jape." Melisandre said. "this is no jape, my prince. You will prevent the Long Night from consuming the world. I have seen it thus. It shall be so with the Sword of Heroes Lightbringer forged from the flames of your conquest, starting on the burning of false idols. You have already been born amid fire and smoke at the Trident." She grazed her hand over his chest, lowering down to his manhood and stroking him to his grunts of approval. "I have seen this in the flames, and other things that confirm your destiny. That night in your dreams, as you recovered from your bout with the dragon prince sleeping in your pavilion of silk, you dreamt of a comet flying overhead. You have never spoken of this."
King Robert stiffened, his jaw lowering. "How-"
"The Lord of Light has shown me this and much more."
"Bed tales and nursery rhymes."
"You've heard of my power, my prince. The truth lies in front of you. Every word you know is the truth."
Her prince still refused to see. "Witchcraft and tricks." He grumbled, rubbing his temples. A man determined to remain blind, her prince remained stubborn and unyielding, like a storm that refused to bend. Eventually, it yields to the light. It drives away even the most powerful of storms. And King Robert was a powerful man. It made sense why he was chosen as the champion of the living. A powerful warrior and leader of men. A natural general for the battles to come.
"Look into the flames." She told him. "Look, my prince, and you shall see."
He only scoffed and lifted himself from the bed, and gathered his clothes. "Ha!" He roared. "Such tricks and deceptions shall not fool me. Now quit your prattling. You are easier on the eyes than Thoros, but I find I might enjoy his company more."
Melisandre didn't let her disappointment show. "You shall see the truth before you depart." She warned. "Once more, you shall see."
King Robert chuckled. "Fat chance of that happening, woman." When he departed, she began casting her spell wielding light and shadow throughout the night as a blacksmith forges swords, so she forged a creation to help her prince. Effort and dedication were required to accomplish this task. One needed to be skilled in the arts of shadowbinding. It took most years to master this art. Years of tears and sorrow. It drained her, but the Lord of Light gave her strength. Without the item of something dear to her, it shall be weaker, but he desperately wishes to make this true.
A deception.
A trick.
A needed mummery to make him fulfill his role of ending the Long Night.
Robert
"Rhaegar." The word fell from his lip as he woke with the blood of the rapist on his mind. Foul blood of a madman swirling around him. Robert reached for some wine, but thought better of it. I shall get strong again, as strong as the man who vanquished the dragons. When he looked in the mirror, he didn't see that man, but a shadow of him. Would his winter rose recognize him if she saw him now? He scoffed. If I had married her, everything would have been different…
They would have wed at the Sept in Storms End bound by true love with his true brother by his side. Robert would have given Ned some lands in the Stormlands to keep his brother in all but blood close. The three of them would have gone on hunts together as he charmed her frozen heart until love grew between them. They would have a dozen children together with his laughing eyes and Neds long face. He would have brought his bastard daughter Mya to live with them as well. Ever since he stopped drinking, he thought of her more and more. She laughed when he tossed her, but he always caught her.
I always caught her.
Then the Tourney of Harrenhal. The rebellion and she faded from his mind. The little girl he tossed with such mirth left him. Her laughter faded from his heart as he brooded over his bitterness with the comfort of wine and women. None of them could compare to his Lyanna, but they were soft and made a man forget. Still, he recalled her after a time and wished to bring her to court, but his wife would have seen the girl killed. His hand curled into a fist at the memory. He struck her for it, but she had won. Damn woman. Damn you Cersei.
Robert wished to weep.
Now another man would catch her. Jasper Arryn told him about her and the man she wed. A good man, Ser Mychel of House Redfort, courteous as he was kind. Arryn asked him to pen a letter for her celebrating the union. He penned some words, but he doubted she read them. Probably tossed it into the hearth. If only he could throw Stannis into the hearth the Others take him. He tried to convince him to head back to Kings Landing as if they needed his fat ass on that uncomfortable chair. They quarreled over it like two charging stags fighting in the woods, but Robert commanded him to silence to end his prattling that bled his ears.
It was well; he was not meant to be a father or a brother. Ned was meant to be a father. Ned was meant to be a king. Ned was the better man of the two of them. All he was meant for was fucking and fighting and little else. Maybe he should send for that priestess? Robert grinned. She had a nice ass and bigger tits than most whores, but she had crazy eyes. I shouldn't seek crazy eyes a second time. The coupling was a sweet one and the whores on this island were nonexistent thanks to his grumpkin of a brother, but the eyes were fire. Wild and unpredictable. "The prince that was promised." He laughed. What a load of shit.
Robert knew he was no prophetic hero, but she had a nice ass. It hardened him, thinking of her as the door opened and Robert's courage faltered. "You are a dream." He rubbed his temples, trying to vanquish the phantom. The phantom approached him, refusing to fade back into the shadows. A long face with grey eyes. Slender and beautiful. Her face had faded in his mind, but she looked beautiful as the day he lost her. "You were taken from me."
"Do I feel a phantom, Robert?" Warmth spread as she caressed his cheek as soft as a lover. "I'm here, Robert, in the flesh. For a time, at the least." He enveloped her fingers with his own, feeling the warmth that pulsed through the skin. It burned hot, and he moaned as he grew hard."You are dead, Lyanna."
She chuckled. "I am dead, Robert, but fire has breathed life into me once more."
"I don't understand."
"I know, but know this: I am happy with father, and my brother. It's a land of warmth and beauty. You feel no pain, nor age. Though I miss you."
Robert raged at her words and slammed his fist against the stone walls, relishing in the bloody knuckles. "It should have been with me!" His breath became heavy and labored. "It should have been with me. I kill him every night in my dreams." It was never enough, though. Ten thousand deaths would not be enough.
Lyanna laughed and sat on the edge of the bed, legs crossed. "I have lost you to the dreams of the past, fighting enemies of yesterday and ignoring what lies before you." The riddles made his head hurt as he sat next to her and brought his arms around her.
"It doesn't matter. You are here and with me again." And Lyanna Stark had vanished one from his sight. It would not happen twice.
She only gave a sad smile. "Mayhaps one day." Before he could ponder on her words, she pressed her hand to his inner thigh. A gentle promise. "You have a destiny, Robert. A purpose. To defend the realm of men from the only enemy that matters. The Great Other." She whispered. "You are destined to kill him. You are his lords chosen champion."
Robert cared not for any word she said and kissed her. Tasting her and pressing her onto her back until his lips tasted of ash. "My time runs short." Lyanna gasped out. "So short. I thought we had more time." He grasped until her flesh turned red and his knuckles as white as snow.
"Lyanna…"
Her delicate hands cusped his cheeks. "Listen to me, love. Follow the flames. Fulfill your destiny and I shall be returned to you once more." Her lips grazed his ear. "I'll see you soon, my love."
"I'm not letting you go! I'll smash any god that tries to take you from me!" Tears running down his cheeks as he clung to her as if he was drowning.
Light as bright as the sun surged forward, wrapped in shadow and flame.
Robert twisted away, blinded.
He turned around and fell onto his knees, sobbing into his burned hands. It burned, but Robert didn't care.
Lyanna was gone.
Prophecy. Cryptic words. Chosen ones. Princes. Lords. Robert cared not a lick for any of it. My Winter Rose needs me. His eyes narrowed as tight as arrow slits and rose, feeling a storm swirling in his chest. His vision darkened as he dressed in a wordless fury and marched for answers. The Kingsguard outside his chambers mere ghosts to him, whatever words fading from his mind whether they followed him, he couldn't say. The only thing Robert saw was fiery hair and a tall, slender woman with red eyes; dressed in scarlet silks. She could bring Lyanna back to him. "STAY HERE!" He barked at the ghosts that trailed him. Robert smashed the hinges of her chamber doors open with his shoulders. "BRING HER BACK!" He roared, scanning the room until he saw her unbothered by his entrance wearing a red golden choker containing a ruby. Lady Melisandre sat at a desk surrounded by burning candles. Her lips moved, but not quick enough and his fingers wrapped around her throat, lifting her into the air as easily as a rag of silk.
"WHERE IS SHE!?"
She tried to pry his fingers away, to little avail, as pale unblemished skin turned purple and her limbs went limp.
Robert cursed and dropped her coughing and wheezing before him. "Tell me, woman! Tell me where is my Lyanna!"
"Here and elsewhere, but soon she shall be at your side, my prince." She chuckled. "She is your Nissa Nissa."
"I want her now, woman!"
Lady Melisandre only smiled. "The Lord of Light is not led around like a horse, my prince." She swirled around him and whispered. "But I've seen her in the flames… Look in the flames with me and you'll see it." He didn't resist when she maneuvered his jaw to the light of the candles. "Look." She sang to him. "Look my prince."
Sand filled his mouth and flames singed his beard with tall walls and a giant pyramid towering over the sky. Dragons flew, and he could see the reflection of flames in his eyes. "Dragonspawn." He mumbled as screams echoed in his skull and he saw her slender and fair, wielding a flaming sword. Men in golden suits burned before her as dragons roared.
"You are the King of the Seven Kingdoms and shall unite the people of the East as well in the War for the Dawn. To the East you shall travel before you depart north."
"And Lyanna?" Robert asked.
"If the Lord of Light promises she shall be returned to you, then she shall be."
Robert nodded. I can still have her. The road would be long and difficult, but he would fuck and fight his way to the Seven Hells to return her to the land of the living. If he had to conquer every free city, he would do so. The road drew him east to the dragons. He would finish what he started on the Trident. Years of campaigns lay ahead of him, but he had purpose again. An enemy to fight. A winter rose to return to his side. I can still achieve my happy ending. Robert was hard and stiff, imagining her as his at last. He turned to Lady Melisandre and savaged her lips and drove her legs apart. She panted as clothes fell to the floor like a dog in heat. "Lyanna." He moaned as he spilled his seed over her stomach and when he squinted, he could believe it was her.
Soon he would have it all.
The only thing I've ever wanted returned to me. What would Ned say? He would likely think him mad if he mentioned any of this, but when Lyanna was returned to them both it would be worth seeing the smile on his old friend's face. He missed her as much as himself. I'll bring her home, Ned. I'll do this one thing right.
Melisandre
She sang as the false gods of the Seven burned around them. Smoke piled into the sky and men wept and coughed from the taste of smoke. The Knights of the Kingsguard looked away in shame as they watched. Especially the noble Ser Barristan. He winced as he held his post, but he stood in silence as the gods they worshiped burned before them. Shame turned to amazement as the sword emerging from the burning pile of wood and stone burned. It burned a vibrant color as bright as the sun. "Look! Look! Let no one deny what has trespassed. Azor Ahai has been reborn! He has claimed the sword of Lightbringer! He shall bring about the Dawn!"
"The Dawn!" her followers chanted as the flames died down and wind swirled around them. "The Prince that was promised!"
Lady Selyse's eyes burned with bitterness. She thought it was her husband. And she had let her believe such a falsehood. It served her ends for the greater good of the living. Stannis Baratheon never came in any of her visions, but his brother did. She had served her purpose in the War for the Dawn. A needed role and for that she had her thanks as Lord Stannis served his purpose in providing more ships for their expedition.
King Robert lifted the burning sword into the air and began his first step on his journey. A journey that would take him across the Narrow Sea to the lands of Essos. "I have claimed this sword." He declared. "And I shall slay any who dare oppose me! LET ANY SHIT TRY!"
"ROBERT! ROBERT! ROBERT!" The host screamed and went to their knees, vowing to serve him. In the distance, Lord Stannis watched unmoving like a stone statue. A secret he knows that could distract my prince from his true purpose, Melisandre knew. But it was not time to deal with him. A cold, bitter man, he would brood on this island and the secret would remain. His reckoning would come, but not today. Today she basked in the glow of the flames as it declared her Prince before the world.
Authors note: A shorter chapter than normal, but I'll make up for it in my next update when we go around the power centers of Westeros in a second round of an interlude from Winterfell to Storms End! I figured this chapter may be controversial, but my reasoning behind Melisandre seeing Robert instead of Stannis in her visions because of Jaspers birth and his mere presence changing everything her visions changed aswell. Robert was always going to survive. I think it'll be fun to see Mel by Roberts side as he heads off to Essos. And yes, it isn't actually Lyanna Stark, but rather her pretending to be Lyanna. In the books she has the power of glamor, but it isn't really well defined like most magical things in the books. She saves Mance from burning in the fires by switching him and supposely the Faceless man practice a more advanced version of it so I took creative liberty with it. I do like to do things differnt and take the charachters in differnt directions while remaining true to who they are. Hope you'll enjoy this twist as Mel/Fake Lyanna whisper into Roberts ear.
Jagerbomb1527: I'm glad you enjoy it! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!
7thManaic: Yeah, I agree with that statement. I think Jasper despite being a flawed guy is aware of his limitations. He's self aware which gives him a degree of wisdom.
Freedomoon: It's always nice to your reviews even your just checking in ones! As for Jasper/ Arya situation you started to see them mending after the melee when she came to visit him. If Jasper had been less of a bitter aloof jerk he would have seen it. You are right though Arya is very stubborn and she hasn't forgiven him entirely I doubt she ever will, but she doesn't hate him and I'd imagine Jon off screen told her something along the lines. "He's your cousin. You shouldn't be so harsh with him." But I didn't put it in cause I felt it would detract from the narative. I didn't want to slow it down.
As for the Eddard Stark thing it was actually smart of him to pin it on Cat. If he says the wolf did it Jasper would certainly demand it be killed. The wolf killed a lord. It's an animal. Now maybe after hearing his cousins pleading to him he might relent, but he'd certainly want to kill the damn beast. He can't kill his aunt so it's ultimately a better scapegoat. I think we'll see their relationship play out in the near future!
KingofSummer245: Poor Ned. Guy just wants to go home!
Shankington: Well, things won't always go right for them, but you should be asking a differnt question to George. Why is everything going right for the Lannisters? They had such a weak position and by shere luck and stupidty of other actors managed to win. Here the dominiant Arryn-Stark-Tully team is in charge albeit with some simmering problems between the starks and Arryns with the Tullys that'll be caught in the middle.
Atp: FAegon thats intresting. I'll keep that in mind.
Amok: I think you are right that Tywin is best, but I'm still thinking about it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
He has returned.
Let the Great Other tremble