Orryn
"I told you this would be good, didn't I?" Duran stretched out beside me.
We were sitting on a stone in the Godswood of Winterfell, just resting, just loitering, avoiding our fates.
"You've always been serious, Orryn, but now you're too much like your father. It's all about duty and responsibility, sometimes it's good to just get away from all of it".
"As far as I know that's what you always do when your mother argues with you." I said, rolling my eyes, and Duran lay back on the stone, a leaf blowing across his lips.
"You're just wondering why the meeting turned into such a mess, everyone pushing one prettier girl than the other for your father to choose from, and you don't even have a word to say about it."
Duran grumbled, "And now I ask you, are the options really that bad?"
"Of course not..." I started to speak but he cut me off.
"Of course not! You're a prince, the best for you, I always say! Do you know what was available in Eastwatch-by-the-sea? The best I got was a fisherman's daughter and she's missing three teeth!".
"The way you put it, it sounds like you didn't have the option of just doing nothing with her."
"But you know, Orryn, I miss my Anna. Lying with my face in her big breasts..." Duran said with a dreamy expression and I gave him a push to get up.
"Maybe I can see if I can marry you off to Lady Walda." I joked.
Duran stiffened when he heard that, then blushed and finally cleared his throat. "No... I don't think a woman like her is within my reach."
I looked at him for a moment, confused: "What?".
"Well, I know how to appreciate the qualities of a real woman, okay?". Duran said even more red.
"Do you know that as my friend and personal vassal, I could intervene in any marriage you wish? Literally a much better marriage than this one...".
"But I'm not saying that she wants to marry me, nor that I've even exchanged two words with her, nor that I've been secretly spying on her during dinners and...".
"Duran... Walda Frey, Bolton, whatever the name is, it's a problem for us. My father can just offer her to you, and well... there will be no refusal. She has a child in her womb, yes, but she will surely have others, and you could be the guardian of the child at Sharp Point".
"Is that really possible?" Duran looked at me expectantly.
"Yes, I just don't know if your mother would approve of it. And really, Duran, you can get a better woman."
"No matter what my mother thinks, I'm Lord Bar-Emmon! I'm also a veteran of this war, aren't I?" Duran said, standing up and pulling in his stomach.
"Try to talk to Walda today, I'll talk to my father as soon as possible if that's what you really want." I offered with a squeeze on his shoulder, and Duran seemed to wilt when he heard that.
"I don't talk well to women."
"But just a minute ago you were bragging about your experience." I gave him a strange look.
"Experience with women I've paid Orryn, not with women I've conquered."
"And what's the difference?".
"There's a big difference!" Duran snapped.
"Do you want some advice?".
"Yes!" He said full of anticipation.
"Be yourself." I said simply.
"What if she doesn't like the 'real me'? What do I do?".
"It's good that she likes it, she'll probably marry you anyway." I shrugged and smiled at Duran.
"Usually you use the 'you already have the no' tactic, but with her you already have the yes. Just don't be a complete idiot and you should be fine."
"You know, Orryn, when she and I have a full litter back at Sharp Point, you're going to adopt one of our boys back at the Red Keep."
"Even more if you want the empty rooms for the next kids." I joked and Duran smiled as he walked out of the forest, probably looking for Walda. If his courage really allowed him to talk to her.
He was a mess, but he was a good man and a good friend to me, one of the few I had.
I lay there for a while until footsteps came up behind me. I turned around and saw a beautiful young woman with a slim build and brown hair. She was 'Arya Stark' married to Ramsay Bolton, I had also met her before as Jeyne Poole.
She stopped next to my stone, but didn't sit down. Her arms were behind her back and she looked tired, permanently tired.
"When we first met, I had one too many glasses of wine to get up the courage to go dancing with you...". She spoke suddenly and then fell silent again.
"I remember my visit to Winterfell, I remember dancing with you Jeyne". I replied, giving her a small smile.
"Sansa and I, we gossiped about you, how she would tell Lord Eddard and the king, to talk to your father, and how maybe we could get married." She replied, her expression still neutral. She replied, her expression still neutral.
"When I went to the capital, it was all a dream. When you came to visit, you always smiled at me."
"The dream quickly became a nightmare, didn't it?"
"When we ran away, I blamed you. I blamed you because you ran away and left us behind... Sansa and I." She finally said, looking at me. She finally said, looking at me.
"After a while I realized that you tried, you were taken by surprise and if it had been up to you, you
would have taken us too, you just didn't manage it."
"I'm ashamed of that, and I never said otherwise. Arya was always more fearless, she stayed close to the fight and didn't try to run away, that's why we were able to take her." I spoke seriously and stood up.
I looked into Jeyne's eyes and bowed deeply to her, a bow that princes were not supposed to make.
"I ask your forgiveness for this... for not being able to save you."
"And I give you my forgiveness, it just doesn't change anything." She said simply.
"We were locked in the fortress, the terror eating away at us every day, and when the attack came, I dared to hope. 'Sansa, Orryn will take the city! He will free us!' I dared to say."
"And we failed again." I said in a bitter tone.
"I was taken from the castle, from Sansa's company. I was sent to Littlefinger's 'establishment' where I was 'trained'. Where, among other things, I was instructed to pretend to be Arya."
"You knew Winterfell, you knew the servants and everything. It was a plausible lie."
"Ramsay was nothing if not brutal, but like I said, I was trained. I would have fled with Theon if you hadn't attacked, and this time there was the prince to free me, a little late, but he came."
"And where would you go?"
"To the Wall, I would warn Jon and he would warn the Lords of the North." Jeyne said before laughing bitterly. "Jon... I never liked him because he was a bastard and in the end he was the only one I could run to. I always made fun of Arya, and here she is taking me in, wanting to keep me in her company."
"She has that side... fierce much of the time, but also welcoming. Arya's done a lot of good for my sister, and I'm sure she'll do the same for you, Jeyne."
"She's been thinking about her wolf more and more, you know? She's been planning to go after Nymeria and Lady ever since they brought Rickon back. Theon released them both into the forest when he took the castle, he didn't want them to die."
"If they want to bring the wolves back, I don't see a problem." I replied before I realized something. "But I don't want Arya and my sister wandering around the woods alone, they've got this thing about 'exploring' lately."
"I thought you'd say that..." Jeyne gave a small smile. "You're here to wash your hands, aren't you? You'll accept whatever those bickering lords in the room want because you have no choice."
"Exactly..."
"But can I tell you something?".
"Yes, there's no need to hold back."
"They're going to fight for all the crumbs that are left. If you're not there, who's going to fight for me, because I don't want to win anything, I don't want to fight for anything."
"Jeyne that...".
"Please Orryn, don't let them marry me off to someone else, I just... I just want to live in peace." Jeyne's voice trembled and I pressed my lips together. "I know that if you're not there, no one else will care."
I closed my eyes and sighed, Jeyne had reminded me of a lesson from Lord Eddard.
'Not everything is about you, Orryn, ignoring something just because it doesn't affect you doesn't mean it won't affect others around you'.
"You have my word, Jeyne, I'll make sure this little happiness is within your reach. I'll make sure you at least have something to start with."
I took her hand in mine and looked into her eyes, Jeyne Poole nodded and I marched off to the damn meeting, much depended on what would be decided there, even things we couldn't even imagine.
I entered the hall where the lords were arguing. My father, on the highest throne, was in a heated argument with the same damned old man Mors Umber.
"I have accepted a great deal for the honor of my house to win this battle, but I will not accept a wildling taking over Karhold."
"Well, I say Mors Umber, because I'm not even worthy to call you lord, that's none of your business!" My father spoke through clenched teeth and a scowl, nothing was going well here.
"The Prince Orryn Baratheon!" A herald shouted over the din, and the sounds gradually faded. A chair was brought next to my father's throne, and as soon as I sat down, the discussion resumed as if everyone had just stopped to catch their breath.
"I think the subject of weddings is coming up..." I said with a slightly embarrassed expression.
"I intend to give Sigorn Thenn the hand of Alys Karstark and finally make them a proper home. They were the first to swear allegiance to me and were essential in the capture of Roose Bolton." My father commented from across the hall and the Umbers were once again vocal.
They weren't the only ones bothered by the wildlings mingling, everyone there was the same, but the Umbers had too much bad blood with the freefolk to keep their mouths shut.
"The wildlings will cross over, they will be among us, and the agreement to occupy the lands of the Night's Watch has already been made with Lord Commander Snow. The Watch needs tenants to thrive, and the wildlings will provide that." I explained slowly, reassuringly.
"The damn Wall has been there for 8,000 years just to keep those rapists from getting through!" Hother Umber, Mors' other brother, shouted.
"Wrong, the Wall was built to keep the Others out, to be a shield for humanity. And against the real enemy there are no sides, only the living against the walking deads". My father said grimly.
"Ha! The Others! That's a children's story!" Hother scoffed.
"Ask Lords Flint and Norrey." I said, and the place quieted down. The two old men were respected among the clans and beyond. To say that they were madly old would be going too far, and to accuse them of lying would be even worse.
"We went to the Wall to find out if the Arya Stark what His Grace was carrying was the real one. Once confirmed, we spoke with Lord Commander Snow. He showed us proof, real giants walking among the wildlings, and some bodies... they came back to life and didn't die." Brandon Norrey spoke solemnly.
"You expect us to believe that?" Mors growled and I glared at him.
"Honestly, Lord Umber? I don't want to, just like I don't expect anything else from House Umber." My words were harsh and the silence was heavy this time. "You are dismissed and may return to your lands. As we march south, I invite you to be our guests and attempt to negotiate the release of your nephew, Lord Jon Umber".
"You preach so much love for wildlings, marry one yourself!" Mors shouted, and this time it was my father who responded.
"And he will." This surprised everyone, including the Regent of the North, Lord Manderly, and myself, but I pretended otherwise.
"Your Grace, that's..."
"It is the best option to conclude the alliance between the Freefolk and the Seven Kingdoms. I announce now, and let my words spread, that my son and heir Orryn Baratheon will marry the crowned wildling princess, Lady Val."
"I think there are better alternatives, Your Grace..." Lord Manderly tried to negotiate, but I cut him off.
"I see potential in Larence Hornwood, and though he is younger, a betrothal between him and Lady Wylla Manderly could be used to wash away the stain of bastardy and secure the half-Manderly blood that should come to the Hornwood heirs."
It wasn't what he wanted, that was a fact, but it was what he would get for now. Behind closed doors, I'd get my father to give a Manderly a seat on the small council, and that should be enough.
"Alys Karstark agrees to marry Sigorn Thenn, but Thenn will serve the North directly, not the Night's Watch. But they will receive help from the Crown to settle in...". My father continued.
"House Thenn will not rule Karhold until Lord Harrion's situation is resolved. The Freys we have captured claim that Harrion survived the Red Wedding and is being held hostage." I explained, and that calmed the situation, if only momentarily.
"After the birth of the child in her womb, Lady Walda will be sent to the Faith. It's more than fair for the crimes of her family, on both sides". My father said seriously.
"About that... Lord Duran Bar-Emmon graciously agrees to take Lady Walda's hand in marriage. He also offers to be the child's guardian until the child reaches a suitable age for future plans."
"Is that true?" My father asked suspiciously, and the room bristled.
Clearing his throat, a Duran knight stood up. "My lord has shown no such desire, Your Grace."
"And he didn't even come to the meeting..." My father said reproachfully before looking at me.
"Yes, I spoke to Lord Duran personally before coming to this meeting. And as my personal friend, he accepted the terms".
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow we will have weddings and executions, all as short as possible. We have a Wall to defend and more kingdoms to unite in our cause." My father proclaimed simply, always directly, and not very inspiringly.
At other times, the Crown Prince's wedding was expected to be a grand occasion, at mine, I doubted there would be a banquet.
"Are you really going to isolate House Umber like this?" Lord Manderly whispered to us, pointing at the scowling Mors and Hother.
"In actual numbers, we don't expect many more troops from the northern houses. Just a contingent from each to prove their loyalty to the other houses of the kingdom, to show a united front."
"14,000 men when we landed, 5,000 Skagossi on our side and another 2,500 men from the clans. I doubt if every house brought every last old man and green boy we'd have more than 25,000...". My father finished for me and Lord Manderly looked pensive.
"We'll take what we have to the south, but to take the throne from the Lannisters and Tyrells? That's not enough. Now, with at least 20,000 more wildlings... armed and fed at the Iron Bank's expense and with supplies delivered to White Port, that will give us a chance." I said to the Regent of the North, and he couldn't help but agree, however reluctantly.
"Still, many houses are indebted to you, Your Grace, but they think the same as the Umbers."
"The Mormonts, Glovers and Tallharts would be some of them, but they have been more than handsomely rewarded. The clans are already on our side and will be looking for their distant flint relatives. The Ryswells and Dustins won't complain, and the rest..." I urged Rickon's new Regent to continue.
"I understand, my prince." Lord Manderly added.
"I'll make the Umbers an offer, stay behind and see the situation of the Wall for themselves... see the evidence with their own eyes and help a cause that does not concern them alone." My father spoke and Lord Manderly continued to speak as I approached Ser Justin Massey.
"Ser Justin... I'd like to thank you for your support in my recent battles." The knight nodded with his usual easy smile.
"It was only my duty, Prince, but I'm glad to see I'm held in such high esteem."
"Ser Justin... I know you expected more from all of this. In fact, you were the only one who didn't get anything, but tell me seriously, if I married you to, say, Asha Greyjoy, do you really think you'd be able to control the Iron Islands?"
"If it were my duty, yes, I would." He smiled again, but this time it was more rigid.
"What I think is that she would kill you as soon as you put a child in her womb." I said smiling. "But I'm going to need you Ser... my father intends to send a man with the representative of the Iron Bank and I want that envoy to be you."
"Me?". He asked in surprise.
"Yes Ser Justin, negotiating the weapons that will be sent to us and hiring mercenaries will be your missions, the pirate Salladhor has contacts and will help you. But I want more from you...".
Looking from side to side, Ser Justin checked that no one else was listening to our conversation and nodded for me to continue.
"There are things our enemies have used... things we would need in a fight against the others."
"Wildfyre" He commented with a certain solemnity.
"Exactly. Look for alchemists in Essos who can do that, and until then... I have a castle in mind for Massey's new branch."
"New Branch, is it?" He asked, smiling and raising an eyebrow.
"House Massey of the crossing is good, isn't it? Or Massey of Harrenhall... there are possibilities Ser Justin". I commented, placing my hand on his shoulder. "Just remember, you are a man I hold in high esteem, and you will surely be more than rewarded for your loyalty over the years. I know how to reward".
Ser Justin nodded and, as always, I could count on his discretion, he will carry out my orders. There was no doubt in my mind.