A Song of Fire, Ice and Hearts

by Jebest4781

Venturing outside of the Heart of his Somebody, a Nobody enters a World where it's at the brink of self destruction. Will he be able to handle and survive the Game of Thrones. Rated M for language, violence, etc. Pairings hidden at current time. KHXGoT/ASoIaF CoWritten by free man writer. Cover Image by Carlos M. Please leave reviews.

35. Songs to Tell

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Disney, Square-Enix, Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire or anything else. They rightfully belong to their respective owners.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Writing/Singing

"Foreign Language/Flashback"

-Scene Shift-

Chapter 35: Songs to Tell

Within the private quarters of Jeor Mormont, the Commander of the Night's Watch awaited for Jon to make his arrival after waking up from the long night.

The lad deserved it after what occurred.

It was darker in the space, due to him having some builders make some new windows for him. Until they can be fully installed, Jeor had to cover up the broken opening with his drapes while he bundled up a bit more for warmth.

Finishing up his breakfast, the Old Bear heard the door opening up with his steward entering.

"Are you well, Snow?" Lord Mormont asked, scowling slightly over his concern. "And your wolf?"

"Ghost is fine. Just more food and rest may do him some good. As for me… I don't exactly know, my lord." Jon said truthfully as he closed the door behind him. "And you?"

Mormont frowned. "Two dead men tried to kill me. How well could I be?"

"Not great, I take it."

"Most certainly not." Jeor sighed. "Don't know if I'll ever get over it."

"I doubt I would as well."

Seeing those things up and about gave Jon quite the nightmare as he slept. In fact, he hardly slept at all as his mind still replayed every detail on how he basically killed the animated dead.

Subconsciously, Jon started to flex his right hand several times as a tingling sensation crawled over the flesh.

Jeor took note of it quite easily.

"How's the hand?"

Jon looked down to the appendage and stopped his hand from acting out. "It's surprisingly fine. I just didn't expect…"

"I saw it as well, Snow. You casted a ball of flame to kill that thing."

Jon nodded as his gaze broke away and focused back at the Lord Commander. "I somewhat expected to see burn marks, or at the very least blisters. It's just fine like nothing happened."

"How did you do it?" Jeor bluntly asked. "I can only call what you did-"

"Magic." Jon answered earnestly. "And… I think I may have an idea as to how I did it."

"Do you now?"

Snow held up his unscathed hand. "You've met Roxas already, yes?"

The old Bear nodded.

"For a time, before I joined the Night's Watch, I fought the Heartless across the North with him and my brother."

"Yes, word spread from the Neck to the Wall about the descendant of Ventus traveling with the sons of Eddard Stark." Jeor remarked with a chortle.

Jon couldn't help but smirk slightly at the fond memories before going on. "We fought a lot of Heartless and in that time, I felt a slow change coming over me."

He looked down at his hand again and clenched it into a tight fist. "Like… everything was becoming smoother and more natural. I felt less and less tired as the days went on and had far more energy than most of the other soldiers and guards of Winterfell. As if something that was always inside of me was finally released to be used."

Jeor rubbed his chin, musing on this. "What of your brother? Has he displayed anything like this?"

Jon shrugged. "That's what Roxas has told me. Robb has apparently been developing magic of his own."

"Then mayhaps this will serve us well in the coming years of Winter."

"I could only hope."

The Mormont hummed a little before speaking again. "Dywen and Hake returned as you slept. They found no sign of your uncle."

Jon said nothing, worry still welling within him.

"It would seem there were only two of those… creatures. There will be more. I can feel it and Maester Aemon agrees." Said the Mormont. "Summer is at an end, and winter is coming such as this world has never seen."

'Winter is coming.' The Stark words had never sounded so grim or ominous to Jon as they did now.

Jeor soon pulled out something from nearby and brought it to the dim light before handing it to his steward.

Looking at it, Jon felt as if he knew this sheathed longsword somehow. When he gripped the handle and held it up, Jon Snow felt a familiar weight to it. When he soon gazed at the pommel, he saw it was a white wolf head instead of… a white bear?

"I think I know this sword."

"You should. You used it against those things." Jeor saw him staring more at the pommel. "I thought a wolf was more appropriate for you than a bear. So I had a new pommel made."

"Why?"

"The fire from what occurred melted the silver off the pommel and burnt the crossguard, but you'd need a fire a hundred- no, a thousand times as hot to harm the blade. Thus I had the rest made anew."

Curious about some comments recently said, Jon unsheathes the sword by a hand's length and sees the rippling patterns. He was quick to recognize the material.

"This is Valyrian steel."

A nod came from the Old Bear. "It was my father's sword, his father's before him. The Mormonts have carried it for five centuries. I passed it to my son after he came back from the Greyjoy Rebellion, a reward for his efforts. Yet he… brought dishonor to our house, but he had the grace to leave this behind before he fled Westeros."

Jon saw the grief and sorrow on the old man's visage, remembering the tale once again with how Jeor joined the Night's Watch in the first place.

Soon enough, Jon inspected the sword again once sheathing it as Jeor went to get a pitcher of ale and saw the wolf's head pommel stare back at him with it's ruby eyes. Eyes just like what his direwolf Ghost possesses.

"My lord, why a wolf instead of a bear? Shouldn't it-"

"It's yours Snow."

Surprise and shock swept over him like a mighty current, making Jon almost drop the Valyrian longsword as a result.

"My lord, you honor me, but I can't-"

"Oh, you can and you will." Said Jeor, pouring himself some ale to drink. "I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for you and your beast." He drank some of the ale before looking hard at Ned Stark's bastard. "So you'll take it and I'll hear no more about it. Honor the steel with deeds, not words. Is that understood?"

Jon looked at the unflinching old Bear and nodded. "Yes, my lord."

Despite the longsword more or less feeling light, a mighty weight seemed to be added to it all of a sudden.

"Does this have a name, my lord?"

"It did, once. Longclaw, it was called."

Longclaw was an apt name. It sounded very appropriate for this honored sword.

"Once?"

"It's yours now. You can call it what you will."

"I'd think of nothing more than Longclaw." Jon saw Jeor look at him, curious to hear the little explanation. "Wolves have long claws, just as much as bears."

Jeor smiled a little upon hearing this.

"I suppose they do." He chuckled out. "It's a man's sword. It'll take a man to wield it. I'll expect you to act the part from here on out."

"I will."

"And I believe you'll need to work more with double-hand strikes with Ser Endrew."

"Ser Endrew?" Asked Jon, who didn't know the name.

"Ser Endrew Tarth is on his way from the Shadow Tower to become our new Master-at-Arms." Jeor said, much to Jon's added confusion. "I sent Ser Alliser Thorne earlier this morning to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea to sail towards King's Landing, bringing the hand your wolf tore off that thing's wrist. And it puts a thousand leagues between you and Thorne."

Jon smiled a little upon hearing this. It would perhaps be at least two months before being remotely near Alliser again. In a sense, it would feel like the Wall got a bit warmer for him.

Jeor groaned a little. "I wish there was a way to get in contact with Roxas. He would've done this task faster than any of us could. Even convince those council members at the capital to help us faster whilst doing so."

Jon nodded as he wished to speak to his friend again. Perhaps he could somehow get word to him through his unique connection whilst sleeping. Then again, he never really tried it before and all he could talk to during that time were Bran and Namine.

"Now back to your duties, Snow. I don't want to hear you procrastinating on them because of this."

"I won't, my lord."

Upon exiting the tower, Jon was greeted by a number of his Black breatheren. Each briefly eying his new sword while congratulating him.

Hearing this made Snow smile a tad bashfully as he hadn't gotten this amount of praise since Roxas and a number of others back at Winterfell. It felt strange as this went on.

Jon knew he should be proud and pleased, yet he did not entirely feel like expressing them.

Entering the dining hall so he may finally eat his breakfast, he was soon greeted and surrounded by a number of his friends.

"Well, come about." Pyp said to Jon. "Let's have a look."

"At what?"

"The sword! Show us your sword." Exclaimed Grenn.

"Be careful. I don't know if he'd want to show us his other sword instead." Edd jested, earning chuckles from the rest.

Apparently word traveled fast one way or another.

Hearing the others cheer Jon unveil the sword, the bastard of Winterfell finally relented with an awkward smile as he unsheathed the Valyrian longsword.

Laughter and cheers went within the little company as they more or less took the sword from its new owner. Jon's friends promised they'd give it back as he moved past them to see Samwell eating at a nearby table.

Upon sitting down, Jon noticed the downtrodden look his… pleasantly plump friend bore.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. "Is it about the sword?"

"No, it's not that."

"I mean I can understand. I got a valyrian sword and you… don't, given your father took away your right to inherit Heartsbane."

Heartsbane is the famed Valyrian sword of House Tarly, a prized treasure for generations. It even had a good story when the Vulture King of Dorne rebelled and "Savage" Samwell Tarly took up arms against him. The illustrious blade was soaked from point to hilt with Vulture blood at the end of that climatic battle.

"It's not that either." Samwell said. "But… congrats by the way."

Jon nodded before repeating the same kind of question said earlier. "What's wrong?"

"I… I can't-"

"You can't, what?"

"I really can't say."

"And yet you really want to say… what?"

Relenting, Samwell spoke.

"There was a raven. I read the message to Maester Aemon this morning."

"Being…"

"Jon… something happened down south. Something bad."

It would be there that the Stark bastard learned of the travesty at the capital.

-Winterfell-

A tired expression could be seen on Robb's face as he entered the dining hall. It was basically the first time Theon saw him this day.

"How was your morning run?" Asked the Greyjoy, who munched on some bacon.

"Alright." Robb said simply. "Getting better, I believe."

"Given you're practically running around the entirety of Winterfell's walls, I wonder how you're not dying by now."

"Like you're one to talk."

Theon chuckled a little. "I have been knowing my limits, Stark. I try to stay around the central keep instead of you overachieving yourself."

Robb scoffed as he sat down beside his friend, but not before telling a passing servant what he wanted for his breakfast.

"It's the only way I can get Greywind, Summer and Shaggydog taken care of for most of the day." Robb stated.

Theon rolled his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that."

Such a morning workout routine would be quite strange for a great number of people. Especially nobles who aren't all that physically active. The usual kind one sees pertaining to weapons training as most belief that suffices enough.

But in actuality, it's a good trait to have to help with increasing one's strength and endurance for an extended amount of time. More so when dealing with Heartless by either chasing after them or running away when needed.

For Robb, it served a few other purposes.

First was being a non-aggressive means of venting his frustrations.

Lately he's been becoming a bit more agitated. On top of the stress he's been gaining from his duties as acting lord of Winterfell, new ones were piled on top of them. His normal walks weren't good enough to relieve him of such issues.

In order to help quell his inner wolf, outside of Heartless slaying, his morning runs was an activity he sought using more than he would've thought. And they all stemmed from when Roxas made his abrupt appearances not so long ago.

The first came when the blonde Keybearer brought the unsettling news from the capital. The return of Vanitas will surely spread like wildfire and greatly unnerve those unprepared. But it wasn't just the terror and leader of the Unversed, but those who he's aligned with; those who Roxas was formerly a part of before his defection.

As his friend left, Robb immediately had ravens sent across the North in order for the lords to know and prepare for battle.

And it wasn't just Winterfell and the Wall he visited, but Roxas also arrived at Karhold and Ironrath. He went to these places, given he knows of their exact locations for his "unique" form of travel. All in order to help speed up the preparation process.

The next time he saw Roxas was bitter. The heir to Winterfell sought to greet him warmly, but quickly became saddened when he saw him drag back a pair of caskets. Each contained the dead bodies of guardsmen sworn to protect his father, who were killed by Lannister men. The reason for this was due to Jamie Lannister not taking well to the news of his younger brother having been taken by Catelyn Stark from the Crossroads Inn.

This made Robb frustrated as his mother's actions no doubt will make the upcoming war against Organization XIII much more difficult.

The Stark knew a number of Northerners will seek to head south for vengeance. But he can't have them act irrationally, especially not now of all times.

Dark wings, dark words was a small phrase he heard his father speak at times. The ravens carry messages which bear a slim chance of grave news. His father often dreaded hearing them at all.

In a sense, now Robb bore the same trait as his father. But it wasn't just from dark wings, but from one of a black coat.

"I believe he likes to challenge himself, Greyjoy."

Theon and Robb glanced over to see their friend and guest entering the hall to also partake of breaking their morning fast.

"Oh? And why's that, Forrester?" Theon asked in retort.

The heir to Ironrath sat down opposing the pair before pouring himself a cup of clean water from a pitcher.

"With him being acting and future lord of Winterfell, he'll need to show more of his strength and stamina and prove it to his fellow Northerners." Rodrik said with a small smile. "Tell me, did you have anything strapped on you today? Armor? Weapons?"

"Neither. It would've been cumbersome to have strapped weapons, wear full armor or both this morning."

"True, but you'll need to get used to it at some point."

Robb nodded. Sighing, his fingers briefly brushed his hair slightly as he spoke to Rodrik.

"I hope accommodations for you and your men have been well."

"Once more they have, my friend. And once more we thank you for them."

The Forrester party arrived late yesterday with the shipment of Ironwood resin and wood. Exchanges have been made before they could be further distributed towards the keeps around Winterfell. It will be only later today will they make their return to Ironrath.

For some time now, other parties had been sent towards the other corners throughout the North. Plans have been made earlier for the costs and distribution for the territories below the Neck as requests have been flooding in, just like people seeking safety from the South. While some traders will go through the Neck, other shipments will be sent through White Harbor with their ships going towards the South-Eastern ports.

When a plate of food was placed in front of Rodrik, he asked a question.

"Is Bran and Rickon joining us this morning?"

"Nah." Said Theon. "Rickon likes to sleep in before taking his lessons with Maester Luwin."

"Lucky him." Grumbled Robb. His two friends chuckled at his expense at that. "As for Bran, I saw him leaving after taking breakfast."

"Heading out to slowly climb again?"

"If only." Robb said with a small smile, happy his younger brother was slowly overcoming his fear of heights after what felt like forever. "No. He's actually helping Maester Luwin at the library tower as we speak."

"Whatever for?" Rodrik then made a jest. "He seeks to become a maester?"

"If he seeks to become one, I will not hold him accountable." Robb said with a stern gaze directed at the Forrester Heir. "But I and the rest of my family, especially my parents, will be saddened that what we expected of him will no longer occur."

"You and many other families throughout Westeros." Theon commented.

"Right. But still… Bran at the tower-"

"Yes. He's there because he wants to help me with my duties as my unofficial squire."

Rodrik smiled. "That is mighty nice of him." It reminded him of both himself as a child along with Ethan in the present on occasions with their father. "When did this start?"

"Some time ago." Said Theon, eating some cooked fish. "It was actually after Roxas showed back up with his warning down South."

The Forrester didn't need the reminder.

"I see." Rodrik said evenly. "And tell me, has Bran done a good job as your impromptu squire?"

"He has and more than even I would've expected." That earned a curious glance aimed towards Robb for an explanation. "Bran found something which is rather important. Not just towards our family but towards the North as a whole. Perhaps even further."

"Go on."

"It's my grandfather's personal journal." Revealed Robb. "Learned a great number of things. While there are rather personal topics, which I won't discuss; there are some I wish were revealed far sooner."

It was good to get an insight of his grandfather, outside of tales from his father, uncle and other Northern lords. But Robb just didn't expect there to be more of the man than he would've thought.

Yes there were some entries recounting his grandparents having a mutual loving relationship with each other, all because they were cousins first before marriage. They cared for each other for their children's sake before Lyarra Stark -Robb's grandmother- died after bringing Benjen to the world.

Later entries showed Rickard Stark taking part in the War of the Ninepenny Kings; along with his thoughts and concerns of the conflict. More came up which stemmed from his friendship with the late Jon Arryn and Steffon Baratheon which all began when they took part in that conflict over at the Stepstones. All of which eventually further developed on plans to help overthrow the Mad King at the Tourney at Harrenhal.

He no doubt sent his father a letter of this discovery and awaits the returning message of his father's thoughts of the vast discoveries within the journal.

"Quite a good find. Makes me wonder how it was misplaced in such a way." Commented the Forrester.

"I agree. I obviously asked Maester Luwin about it, but he never knew in the slightest. If there was a way to question his predecessor from beyond the grave, Maester Walys, I would surely demand an explanation."

"Of course. But what can you tell me of your grandfather's journal, if it doesn't seem too much trouble?" Rodrick inquired.

"Marked survey locations."

"Pardon?"

Theon was the one to give the explanation, who had learned it alongside Robb. "Turns out Lord Rickard Stark sought to find new means of trade for the North. Gut feeling or whatever, but he thought there could've been some mining opportunities at the mountains north of here. And his instinct was right with his survey team returning and delivering good news: several mountains had signs of metal deposits."

Robb picked up from there. "My grandfather was beginning to draft plans and eventually talk to House representatives to help with the labor costs before officiating the order to commence the project. One of them was the Whitehills, given the work will be near their territory."

"I bet most of my earnings from the Heartless hunts the mining operation would've gotten your House's rivals off your backs with your land and property disputes." Added in the Greyjoy.

Rodrik was rather surprised at this reveal, making him rather interested among other things.

"And why wasn't this announced sooner?" He asked out of peaked interest.

"The last entry correlates to the time when he received word of my uncle Brandon's imprisonment at King's Landing." Robb said sadly.

The Forrester frowned with a nod, completely understanding the issue. Rodrik quickly guessed the sudden announcement from the capital with both Lyanna Stark having been taken and Brandon Stark's imprisonment, their father had to drop everything and seek their return; only for things to badly escalate for the Rebellion to finally begin.

No doubt the war made such plans with the mining at the Northern mountains be swiftly forgotten.

"Surely you plan on recommencing your grandfather's plan, yes?"

"I do. And while I would send some men to find these marked locations to see the proof, our new… acquaintance did the job for us."

"Ah yes, him." Rodrik took a sip of water to help wash down his food. "Met him yesterday and he was rather interesting."

Theon snorted. "That's putting it mildly."

"Is he still at the smith's shop?" the Forrester heir asked.

"He's always there." Greyjoy waved off. "Mork, god's what a bizarre name, only leaves when he wants new material or just to say "Kupo"."

"Do you have an idea what that even means?" Rodrick said, trying to understand the word.

"It's just a thing his ilk has a tendency of saying." Robb said with a shrug.

Robb and Theon were forewarned about the Moogles making their arrival in the North, courtesy of Roxas. Yet both they and many others didn't expect one of their kind to show up the next day from out of nowhere near Mikken's workshop.

Reactions were outright reasonable with confusion and panic. Most momentarily thought the Moogle was a Heartless, despite the lack of their well known traits. And the local septa and septon didn't help either as they thought them to be demons.

Regardless, many were astounded with their craft. Roxas' words held true as their work was just as effective -if not more- as Ironwood resin and wood. Something which will help the Forresters on them not harvesting their precious commodity all too much. And the white-furred creatures had soon brought up the mineral caches throughout the North, which helped correlate some of the findings within the journal of Rickard Stark.

With this cemented, Robb granted the Moogles full guest rights which was a rather good move.

"So about the mining project?"

"It will still happen as per my grandfather's wishes and desires. Yet with the Moogles now present, we will need to adjust them into the plans. They can help on the mining operations but the pricing will need further discussions, given they'll help us out with armor, weapon and accessory creations."

"We can even get a "discount" with the amount of these synthesis materials we've been collecting from Heartless." Theon brought up, recounting some details on their initial introductions.

"Sounds reasonable enough." Rodrik hummed out. "Most, if not all of us, have been hoarding a large amount of them from the patrols. We can now find better use of them outside of crafting simple jewelry and decorations."

While such a practice isn't really unheard of in the North in the past, they primarily sell such trinkets over at White Harbor towards sailors and traders from either down South or over at Essos.

"All that depends now is what the Moogles request on payments."

Any further discussion ended when Luwin came into the dining hall.

Robb was the first to address him. "Is there something you need, Luwin?"

"Two letters arrived." The maester said gravely. "Something has happened."

Worried looks were shared between the three young men. Robb was handed over the letters, which he saw the wax seals were broken.

Unfurling the first, he saw it was in his father's handwriting before he began reading through it.

An uneasy expression was soon present on the Stark's face.

"Mind telling us what happened?" Theon requested.

"King Robert is dead… by Vanitas' hand."

A sense of dread filled the hall.

"Are you serious?" Rodrik asked in mild disbelief.

"I am. And there's more."

"More?"

"The capital is more or less in chaos with the recent murder. Roxas isn't present, due to him being sent to the Riverlands to find Vanitas. But that was a mere trap, luring him away from the capital." Said the Stark. "What's more is… father proclaiming Myrcella as Robert's heir."

That caused the other young men to freeze up for the briefest of moments.

"...I'm sorry, what?"

Rodrik nodded in agreement to Theon's reaction.

"Joffrey and Tommen aren't Robert's children… but in fact children of incest."

"You mean…" Realization soon hit Rodrik like a Fat Body Heartless, "with the Kingslayer?"

"Yes."

"Bloody Hell." Theon murmured, leaning his forehead on his hand. "How in the name of the drowned God was that not seen?"

"Lannister scum surrounded King Robert." Robb spat out with a look of anger crossing his face. "Likely some were aware and made sure that the true parentage of his sons remained a secret."

"But for the Princess to be the only true daughter of the King…" Rodrick said, still reeling from the revelation they had just read. "Are we to undergo another Dance of Dragons?"

Theon couldn't help but snort at that. "What would we call it this time? The Skirmish of the Stags? The Collision of Antlers? No, that doesn't match."

Whilst Rodrick and Theon bickered on the current circumstance, the heir to Winterfell was reading the second letter which showed it came from the Eyrie.

Robb saw it was in his mother's hand.

Upon reading the last few lines of the letter, he felt his blood run colder than a Northern blizzard.

It was at this point did he have to sit down in shock.

Theon and Rodrick stopped their banter upon seeing the state in which Robb was in.

"What is it this-"

"House Arynn is no more." Stark blurted out hollowly.

Silence filled the dining hall, making others very baffled.

Theon laughed slightly as if he wasn't quite sure what Robb just said. "I don't think I heard you right. You said-"

"I know what I said." Robb said in a blank tone.

The Greyjoy heir opened and closed his mouth several times before shaking his head and holding out his hand. "Let me see that."

Taking the letter from Robb, Theon saw what's written before dropping it. He soon ran his hand through his hair.

"Oh shit." He muttered out. "Oh Shit!"

"Can someone finally tell me what happened?" Came Rodrik's demand.

"Jon Arryn had no true heirs. My cousin, Robin, is actually a bastard." Robb explained. "My aunt was impregnated by Petyr Baelish, who helped kill her husband."

"Fucking… Seven Fucking Hells." Rodrick nearly shouted in complete and utter shock. "H-how did this happen?!"

"It seems that Lysa and Baelish planned for this." Robb murmured darkly.

The Stark Heir could hardly believe that someone of his own blood would do something so vile.

"Is there any details with who'll… replace the Arryns?" Theon asked warily.

It was an odd thing to come out of his mouth.

The Arryns were the leading House of the Vale since the Andal Invasion. Their name was literally a part of the territory.

The Vale of Arryn.

Instead of Robb answering, Maester Luwin did it for him.

"In terms of succession, there are two possible candidates at this time." The old fellow listed them off. "The first is Ser Harrold Hardyng, who is the only person left of the Arryn line, being Jon Arryn's great nephew. But before he could perhaps take the seat of the Eyrie, he'll be greatly tested by the other Houses if he fits the position."

"If not him?" Robb asked.

"The Royces."

House Royce had been faithful to the Arryns for generations. Not to mention they are the second most powerful family in the Vale on top of them dating back to the First Men.

"Sounds like good likely candidates." Sighed Rodrik, hand running through his hair. "I can only hope they'll come to a conclusion soon."

"You and me both."

"Seven Hells, what is happening right now?" Theon asked no one in particular. "War on the horizon, a Great House just died, the King is dead. What's next? The White Walkers are back? The Drowned God makes its return?"

"I fear you are tempting fate like that." Robb said with a grimace. "Have you not seen what has been happening to Westeros before this madness?"

Nobody answered him at first, a heavy silence filling the air as they simply sat there as they absorbed what was transpiring.

It all felt so strange and bizarre in knowing that war is coming with insane upheavals.

In a way, it sort of reminded them of the Targaryens but… this was something harder to describe.

The Arryns are all but extinct.

The Lannisters are the ones who have truly held power.

King Robert is dead.

Vanitas; a name feared from the past has returned.

The King's two sons weren't his to begin with; only his daughter.

The more they thought about it the more a mounting headache coupled with dread befell upon them.

"What should we do now?" Rodrick asked, looking between the other three men who didn't have an answer at first.

The Stark heir was the first to react, letting out a haggard sigh.

Robb straightened up and faced Luwin dead in the eye. "Call the banners."

A smirk soon grew on Theon's face with a stern expression present on Rodrik's.

"All of them, my lord?" Said Luwin, silently asking him if he was absolutely sure about this.

"They've all sworn to defend my family, have they not?" Robb stated more than he asked.

"They have." Luwin said with a solemn tone.

"Now we see what their words are worth."

Luwin gave a stern nod before making his way to his quarters to write up the messages for the entirety of the North.

It was once the maester left the room did the Greyjoy ask the Stark a simple question.

"Are you afraid?"

Robb looked at them both with a questioning expression. He then noticed them looking towards his hand. Looking down, Robb saw it was shaking like a leaf.

"I must be."

"Good." Simply said the Greyjoy.

He shot him a quizzical look. "Why is that good?"

"It means you're not stupid."

"You know what you're about to put your bannermen through." Rodrik added in. "Any good leader should be afraid of the lives of their men."

"You're right." Robb said slowly. "It's just that with all this happening now, I need everyone ready to march South."

"I understand." The Forrester then made his way out of the dining hall and headed towards the rookery to make a letter towards his family. "Just so you know now, you have my family's support on this endeavor."

Robb gave his friend a thankful nod before leaving to figure out what needs to be done next.

As he did, he nearly ran over his younger brother by accident.

After making a quick apology, Robb was about to leave when he saw the troubled look on his face.

"Bran, what's wrong?"

Bran appeared hesitant. "I… I need to tell you something."

"Tell me what?" Robb asked, kneeling down slightly to be on Bran's level.

It was at that moment did the younger Stark boy hear a familiar voice whisper in his ear.

'Go on Bran, you can do it.' Namine said in utmost encouragement.

Taking a small breath to calm himself, Bran spoke.

"I remember… who pushed me out of the Broken Tower."

That got Robb's undivided attention, his senses spiking as he gazed down at his little brother intently.

"You do?"

Before he knew it, the young Stark blurted it out. "It was Jamie Lannister."

-Borders of the Riverlands and the Vale-

For some time now, whistling could be heard along a copse of aspens just off the High Road. A gentle breeze swept through the land to carry on the tune being played.

"Will you shut up?"

"I doubt he really could."

"You wound me, Strife."

"Just saying."

Bronn rolled his eyes a little as he kept his focus towards their surroundings.

"There's hill tribes all around here. Especially at the border." Said the dark haired sellsword. "Along with those Heartless fucks."

Bronn would really like to not draw too much attention towards their little party. While that may be easier with the tribesmen, the Heartless are something else entirely.

"If I were to die, it may as well be with a song in my heart." Tyrion said whimsically.

"You say that now." Cloud said offhandedly.

Being tired at this point, Tyrion soon looked towards the blonde fighter of the group.

"I ask this again, but why can't we ride the dragon any longer?" The Lannister nearly pleaded.

"Summoning Leviathan is better during battles. Regardless, it's taxing on my reserves and he is a stubborn one at doing anything else otherwise." Cloud explained.

The native Sellsword to Westeros grumbled aloud. "Such a shame. Makes traveling around go way faster."

Tyrion wholefully agreed with Bronn's statement.

Out of the many things people were envious towards the Targaryens, dragon riding ought to be at the top of the list.

There was a sense of thrill and excitement when flying in the air. The wind blowing in one's face as they held onto dear life with their hearts thumped against their chests.

This was what Tyrion and Bronn experienced when riding Cloud's mighty dragon.

But it wasn't just these particular senses of feelings, but a separate concept. Tyrion heard the term "fast travel" once in his youth and it sounded oddly appropriate on the wording.

Traveling from one end to another while on foot or horseback is done in a fraction of the time. It could take hours instead of weeks. And this happened with how the trio were able to leave the Eyrie so easily and land some days away from the Giant's Lance.

Unfortunately neither of them were able to acquire horses to help them along in their journey. Something of a rather annoying oversight as the two natives of this World hoped didn't occur on a quick trip towards the capital.

While one is in their youth, children's fantasies are practically limitless as they'd want to fulfill it one way or another. Neither of them would think of the real world issues which limit such notions, such as how costly and time consuming it all was in order to reach it.

While most boys dreamt of becoming a member of the Kingsguard, Tyrion dreamt of traveling across every inch this world had to offer.

Ever since he was a child, Tyrion was an avid fan of Lomas Longstrider; an adventurer who traveled around the world. The dwarf had read every page of his travels countless times, making him dream of being an adventurer himself. Even wanting to see if the Nine Wonders Made by Man were indeed as depicted in the books: the Wall in the North, the Titan of Braavos, the Bells of Norvos, the Bridge of Volantis, the Roads of Valyria, the Palace of Sarnath, the Triple Walls of Qarth, the Great Pyramid of Ghis and the Five Forts of Yi Ti.

There was tradition held by most of their House where members -who come of age- could travel across the Narrow Sea, visit and explore the most famous and popular cities of Essos.

Jamie and Cersei had taken this trip years ago while their mother was still alive as she filled in by watching over her children in her husband's stead, due to him being Hand of the King at the time.

When Tyrion neared that age, he yearned to finally go out and see the other side of the world with his uncle Gerion; who taught him the wonders of the world along with acrobatics. Unfortunately, his father denied him from taking the trip. Instead, Tyrion was given charge of all the drains and cisterns within Casterly Rock to maintain.

It was truly unfair that everyone else got to travel, except for him. And it didn't take much of a genius to know the reason why on Tywin's action.

Now that Tyrion was older, he could afford taking this trip. Yet it doesn't exactly feel the same if he took it in the present than in the past.

But after riding the dragon for the very first time, the Lannister had thought of taking a trip around the world in style!

He even recalls a wish he had as a child.

His uncle Gerion asked what he wanted for a nameday present, in which Tyrion begged him for a dragon. Not a big one, but one which could fit in the palm of his hand.

'It could be tiny, like me.' Tyrion said back then.

The dwarf never cared about the height of the dragon. Just perhaps having one in general, even if it was deformed sufficed.

Nearly everyone laughed like it was the funniest thing they had ever heard. His father had the delightful pleasure of telling him that his nameday wish would never be granted because the last dragon died out a century ago. He cried himself to sleep that night.

But here and now as the gods and the two sellswords were his witnesses, he was able to ride -let alone be in the presence- of a dragon and live to tell the tale.

Some rustling in the bushes made Bronn grip his sword handle a little tighter. Tyrion fidgeted a little whereas the taller blonde didn't react all that much. Though both world natives eased themselves when they saw a large black bird trott out. In it's bloody beak was a squirrel's tail before it gobbled it up in mere moments.

"You get your fill, Jojo?" Cloud asked with a small smile.

"Kweh." Jojo responded with a puff of its feathers.

The black feathered Chocobo was growing larger and larger by this point.

To Tyrion and Bronn, it was as if they were seeing a rather overgrown raven. It was getting to the point where the large avian was around Tyrion's height.

When it was first summoned, the creature's appearance piqued Tyrion's curiosity; given he had never seen or heard of such a beast. Whereas Bronn wasn't entirely impressed given how it was summoned in the first place. To the sellsword, nothing could really top him witnessing Leviathan for the first time.

Yet appearances were deceiving. This was proven when Jojo assisted the group in defeating some Heartless skirmishes with it's fire, ice, wind and thunder based attacks.

A chicken using the elements…

'Wait, not a chicken.' Bronn internally remarked with amusement. 'Overstuffed walking feathers hates being compared to a chicken.'

"I wish that Jojo had the decency to have perhaps shared some of its findings." Tyrion remarked, holding up a piece of meat that the Chocobo nibbled on. "A greedy "little" one, isn't he?"

"Almost as greedy as you." Cloud said casually.

"Greedy?" Tyrion repeated in a faux-offended voice. "Me? I'll have you know that my heart is as generous as they come."

"Paying whores doesn't count." Bronn countered. "And if you're still hungry, should just take the damn bird and be done with-"

"Try to eat him -let alone touch him- and you lose your hands; among other things." Cloud warned Bronn.

"I get it. You're attached to it."

"Then speak no more of it." Cloud said with a glare. "You owe Jojo as is."

Bronn heard a chirp and looked over to see said bird giving him an expectant look.

Rolling his eyes, the sellsword stripped off a piece of his meal and tossed it at the bird.

"Didn't you just eat?" Bronn asked grumpily. "At least fetch us something good next time you hunt."

Jojo said nothing as he waddled over to his owner and comfortably nestled himself against him.

"I would call that adorable had I not seen your frightening skills and capabilities." Tyrion commented.

"I'll call it sickeningly sweet."

"And I say both of you shut up."

Before anything could continue, the Blonde Wolf picked up on something.

It was faint, but Cloud was able to pick up a dozen or more footsteps. Hard to tell if it was coming from one or many.

The reaction was subtle, but Bronn picked up on Cloud's reaction.

"Noticed it too, huh?"

Cloud nodded.

Tyrion tensed upon hearing this.

His mind went back to the first ambush after his capture. He was without a weapon, let alone something to defend himself with.

He may have his mind and his wits, which can be the greatest weapon he has at his disposal; but it may not be enough if things go terribly wrong.

The Lannister briefly glanced over to the two men accompanying him, seeing both of them have their hands on their weapons.

He carefully edged himself over to be between them in a safer position as the rustling of the bushes grew louder.

In mere moments, the sellswords were about to combat whatever came out.

They were just about to when it leapt out of the foliage and landed before them, startling them all.

Instead of a Heartless-

"You?" Muttered the Imp.

It was that red lion-wolf thing again.

Bronn was unsure as to seeing it again and Cloud…

He blinked for a moment as if making sure that what he was looking at was an illusion when his mouth dropped slightly.

"You still following us or something?" Bronn asked, still slightly defensive.

"We thank you for your assistance… again and again during our trek towards the Eyrie." Said Tyrion. "I just wanted to let you know if you are indeed an intelligent creature."

The red beast hummed before turning his head to the blond sellsword and gave a small toothy grin.

"Good to see you again, Cloud." It spoke in a deep, slightly sophisticated male voice.

"IT TALKS?!" Tyrion and Bronn shouted at the same time.

Cloud let out a small laugh. "Good to see you too, Nanaki."

"And you know him?!"

Strife chuckled again and went over to the now identified Lion Wolf and crouched down to his eye level.

"Of all the places I thought I'd see you again, this was certainly not one of them."

"Same, but we have been looking for you since your last encounter with Sephiroth."

"We?"

"Who do you think?" Nanaki asked in a knowing fashion. "Leon and Yuffie sent out a few of us to look for ya. They even left a gift for you."

"And where is it?"

Motioning his head to the side, Cloud saw a small pouch attached to his collar.

Opening it, the swordsman retrieved-

"So they finally got it made, huh?" Cloud said with a small smile.

The Lannister soon interrupted their conversation from going any further.

"Um… Cloud, my friend?" Tyrion spoke up, still in shock.

The blond looked back to the other blond with a raised brow.

"Not to erm, ruin your apparent reunion but…"

"Mind telling us what the fuck is going on?" Bronn bluntly asked, now in a slightly more relaxed position. "How do you know… whatever he is and how in the blue fuck can it talk?"

Cloud smirked, standing back up.

"This is an old friend of mine." Cloud said, the red quadruped creature nodding at the statement. "Tyrion, Bronn, this is Nanaki. Nanaki, this is Tyrion Lannister and Bronn."

Nanaki gave a brief nod regarding them. He then took notice of the black chocobo staring at him.

Cloud then noticed this and made further introductions. "And this is Jojo."

"Kweh!"

The red furred lion wolf nodded again. "A chocobo? Well now, this is a surprise. A pleasure."

"Kweh."

"Uh, pleasure to meet you… Nanaki?" Tyrion said, somewhat unsure if he got the name pronunciation right.

"I usually go by Red XIII."

"Sounds like a mouthful." Bronn commented.

"Then Nanaki works all the same." Red XIII said politely. "Three syllables each. Either or I'm fine with it."

"Sounds fine with me." The Sellsword remarked. "So you can talk? How'd that happen?"

"A long and excruciatingly painful story." Nanaki remarked conversationally.

"Pain you say?" Tyrion said airily. "The physical, emotional or both?"

"Both."

"Ah, I see." The Lannister nodded in understanding.

"Forgive me if I say it now, but I'd rather not talk about it." Nanaki said in a polite tone.

"No worries, friend." The Imp said in understanding.

"So Nanaki, care to join us on this journey?" Cloud asked though he already knew that answer.

"But of course." His friend stated. "I have been searching for you for some time. It wouldn't do me good to up and let you walk off without me at the chance of vanishing in a flash of light again."

Cloud snorted at that comment.

He soon pocketed the item he recently retrieved as he'll be sure to use it later.

For now, he wanted to catch up with an old companion for old times sake as they trekked onward in order to reach safer territories sooner.

-Somewhere near the Forest of High Heart-

"So… how exactly are we supposed to be tracking Vanitas?" Thoros of Myr asked the group he was traveling with. "We've been traveling for days with no signs of him."

"We just got to the Riverlands like several days ago."

Thoros took a swig of his wineskin. "Your point?"

Roxas rolled his eyes at the drunkard and shook his head.

"Don't mind him." Beric remarked with a small grin. "He's just upset he's almost out of rum."

"I still have my reserves." The Red Priest said aloud.

"For now." Said the Lightning Lord. "You've been drinking them constantly."

Roxas heard footsteps next to him and glanced over to see Tyene now walking next to him and Chocho.

"What is the plan?" She asked before briefly petting the growing chocobo, who voiced his little thrill of pleasure. "Don't think just walking around is the whole idea."

"We need to reach Riverrun first to assess the situation. When we come across other towns or keeps along the way, then we help out accordingly. After that, then we go with what we get."

This has been the plan thus far. They ran into a number of Heartless and Unversed skirmishes in the various Riverland territories on their direct path to Riverrun. First they hit Tumbler's Falls before taking a small detour at the Stoney Sept of Black Water Rush. They briefly crossed through lands owned by House Harlton while they were now crossing the two main lands of House Vance.

Word quickly spread of their actions, being commanded by the King's Hand to bring Vanitas to justice and slaying his forces. Their reputation slowly rose at a good pace as they were being respected once respecting the common folk in kind.

Roxas sighed. "At least we can reach Riverrun at the rate we're going in a day or so."

Interesting thing of casting Haste on their mounts. It was able to help speed their progression at a fraction of the time. Unfortunately it did make the horses very tired by the end of the day.

If Roxas was able to acquire items more suited for horses, like modified Tents from the Moogles, then things could be easier to a degree.

Until then, they had to make due.

"How is everyone else?"

"So and so." The dornish girl said simply. "Most are just antsy for fighting more. Or just wanting a proper romp in the sheets."

Granted some of their company sought some services when they rested after clearing out some Nexuses. But with Roxas giving the orders, it couldn't be for long.

At least they couldn't complain too much. The company was essentially getting paid on top of their volunteer service for slaying the dark creatures as each person acquired some of the dropped loot as compensation.

Roxas hummed to himself in thought.

"What? You're not on board with it?"

"It's not that I'm not on board, it's just… I've been having this gut feeling."

She tilted her head at him alongside the chocobo. "What do you mean?"

He didn't answer for a few seconds until he shook his head. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Tyene gave him a flat look. "Roxas."

"Come on, trust me." He gave her an easygoing smile that elicited a small blush from the girl.

She was starting to hate the effect he was having on her.

Didn't help with the hand holding at the moment as he pulled her along.

'Seven hells, why must he be like this?' Tyene thought to herself, wishing that they were alone right now.

Since leaving King's Landing and traveling up to the Riverlands, Tyene has been stealing moments alone with the young man of her affections at every chance she got.

With the capital, he was always busy so to speak in keeping the Heartless in check whilst also dealing with the nobility there.

On top of that, there was also the Princess and the Stark's eldest daughter to contend with in regards for Roxas' attention and time.

So going on this journey with him was Tyene's chance to just be with Roxas. Sure there was the company they were traveling with but they're at times minor distractions at best.

She had managed to get some time alone with him on several occasions once with the last one being her favorite.

"So we get to Riverrun, then what?"

"Gonna have to instruct the Lord there on what to do in dealing with the Unversed, Heartless and Vanitas." Roxas stated, pulling a scroll from his pocket. "Since Ned is the Hand, he basically made a royal decree that I'm the expert in this matter and all of it defers to me in the end."

Tyene nodded her head. "Makes sense, all things considered. Other than you, Cloud is out fixing the mess Stark's wife seems to have made and Lord Stark himself is busy running the Seven Kingdoms."

Roxas let out a sigh, running his hand through his hair as he thought about everything going on all at the same time.

It was rather maddening to say the least.

"Hey, you alright?"

Roxas looked over at Tyene, concern in her eyes and gave her a light smile. He then felt something brush against his leg. Gazing down, he saw Chocho nudging against it as a means of comforting his "father."

"I'll be fine." He promised, squeezing her hand gently.

Tyene puffed her cheeks out upon hearing this and got in his face.

"You better not be lying." The Sand Snake said, poking at his chest.

Roxas chortled slightly, grasping at her hands again and lowering them.

"Trust me, I'm good. If anything happens, you'll know."

The Dornish girl pouted slightly before a coy look appeared.

"Can you make that a promise?"

"Of course."

Tyene shook her head. "Not good enough. You have to make it convincing."

"How do I do that?"

She smirked at him, stepping in close and grabbing his collar before pulling him in for a searing kiss.

The sandy-blond teen froze up for a few moments, color rushing up to reach the tips of his ears before he slowly wrapped his arms around Tyene's waist with the girl snaking her own arms around his neck. There he felt the kiss from her was passionate, briefly lustful, held admiration and something else mixed in.

This was still new to him but after experiencing it a number of times now, he was starting to get used to it.

He'd be hard pressed to deny that he enjoys it.

It was a rather riveting experience that felt like electricity shot through his body from head to toe every time this happened.

He briefly thought about the three girls that he had kissed and couldn't help but compare them all.

Tyene was fiery and passionate, living up to the many tales of the Dornish.

Myrcella was tender and gentle, clearly still adjusting to such displays of affection.

Sansa was similar in that regard but was more… intense so to speak as he felt the passion she held every time they kissed.

The last time was especially something fierce. As if Sansa finally let go of restraint and allowed her inner wolf complete control of her wants and instincts.

In the midst of this make out session, someone else came to mind.

Someone who was honestly always on his mind since first coming here.

He couldn't help but wonder… what it would be like to kiss Xion.

Roxas liked the girls he had in his life, he truly did. But before them, before even Namine, he had spent most of his existence spending every single day with Xion and Axel.

And Xion was the girl he personally knew more so than anyone else.

Only Axel was the other but he was his best friend of course.

With Xion…. After being with her for so long, he always felt something more with her. At the time, he didn't understand but now?

Roxas pulled away from Tyene, the two teens resting their foreheads against one another.

The Sand Snake giggled with Roxas smiling lightly. Both of their faces were flush red and though the group they were traveling from were not far from them, they felt content being alone together in this instance.

Of course the moment was ruined with an unexpected visitor passing by them.

"RAAAARH!"

"KWEW!"

"What the-"

"Oh c'mon!" Tyene complained.

Roxas summoned Oblivion and whacked the sudden visitor hard on the head and it slumped over, unmoving on the ground.

The two teens and growing chocobo stared at the downed attacker for a moment until Tyene tilted her head at the complete lack of movement.

"Um… Roxas? I think you killed it."

No. XIII stared at the creature. "Oh."

It wouldn't be until later when the rest of Roxas' company saw an interesting sight.

"You two killed a fucking bear?" Thoros asked in slight disbelief.

Tyene jabbed her thumb towards the Keybearer. "Just to clarify, he actually did it."

"Just… how?"

"You're really asking him that after everything you've already seen him do?" Tyene asked, not expecting an answer.

"Oh… um… yeah… yer right, good point."

Behind Roxas was the bear carcass who he dragged by himself, even if he had some help along the rest of the way back to camp. All Chocho did was peck at it while occasionally trying to awkwardly move it.

"And what are you gonna do with it now?" Beric asked, examining the large omnivore.

Roxas shrugged. "Thought I'd try something."

Tyene soon realized what he was implying. "You mean-"

"I'm gonna cook it."

There were a number of disbelieving and bewildered looks from those traveling with him.

Thoros tipped back his wineskin. "Now this is getting interesting."

"Are you really?"

Roxas nodded. "Yes, though I'll need a few things with what I have in mind."

Some were skeptical but Thoros, Beric and Tyene were curious as to what Roxas may cook up.

"What would you need exactly?"

Some time passed by as Roxas helped finish skin and gut the bear with some volunteers. After that, the rest of getting the right cuts were quickly taken care of before adding in a variety of spices.

Tyene was assisting him at this time along with a few squires who were amongst their company. One of which was Edric Dayne, who served under Beric Dondarrion.

This consisted of skinning and preparing hunted rabbits, a deer and boar along with getting the vegetables all chopped up enough for the large company.

"C'mon Roxas, we're starving!" Came the petulant complaint.

"It'll be ready when it's ready!" Roxas comically shouted back. "Next person to complain, I'm spitting in your food."

They looked between one another in comedic fear.

"...He wouldn't do that, right?"

"You really wanna tempt that with a kid who killed a bear with a bonk to the head?"

The cooking process for the bear, venison and rabbit stew took roughly an hour, but with the smells wafting in the air, it was worth it.

From the large cooking pots over the roaring fires was a mighty fine meal for the 100+ company.

Suffice to say, everyone loved it.

"How're you such a good cook?" Beric asked.

Roxas paused and briefly, his mind went to that of a blue-furred rat on Sora's head, dictating his actions as they were cooking several recipes.

"Er… A bit of a funny story about that. Let's just say I'm a man of many talents."

"At least this beats eating fruit and salted beef again." One of the men stated, digging into his bowl wholeheartedly.

"Stop complaining. They aren't all that bad."

"Says you. I like to have my salted beef with some good flavor to it."

"Only because our ale supply is running low," they soon looked towards the Red Priest, "due to some people."

The Myrish looked at them as if he was offended.

"Excuse me, what do you cockbites mean by "our" ale supply?" Thoros rhetorically asked, pulling out his flask. "Go get yer own if you're gonna be a bunch of pansies about it."

This childish complaint went on though it turned into more of a joking session whilst the large traveling party ate.

As this went on, the daughter of Oberyn Martell's mind wandered about on their current circumstances.

Some of which were some thoughts after taking the initial look of their assembled company.

It was composed of a great number of individuals from across the Seven Kingdoms who were mostly present at the capital before their departure. Some from the North, the Reach, Dorne, the Stormlands, you get the idea.

Asides from this factor, a good chunk were those experienced in fighting against the Heartless and Unversed and clearly knew the risks. A good number of them were actually some good archers like Anguy who would be some mid-long range supporters. And there were a handful who weren't entirely experienced at all, i.e. most of the squires brought along to serve their respective knights and lords. There was even the bard, Tom of Sevenstreams, who tagged along with them once entering the Riverlands days ago for moral and entertainment.

Most wanted to truly prove their medal, serve the realm, show their allegiance for the future prince Roxas, etc. One such example was Ronvid of the Small Marsh, who a number of their company and leaders had known beforehand, was able to get in through dedication and perseverance.

Of course a small handful are actually in it just for fame and glory. Though soon enough things were proved otherwise as they truly got the wake up call on the various skirmishes they went through so far.

They were tested daily in fighting for survival, for the good of the realm. And they proved themselves capable of holding out on their own.

Amongst them all were Tyene and a handful of her family's guards women.

From an outsider's perspective, they would assume Tyene and her fellow Dornish Women were not capable fighters at all but in fact camp followers or traveling whores in simplest of terms.

It wouldn't be the first time and surely not the last such a thought would occur.

Women don't really travel with this amount of men ordinarily on their own outside of Dorne and the North. So a litany of individuals would assume these women would be as such until clarified.

And it's worse, given they're Dornish.

Many people have the atrocious opinion of her people's promiscuity. People living beyond the Dornish Marches describe their women as being whores so wanton they allow actual animals between their legs while their men are degenerates who would fuck anything with a hole.

Tyene, much like many Dornish, don't blame a great number of these people if they were truly innocent. It's just everyone else that irks them on occasion. The Dornish are more openminded in matters of sex but that doesn't mean they tolerate upstarts involving themselves in their relationships. Tyene's father being a chief example.

Some of the men had already given her dirty looks at the start of their venture across the Riverlands with only the Northmen giving her an iota of respect.

Most though didn't really voice or say anything since she was seen around Roxas practically all the time.

Woe be unto those stupid enough to badmouth or insult a friend to the Hero of the Keyblade.

Of course this wouldn't stop the whispered rumors going around of Tyene essentially bedding the future Westerosi prince.

Then again it hasn't happened…

Yet.

As they ate, they soon took notice of a figure standing near the treeline.

Tyene nudged the blonde Keybearer to gain his attention and nudged her head towards the general location. Seeing this, both teens got up and went to check it out.

When they got closer, they saw it wasn't a possible threat at all, but an old woman.

The tiny woman was around Arya's height, due to her hunched back appearance with a battered black cane for support. She seemed far older than any woman they have known. Her white hair was so long it came almost to the ground. When the wing trusted it blew about her head in a fine cloud. Her flesh was whiter than milk and it seemed to the two teens her eyes were red, though it was hard to tell.

"Hello." Roxas greeted her.

He eyed the woman warily though she didn't give off an overall threatening demeanor. Her look was strange but Roxas had seen stranger in his travels.

"Are you perhaps lost? Separated from the nearby towns?"

Seeing this person by herself made him wonder if she perhaps fled from the recent skirmishes plaguing the Riverlands.

"I am not lost, young man. I live in this forest. It's been a long time since I've lived anywhere else." She answered, voice aged and slightly croaking.

'Oh, she's one of those kinds of people.' Roxas internally mused.

Honestly, her comment reminded her of Xemnas when the two of them met at the shore in the realm of Darkness.

She looked a bit frail and her arms shook with every movement that she made.

"Would you like to come near the fires?" He offered. "Even have some food we cooked? We have plenty to share."

The pale old lady smiled widely and nodded. "That is mighty kind of you, child."

The pair escorted the elderly woman to the rest of the camp. Most of their company briefly regarded them before focusing back towards their meal.

Once seated, the guest watched the comradery all around. She then noticed Tyene held out a bowl of stew that she had poured for the old woman who regarded the Dornish girl with a kind look.

"And thanks to you as well, my dear."

Partaking of the given meal, the hunchback woman pleasantly hummed with each spoonful.

"Who is that with you two?" Spoke Berric, who walked over some moments ago alongside their Myrish companion.

The daughter of Oberyn looked over to the Lightning Lord.

"Just a homeless drifter." Tyene said simply. "Roxas invited her to eat with us."

"A drifter you say?" Dondarrion remarked with a quizzical look. "One at her age?"

"Maybe she's stronger than she looks." She remarked.

Thoros eyed the woman with a strange look as he seated himself next to Berric. He could sense something off about her. Something old, yet foreign. He couldn't quite place it.

"Has anyone volunteered yet for the night watch?" Asked Roxas.

"We're going to ask very soon once we're all fed." Spoke the red priest.

The old woman soon spoke up. "Why do you wish for those to forgo their slumber this night?"

Roxas shrugged. "Keeping watch if any Heartless and Unversed show up for a surprise attack."

The elderly person didn't exactly know what they were referring to, or show any kind of regard, but voiced something else.

"No harm ever comes to those who sleep within the forest."

"...That is quite the boast to claim."

The old woman smiled enigmatically. "I've lived here for decades. I have never been harmed within the borders. Not even as the wars went on ever since I was brought into the world."

"How can you be so sure?" Asked Thoros.

"This place belongs to the old gods and is still sacred to the children of the forest. They still linger here as I do, shrunken and feeble but not yet dead."

As much as the red priest wanted to perhaps say such a thing as false, he chose to hold his tongue. It was still part of his old lessons briefly rising up to fight his old beliefs with another.

"Does anyone have any songs in mind?" A voice called out, who many recognized as Tom Sevenstreams. "I just don't want to assume anything no one likes."

"I think no one cares at this point. Just any song will do for now." Spoke another.

Once getting the confirmation, the bard played a song on his harp.

"My featherbed is deep and soft,

and there I'll lay you down,

I'll dress you all in yellow silk,

and on your head a crown.

For you shall be my lady love,

and I shall be your lord.

I'll always keep you warm and safe,

and guard you with my sword."

A good number of their company laughed.

"Are we certain this one is a highborn lady, Tom?"

"Shove it, you ass."

Tom soon resumed his song.

"And how she smiled and how she laughed,

the maiden of the tree.

She spun away and she said to him,

no featherbed for me.

I'll wear a gown of golden leaves,

and bind my hair with grass,

but you can be my forest love,

and me your forest lass."

A number of their company clapped, either out of courtesy or them liking the song.

Wanting to change things up, Tom decided to use a good favorite gig of his to rouse his audience.

"Oh fishmonger, oh fishmonger

Come quell your daughter's hunger"

A good number of their company laughed. And in mere moments they began to clap at a steady beat with the next couple of verses. Even singing along as well with more and more tagging along.

To pull on my horn

As it rises in the morn

For 'tis naught, but bad luck

To fuck with a puck

Lest your grandkid be born

A hairy young faun

Bleating and braying all day, hey ho

"The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba

The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba

The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba

The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba ba"

The rest of the song was quite good as the clapping accelerated before it's end. By that point, others cheered and became a bit more enthusiastic on what Tom the bard may play next.

As things died down, a thought hit Tyene's head. She appeared contemplating on going through with it as she was eating through the last of her serving of stew. But once glancing at Roxas from the side, the Dornish girl made a decision.

Taking a good swig of water to wash and clear her mouth, Tyene got up and made her way towards the bard.

"Hey, Tom."

The Riverlands bard looked up from adjusting his lute strings to respond to the Sand Snake.

"Yes, Tyene. Got any requests?"

"Do you perhaps know Old Jenny?"

The bard blinked when hearing this, as did a few others nearby.

"I do. Do you want me to sing it?"

"Naw, I'd like to save you the trouble."

"You wish to sing, then?"

"I do." Said the dornish girl. "I feel like it's appropriate, given what's happening."

Tom shrugged and went to get ready in playing the requested song.

Roxas looked over to the Sand Snake with a curious look in his eyes, wondering how well she could sing. And he wasn't the only one, given she never sang once joining their company or even beforehand.

Amongst them all, the old woman looked at the Dornish girl with a yearning look to hear that song after quite some time.

The harp strings were then strung as the melody soon filled the air with Tyene's voice being carried on.

"High in the halls of the kings who are gone

Jenny would dance with her ghosts

The ones she had lost and the ones she had found

And the ones who had loved her the most."

Silence slowly reigned over the entire camp as they heard the song being played. It's tune started to grow as the assembled party attentively listened.

"The ones who'd been gone for so very long

She couldn't remember their names

They spun her around on the damp old stones

Spun away all her sorrow and pain."

"And she never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave

Never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave."

The soft melody was haunting and saddening as it began to latch onto everyone. It could perhaps be the present atmosphere or something else entirely. For those who had heard this song before somewhat believed this rendition felt stronger than any time beforehand.

"They danced through the day

And into the night through the snow that swept through the hall

From winter to summer then winter again

'Til the walls did crumble and fall."

"And she never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave

Never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave

And she never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave

Never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave."

"High in the halls of the kings who are gone

Jenny would dance with her ghosts

The ones she had lost and the ones she had found

And the ones

Who had loved her the most."

At the song's end, reactions differed amongst the company. Speechlessness was present on some, others -like Roxas- stared at Tyene, wide eyed and mouth slightly agape. The rest of them clapped and cheered for her performance, raising their mugs to toast her.

Though it was gratifying to see such a response, only one reaction mattered to Tyene.

The Sand Snake looked over to an amazed Roxas who was staring at her in awe.

She gave him a coy and seductive smile despite feeling her face heat up at the gaze directed at her by the boy she desired.

"That was pretty bloody beautiful." Thoros muttered to himself, drinking from his flask.

"Seems you enjoyed it." Berric remarked with a grin, nudging his friend with his shoulder.

"Must be my drinks finally kicking in." The man of Myr grumbled lightheartedly.

Thoros didn't know why, but he felt as if the song held some sort of great significance.

At first, he believed there was a sense of warm comradery which one hoped could last forever, but it's not going to. Yet there was something else present. A feeling inside him seemed to spark once hearing this particular song in it's intended form.

Unbeknownst to the Red Priest, Roxas had similar thoughts and feelings. Yet he couldn't help but wonder how beautiful Tyene's voice was in such a way.

Before having the chance to tell her how much he liked her singing, he and several others soon heard some sniffles from nearby. Turning to the source, they saw the old woman with them was starting to cry.

Roxas was the first to go to her and see what's wrong as Tom continued to play several other songs.

"Sweet Jenny." She whispered. "My old, sweet Jenny."

"Ma'am. Are you alright?" He asked.

She gave a small nod before opening her eyes. They were red, well redder due to the fresh tears being shed.

"The song was beautiful." Said the old woman. "I may be able to rest well this night."

A curious thought was then voiced.

"Do you not sleep well, ma'am?"

"Probably her living in the forest most of her life made it so."

Roxas gave the one who spoke this a bland look.

Turning back to the hunchback woman, he was about to speak when-

"The old gods stir and will not let me sleep peacefully."

"Quite the odd thing to say." Said the blonde teen.

"Seems I've been proven my point-"

"Oh will you please shut up." Exhaling a sigh, Roxas spoke once more to their guest. "Is there a possible reason why you don't sleep easily? And what's this with the old gods being the cause?"

"I dream of times to come and they come true." She sadly proclaimed. "I dreamt of war and death, yet I never knew what led up to such events."

Roxas, while unsure, decided to go along with it and perhaps try to humor the old woman.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I've lived a long life, young man. Despite me being a commoner, I know much and experience as such. I can only understand details of my dreams with my present knowledge."

"Are there any dreams you would like to share, ma'am?"

"I dreamt of a beautiful woman, assaulted by several men who argued amongst each other in order to claim her in their entirety. Even a legion worth of grey rats gnawed on her flesh and slowly poisoned her so she may not recover. Only for someone else to liberate her and give her a brighter future."

"That's… rather strange and unsettling."

"Not all dreams are." Beric commented. "No one person ever just has good ones."

Roxas nodded before turning back to the hunchback woman and ushered her to perhaps continue.

"I dreamt of a white dragon journey across seas with no tides, coming across foreign lands with those it called allies. And in that journey, it battled black ones. I dreamt of a shadowy beast standing on a bridge that swayed and swung. Perched on it's back was a drowned crow with seaweed hanging from its wings. I dreamt of a crippled and trapped raven, pale as bone, which sought for freedom. Yet it was hungry and feasted off the corpses of those it cawed into their ears. I dreamt of beasts long gone, returning as the sky is split asunder and a maiden star bled into motherhood. I dreamt of keys. Of light and dark clashing. Life and death. Oh I woke with terror. All I dreamt of were these and more."

Hearing these dreams from the old woman, a number of those near her couldn't make heads or tails of what was really spoken.

Thoros, however, wondered if she perhaps had prophetic visions.

Such things oddly happen at times with the strangest of people. Most came from those back in Essos, others came from those who shared Valyrian blood given what he heard. Even he was amongst them, once upon a time long before he came to Westeros.

"Why would you so freely tell us of these?" Came Tyene's inquiry.

The old woman warmly smiled at the Sand Snake.

"Because you sang me her song, dear child. Consider it my payment. Hopefully instead of nightmares this night, I may dream of a long awaited spring."

Whilst this was nice to hear by most-

"Dreams," grumbled a man in their company who overheard from nearby. "What good are dreams? I had a dream myself last night. I was kissing this tavern wench I used to know."

'What a way to ruin the mood.' Was a shared thought amongst others.

The old woman soon handed over the empty bowl and gave her thanks. She then walked away from the camp and returned to the Forest of High Heart where her home resided.

Even if she was gone, the old woman's words echoed in the heads of a handful of individuals.

As the night went on, songs were sung in the air as the merriment and comradery ever went on. But, like all things, it had to come to an end as people began cleaning up and began retiring for the evening. For others they stayed up for the first shift of the night's watch for any possible trouble brewing.

Off to the "head" of the camp that led in the direction of Riverrun sat Roxas with Tyene in the tent they "shared".

Shared being used loosely as Tyene all but silently forced Roxas to share a tent with her. Logically it made sense since he was the only one she knew personally and intimately enough to trust but also for obvious selfish reasons.

Selfish reasons being that she basically slept with the boy she had grown to care deeply for in his bed without bothering to ask though he didn't really resist all that much either.

It was comfortable and she liked having Roxas as a body pillow and left it at that.

"I meant to tell you earlier, but you sang wonderfully."

Tyene smiled at the compliment, just as she unbuckled some straps.

"Wonderfully? Not beautifully?" She coyly said.

The Sand Snake giggled when hearing him fix his mistake. This earned him a nice peck on the lips.

As they more or less got ready for bed in silence, the dornish girl felt a cold breeze and voiced her complaint.

"Urgh." Tyene murmured, shivering slightly. "It's too cold up here."

No. XIII blinked slightly, looking at his friend in confusion.

"Is it?" He asked.

She gave him a blank look as she saw he appeared completely unbothered by the chilly wind blowing into the tent.

"What? It's not that cold, is it?" He innocently asked.

The Sand Snake was now amused and shot him a small smirk. "I'm Dornish, remember? Anything remotely past the northern borders of my home is already too cold for our tastes."

He snorted upon hearing that. "Bet you would utterly hate the North then."

Tyene shivered. "I would need a constant source of warmth to keep me going." A teasing smile soon marred her face. "I wouldn't mind if you shared…"

Roxas' face heated up as she scooched over to him and pressed her entire body up against him.

"Tyene." He grunted, squirming as she wrapped her arms around his own.

"You know you love it." Tyene teased, pecking him on the cheek.

"I know you enjoy it way too much." Roxas grumbled.

She only hummed in response, laying her head against his shoulder contentedly.

He should've gotten used to the close proximity by this point. He had been trying to since she essentially snuck into his bed the first night traveling to Riverrun.

Each morning, he would wake up and feel her hugging him close. Her head occasionally rests on his ribs, given she comments they're arranged perfectly for her, or at the crook of his neck. And he keeps on inhaling her unique scent of blood oranges, dornish spices and flowers throughout his slumber, making him start to slowly favor it like a well made scented candle or bath.

It didn't help when she would tease him each time they woke up before sneaking in a morning kiss. Even this morning he felt her nibbling on his ear while licking it, which felt really weird to experience.

This all led up to him hearing the rumors going around in his assembled company on the implications of their actions.

Not like he's gonna fall for giving them what they want to hear… hopefully… and ruin their good names in the process.

Stupid double standards. Such a thing is truly annoying.

"Have you ever had a place you called home?"

Roxas gave her a strange look. "Where'd that come from?"

She shrugged against him. "I don't know. Just a thought really. Everyone I've ever met or have run into all come from somewhere or someplace that they would call home. It's something that I've seen asked of just about everyone who I've ever encountered. "I'm from the North. Yeah, well I'm Dornish. My friend here is from the Reach". It's the same thing from everyone. All but you."

He didn't respond at first, feeling Tyene's head shift against his shoulder and he knew she was looking up at him now.

"Well? Do you have a place you call home?"

The blonde Nobody was silent for a time until coming up with some form of an answer. "It's... complicated."

Tyene exhaled a sigh. "I figured, given how vague you are with where you lived with your former allies."

"Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Oh come on." Tyene pulled her head back slightly. "There has to have been a place you called home at one point in your life." She soon explained some bit of reasoning. "I'm all for an adventure or two, going out there and helping people like I've seen you do. That, I can get behind. But living on the open road or sea, constantly moving from place to place, no roots to lay down, no meaningful relationships or no place that you know is always going to be there? That's outright lonely, like living a partial life. Having someplace to come back to and call it home... it makes doing your duties a lot easier and worth it."

"No place like home, huh?" The Nobody whispered.

Tyene giggled as she smiled at the young man beside her. "It makes life worth living for. It's something my father told us years ago. One he never thought he'd feel after some time during his time in exile as he truly felt homesick."

Roxas wasn't exactly sure about giving her the answers of one being a place where nothingness exists and the other being a fabricated, digitized reality.

Ned was proof enough that some of these concepts would be too much to understand for the people of this World.

"There's Winterfell." Roxas said. "That place always felt nice to be in."

"And very soon once you marry Myrcella, it's the Red Keep."

He sighed upon that reminder. "Yeah, that too."

"...You still don't want it, do you?" Tyene said in mock realization.

"Gee, ya think?" Roxas wryly asked, not expecting an answer. "Thrown into a marriage I didn't ask or demand for, I should've knocked Robert on the head for that."

Tyene sighed dramatically, placing her head against his shoulder again. "Oh that would've been a sight."

He snorted. "I bet." Roxas leaned back a little as he continued. "Despite how things began, Myrcella and I had a complicated relationship. She knows it and understands, given the amount of effort she's putting into it."

"While you weren't really committed."

"Basically yes. Because of my busy schedule, I didn't put much effort into our time together. Just conflicted feelings about it all." He soon ran his hand through his sandy blonde locks. "Of course before leaving, Myrcella and I talked and we're gonna try to perhaps make it work. Start up this courtship again, as it were. Don't know if it'll be a long time till we get married, so there's that."

"I don't know about you, but some people may want to push forward the marriage to swiftly secure you to the throne."

"That's if I even live to see that day or decline it all together."

Tyene gave him a sharp look of alarm. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What?"

She struck him on the arm.

"You know what I meant, what's this about not living to see that day?" Tyene said with a frightened and angry tone. "Why would you go and say something like that?!"

"Tyene, I-"

"Explain."

Roxas gave her an apprehensive look.

"Well?" She said impatiently.

Silence filled the tent for a number of moments before the Keybearer finally spoke.

"With my… profession -if you could call it that- I may not succeed all the time. I'm always at a risk of failing if I come across a stronger and more dangerous opponent."

"So?"

Roxas sighed. "Tyene… There are some dangerous people that I'm going to be facing soon. People who are capable of killing me in one shot."

He saw Tyene's face pale slightly upon hearing that reminder but he pressed on.

"People who I used to work alongside with. People who no doubt know my present capabilities after I faced off with Vanitas, who is a Keybearer like me."

"Roxas…"

"This is what I'm gonna be facing Tyene. I have to accept the possibility of not coming back."

"Then why go at all?" Tyene asked now in fear. "Are there no others out there who can fight these people?"

"Far and few between." He said with a sigh. "They're strong, powerful like me but… I can't in good conscience just sit out this fight. It's more than just keeping the people I care for safe. It's personal. Far more personal than I care to admit."

Not to mention the fact he doesn't know how he may approach them; both Sora and the rest of his vast amount of friends.

Things were clearly complicated when he was previously outside of his Somebody. How he had to fight Sora before merging back with him which led up to fighting Xemnas and the rest of the Organization.

If he came to them again, Roxas just didn't know what would happen then. This was merely the anxiety, stress and many other feelings talking. Them all clouding his thoughts with doubt, making him wonder if they may or may not assist him on this endeavor.

It was just so damn awkwardly complicated. Just like his existence.

He sighed. "I have to do this Tyene. I have no choice."

She was silent for a moment.

The intensity he held was not something she had seen very often but… this was different.

He said it himself, there was something personal about this and she understood that ran the risk of him acting on reckless abandonment.

A terrifying concept.

So she made a decision for him here and now.

"Then you had better come back."

She saw him open his mouth to respond but she didn't give a chance to speak.

"Don't you know the amount of people who care for you? And not just for your status and power?" Tyne sternly asked. "What of the people you cherished? The people you'd run through the world for if they were in any sort of danger?"

"I'd go through anything to be sure they're safe. I don't know what would happen if I-"

"Then can you make all of us a promise?"

Roxas glanced back wordlessly towards Tyene. Her hands were shaking, making him take hold of them. She tightened her grip upon contact as her dark eyes looked on inspiration. But her voice was firm and resolute.

"When I or any of us are in a tough spot and can't get out, you'll come and save us."

The blonde Nobody remembered the promises he made with the number of people here in Westeros. Especially the one he made with Myrcella, given her grandmother's pendant was hanging from his neck. And while he didn't say it to Sansa when they last spoke, he wanted to see her again as well.

"You better not even think of just giving up and allowing yourself to die. Do you hear me?"

"Tyene-"

"Do you hear me?" She hissed, a glint in her eyes appearing. "Promise me that no matter what, you'll always come back to us. To me."

He hesitated for a moment, not wanting to lie to her but at the same time.

"I promise." He said softly

"You better mean it."

She didn't give him a chance to respond as she pulled him into a fierce, passionate kiss that momentarily caused his brain to shut down.

This was far more affectionate, if not downright lustful, than the usual he's had with the Sand Snake.

It was almost possessive.

He soon reciprocated into the most sensual kiss he's definitely experienced with Tyene all but sitting on his lap now with her arms tightly wrapped around him.

He placed one hand on her back, which pulled her close to her while the other cupped her cheek. He practically heard her mewl in the kiss, especially when his hand brushed against her ear before combing through her hair. She returned the action in kind by mirroring the action.

Before long, they toppled to the bed with her lying on top of him. Their bodies seemed to mold into each other as they kept their close contact. They occasionally rolled to see who would be on top or being the dominant one as they battled for supremacy. All the while ending up slowly grinding into the other to get a pleasured rise.

She pulled back sucking in air, looking into Roxas' eyes with a hungry desire. A string of saliva connecting their mouths soon broke. Their warm breaths hitting each other's faces against the cooling evening.

Roxas was honestly at a loss as to what to do but he held her close. He felt heat rushing through his entire body and electricity tingling at the tips of his fingers.

A slow dawning of realization came over the young girl as she continued gazing into Roxas' crystal blue eyes.

"I… I love you." She whispered, more to herself than to him.

He heard it however, all the same in terms of reaction.

"You… you what?" He said in surprise.

"I love you." She repeated now, with complete certainty, laughing to herself. "I mean… it was sort of obvious but now… I know I love you, Roxas, with all my heart and soul. I don't know if these feelings I bear are true, but I want to explore if they are true."

Roxas felt like a sense of deja vu washed over him, given what occurred before heading out of the capital.

'First Sansa, now her.' He thought to himself, feeling thoroughly overwhelmed. 'Urgh… I don't know if Axel, Trevor or Alucard would have known how to deal with this but either of them should've at least known something.'

"But Tyene…"

"I don't care if you'll marry Myrcella. I would be your mistress, hers as well if it means I get to be with you." Tyene said. "Hells, Sansa is free to join us as well. I love her hair, eyes and pale skin."

"Tyene!" He said with a scandalous look that made her laugh. "Why?"

"Because you've ruined everyone else for me." Tyene said, cheeks puffed out now. "My father and mother always spoke of the wonders and tastes the world has to offer but who could ever come close or compare with you? There's no one else on this continent, maybe even this World like you."

She kissed him once again. "You, who so gallantly charges into danger, who so willingly puts yourself on the line for those you care for. You came out of nowhere and all of Westeros knows your name but not who you are. I have that chance. I want to know more and more of you each day. I don't know if I could spend another day without you."

"I believe that's taking it a bit too far." Roxas said deflectively but the look in the girl's eyes silenced him.

"Point is…" Tyene said, drawing closer to him. "I know now that I want you in my life until the end of my days. Damn the people thinking I'm just a young green girl. Young and in love, that's the old saying, yes? Well that's me right now. And it appears Sansa and Myrcella are in the same state as I am. You have three girls completely in love with you and you can't do anything about it."

'Three girls?' The poor teen thought to himself in amused misery.

"Anything?" Roxas said weakly.

She kissed him in response again. "Anything."

The Nobody gazed upon her fierce expression before sighing in acceptance.

He knew about this kind of topic during the past months when learning more about the Westerosi Kingdoms. The vast amounts of problems with the Targaryens. The complications with the Andal church with marriage. So on and so forth.

This decision will be quite the issue to undertake. He just didn't know how, or ever will, he can handle this on his own… even with the odd support.

Roxas plopped his head back down, looking towards the tent's "ceiling". Tyene merely rested her head on his chest, feeling bits of content.

"I don't exactly know how Myrcella would take this. She had to deal with her father bedding others who aren't her mother almost daily. It practically hurts her and makes her slowly numb to it over time. I don't know if this would just make it worse."

The Sand Snake soon frowned. "You make a valid point. Her opinions should be heard and greatly considered. She is to be your wife after all. And Sansa? She's marrying Joffrey."

"Also true… For now." He said derisively. Roxas soon felt her shift off his chest and looked at him curiously. "Knowing Ned, he'll call off the marriage as soon as he gets the chance. That bratty prince is vile and evil to the core from what I feel."

"I agree. Granted such a thing would only happen if Joffrey botches the courtship through some big enough scandal, not through his personality. That alone is not enough of an excuse to end the royal betrothal."

Roxas sighed, rubbing his face with his other hand that wasn't wrapped around Tyene's waist. "Which would be a complete mess in order for that to happen."

"Only the gods know how that would go."

"I wouldn't take it that far." Roxas remarked.

Tyene snorted. "You know what I mean."

Roxas shrugged, making her go up and down with a laugh.

"Don't really put much stock in the Gods here."

"How can you, being a mini-god yourself?" Tyene teases, tracing a finger against his jaw.

Roxas chortled, leaning into her hand slightly. "Don't let any Septas or Septons hear you say that. Already get enough of a stink eye from them half the time."

Tyene laughed, humming happily as she placed her ear atop his chest.

It was difficult at first but after several moments, she heard it.

A steady and strong heartbeat.

Her eyes fluttered to a close with a wide smile appearing on her face.

She reached for Roxas' other hand and held it close.

She kissed it lightly before allowing the calming heartbeat of the boy she loved to lull her to sleep.

"Love you…" Tyene whispered quietly, the last thing he heard before the quiet sound of her sleeping was all he could hear.

Still laying there, Roxas wondered a good number of things running through his head.

Tyene wants to be together with him. Wants to explore things in this unique relationship she's pursuing. And clearly Sansa is in the same boat, despite her restrictions.

In a sad way, he may use what he experienced in his courtship with Myrcella as "guidelines" on this new situation he's in. Not everything in its entirety, just a good number of basics. All in order to see if things could perhaps work out between him and the Sand Snake and even the Stark girl if the opportunity happens.

Roxas just didn't want to abuse this, take advantage of this in the wrong way. He learned from the issues of the past with the various Houses and conflicts on this field of topic and he doesn't want to repeat them in another way or fashion. Not to mention rushing it like so many have done in this World in order to secure alliances and power.

Would this be fair? Clearly not. Would this still be complicated as before? Most certainly.

And yet there was one thing he knew. At some point, he will need to come clean about a number of things in order to clarify if these relationships can continue on or not.

The only questions about this now was when he would talk about this and if they can handle it.

-The Red Keep-

Things have been problematic these past days.

A king assassinated within his own bed chamber.

And since then a strict lockdown had been placed throughout the keep.

From both in and of its walls, there was chaos all around with the grave news.

It was only until now did order remotely come again upon the capital, only to a reasonable degree.

People can now come and go from the Red Keep's walls. Despite the procedure done for the sake of their safety, everyone within the capital felt quite the opposite on varying levels.

With the gray light of dawn seeping through the canopy above the godswood, Ned conversed with a particular woman who he bore mixed feelings with these past days.

"What is it that you want Stark?" Cersei questioned harshly, leveling a cool look at the Hand of the King who appeared nonplussed by her gaze.

"I have called you here for one reason, Queen Cersei." Ned's tone was respectful and genuine as he bowed his head forward slightly. "I wish to offer you my apologies from our previous conversation we have had before."

She raised a dismissive eyebrow at the Hand and sneered.

"For threatening my children?" The Queen all but hissed.

Ned shook his head. "Joffrey and Tommen are still sons born between you and your brother."

The blonde woman scoffed dismissively.

"But your daughter…"

Silvery gray eyes locked onto emerald green.

"Is yours and Roberts without question." He said resolutely. "And I intend on honoring my best friends dying wish in having Myrcella placed upon the Iron Throne."

Cersei certainly wasn't expecting to hear such a thing from the Hand of the King.

"I see… And what do you intend to do with me and my sons now?"

"More or less with what I've said before. But with Myrcella to be queen, she will order me to stay my hand from harming them."

"So you expect me to just let you accuse my sons and let my reputation be sullied?" Cersei sneered.

"This is about honoring what my closest friend, the man who I call a brother, has asked me to do." Ned said coldly. "He wishes Myrcella to be his heir and I know she is the only trueborn that is between him and you. She is to be our next Queen and ruler. Your son Joffrey however remains illegitimate and therefore cannot stay here. Tommen is another story as he's with your father."

"They are still my daughters' brothers." The Queen countered. "They have every right to be here."

Ned was silent, gazing intently at the Lannister Monarch who was glaring right back at him.

Eventually, the Stark Patriarch released a tired sigh, casting his gaze downward for a moment before looking back at the Queen.

"Do you support Roberts' decision in choosing to make Myrcella his heir?" He asked in a calm fashion.

She put on a conflicted look. One which had been present for days, thinking over and over on the thought of her daughter being ruler instead of her son.

"It's complicated."

Ned let out a frustrated sigh.

"Never a simple yes or no in King's Landing, is there?" He rhetorically asked aloud. "Do you still hate your husband so much you would not want to support your daughter?"

"I love my young lioness with my heart and soul." Cersei viciously spat back.

"Then why won't you?"

The queen was silent for a moment, looking away from Eddard, taking a few steps towards the direction she now faced.

"Joffrey is meant to be king."

"Was." Ned reminded. "Now he is to abdicate and allow the true heir to take her place on the Iron Throne."

"Do you think my father will allow for such actions to be made against our House?"

"I care very little of what your father thinks." Ned shot back. "Unlike the rest of Westeros, Tywin Lannisters' name and reputation fails to install any sort of fear in the hearts and minds of the North. His reputation is that of a butcher to be hated, not a man to be feared."

Cersei scoffed at this. "Oh, but you should fear my fathers wrath."

"I've stared down Vanitas and lived." He countered, causing the queen's mouth to clamp shut. "Now tell me straight without any form of misdirection or restraint. Do you or do you not support your daughter as the true heir to the Iron Throne?"

Cersei was silent for a time, eyes glazed over as she thought of the question, repeating the events that had led up to this shocking fork in the road within her mind.

Her last conversation with her husband was actually one of the better memories she has had in the last few years as his queen.

Him telling her of their daughter's intentions of naming her firstborn daughter after her beloved late mother. It nearly moved her to tears that Myrcella would even consider something like that for her. How he envisioned Roxas supporting their child, both through their eventual marriage to ruling all of Westeros. All that and so much more in between the lines.

After what felt like an eternity…

"I do."

Ned exhaled, relief being felt from the man as he moved to stand by the Queen.

"I know it's hard, Cersei, but your daughter will need every bit of help that she can get. Now more than ever." He spoke in a soft tone. "I understand what I am doing and it is not something I do with a light heart. I never had any intentions of coming South to enact such drastic and dangerous accords."

"Then why come down here at all, Lord Stark?" She asked blankly. "You had every chance to refuse Robert, yet you chose not to and follow through."

"Because the King had asked. Because he was my best friend. Because I needed to right the wrongs befallen upon Jon Arryn." Ned let out a mirthful chuckle. "And because I am an honorable fool who is as stubborn as he is stupid."

The queen couldn't help but snort and looked down at the ground.

"If only the world had more men like yourself, Roxas and Ventus… perhaps we would have been better off." The Queen found herself admitting.

"We can't change the past." Ned said with a shake of his head. "What we can do is act to the best of our ability in the here and now for everyone's future."

Cersei said nothing else as she left the godswood. Ned stayed a bit longer, looking on and hoping the queen will fully come around and do what is needed.

Unbeknownst to either of them, they were being watched from the shadows before disappearing from it.

Elsewhere…

Myrcella sat quietly in her bedchamber, silently working on her embrowdery.

The one in her grasp depicted the sigils of her parents' respective Houses. And connecting the two from their opposing separation were the pair of Keyblades Roxas is well known to commonly wield.

This was what she envisioned to be the standard of her eventual union with Roxas.

It was a decent start, given she didn't know and had Roxas' input and thoughts on this.

It was a means of distracting herself. Yet she kept failing as she was often reminded of what will no longer happen. That on her special day, her father would not be there to walk her down the aisle and give her away.

All because of that monster Vanitas.

Because of him, she never felt more so alone here.

Not because of restrictions, but because of her own decision and emotions.

And it has been like that for days.

A rapping on her chamber door broke her away from her bit of work. She sought to resume when moments later it resumed again.

Perhaps it was a servant coming by to deliver her food. Perhaps her mother, trying to console her.

Obviously enough, it wouldn't be her brothers.

Tommen was with their grandfather. And Joffrey… was Joffrey.

He never cared for her and their little brother for the longest time. She just never knew why, despite how hard she tried to connect with him.

She sought someone familiar to fully open up to, yet was afraid.

What an odd thing grief was.

The rapping on her chamber door came once again, making Myrcella decide to address the person on the other side.

Placing her embroidery work on the nearby nightstand, the princess went to her bed chamber door. Opening it up, she saw one who she grew close to these past months.

"Sansa?" Myrcella saw her friend in a state of apparent misery.

"May I come in?" Her voice came out in a slight croak.

Without another word, she ushered her red haired friend into her room, closing and locked the door before quickly having her sit on her bed with her taking a seat beside her.

"What's wrong, my friend?" She asked straight away, taking the girl's hand into her own.

Sansa was silent for a few moments, clearly unsure of whether or not she should speak.

"I… I wanted to see how you are doing." The Stark girl muttered out. "I-I was worried for you."

Myrcella shuffled in her seat.

This wouldn't be the first time Sansa came to check up on her. And even if she didn't exactly voice it, she greatly appreciated it from her close friend. It made her feel slightly better at this dark time in her life.

Before long, the princess noticed more of the Northerner as she was feeling rather uncomfortable.

"I feel like I should be asking you if you are well." Myrcella admitted, scooting closer to her friend. "Sansa… Did something happen?"

Instead of answering right away, the eldest Stark daughter leaned her head against Myrcella's body and was glad to feel her friend instantly accept the gesture and have arms wrapped around her body.

The two remained like this for a time, Myrcella gently stroking Sansa's hair whilst feeling the Stark girl clutch her closely.

"Sansa… could you-?"

"Father is planning on sending Arya and I home."

Myrcella pulled away slightly to look down at her friend in her arms.

"What?" The Baratheon princess croaked out. "When?"

"I don't know. I… I sought to tell you earlier but… then your father…"

Myrcella said nothing more as she held onto her friend even more.

It was more for comfort for both their sakes.

'Another person I care about is leaving me.' Was the thought.

She found herself holding Sansa close to her once more, leaning her head against hers.

For the longest time, she sought to have friends. Not ones trying to get close due to her position and influence as princess, but as her. It made things difficult for her to get close to a handful of people throughout her life.

The only ones she remained close to were family members such as Tommen, their uncle Tyrion and their mother… to a degree. And as for uncle Jamie, things could be better. Sadly no one else.

That changed since arriving at Winterfell and their journey back home from it.

Over these past months, she began her relationship with Sansa and found herself opening up to her. It ended up making her happy to see her on the right occasions. And afterwards came other people getting close to her and vice versa in a sense.

Arya was a sweet little girl in her own way, which held so much fire inside her. Arianne was someone she strangely found herself looking up to and strived to be. The Dornish Princess was fearless, slightly wild and free spirited with a laser focus on getting what she wants.

The same could be said with Margaery, despite the short amount of time they shared. Tyene was someone she oddly envied with her openness and unique strength.

And Roxas… her precious Roxas… The one she is to marry… the envy of countless men across the Seven Kingdoms. He who struggled for everyone and the one who she wished to help with the burdens placed upon him. All because of admiration and so much more.

"And now?" She said quietly.

"I don't know." Sansa answered, voice low. "With the restrictions for travel now lifted, it may be soon."

"Is there a reason why?"

"I don't know." The Stark girl sniffled. "I wish I knew, but I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave you."

"I don't want you to go either." Myrcella whispered, the two girls now holding hands.

They were quiet for a few moments.

"I wish Roxas was here." Sansa whispered. "I wish there was a way to reach him."

"Me too. I miss him." The Princess stated without hesitation. "Without him here, I don't feel as safe as we once were."

She felt Sansa nod slightly against her.

With how her father died, it made Myrcella wonder if anyone else in the Red Keep will be safe.

The dark Keybearer openly admitted, in a way, that he would be targeting the princesses like how it was in the past. It was not just her but Arianne.

She greatly wished Roxas was here to protect them and keep them safe.

There was a perpetual state of fear in the air coupled with tension that seemed to be on the verge of imploding from within.

The anxiety alone on Vanitas or any of his monsters popping up at a moment's notice was excruciating. And the Baratheon began fearing the shadows like many others.

"I… I also need to tell you something else." Myrcella heard Sansa whisper out.

"About what?"

Sansa hesitated. "You'll hate me for it."

Myrcella broke away from the embrace and looked at her dear friend. "Hate you? How can I? I don't understand."

"I… I love him." She said quietly.

"Who?"

"Roxas."

The confession made her mind go blank. It momentarily rebooted as she tried to work with what was spoken.

"You love him as a friend, yes? I can understand th-"

"No…" Sansa cut her off, breathing in deeply. "I love him, love him."

Silence filled the room once more. Blue-green eyes widening as those words finally seeped through their owner's head.

"...Ah." Was all Myrcella managed out.

"I'm sorry." Sansa cried out. "I honestly tried not to. But-"

"Sansa." The Princess said calmly.

"But I couldn't." Resumed the young lady Stark. "My heart yearns for him and I don't know how I can-"

"Sansa." Myrcella said sternly.

The Northerner stiffened, trying not to look into her friend's eyes.

"I can understand if you don't wish to be friends with me any-"

"I know."

Reddened blue eyes blinked. Their owner slowly turned back to the princess beside her.

"What?"

"Sansa." Myrcella placed her hands on her friends shoulders, looking into her eyes. "I understand and I know that you love Roxas. It's hard not to see it. For the love of the Old Gods and New, I know you love him just as much as I."

"You-you do?"

"Yes…" Myrcella said quietly. "I had grown fond of him, affectionate as time went on. But now that he has left and we haven't seen him… it was surprising, honestly, with how quickly I realized it."

Sansa turned her head away in shame, only to be pulled back by a delicate hand.

"And I do not fault you for it. You knew him longer than I have. You have had more time with him, which made you know your feelings far longer." The blond, blue-eyed Princess said with a sweet smile.

"Yet I am to marry your brother." Sansa stated dejectedly.

Mrycella frowned at the reminder.

"I know."

As much as she would love to have Sansa as her good-sister, over time she couldn't imagine her marrying her brother.

Silence filled the bed chamber as Sansa soon felt her hand being squeezed. Not painfully but gently yet firm for a sense of reassurance.

"Even if you marry him, you can still love Roxas from afar."

"How can I?" Sansa rebuked, tears threatening to spill out of the corner of her eyes. "No one, no one has ever made me feel the way Roxas has before. I-I'm sorry but h-how can I ever love him from afar while being married to your vile brother?" She breathed out, her chest heaving in and out. "I don't know if I can last long being with him."

"There are times I share the same thoughts." Myrcella admitted. "After all these years, I wonder where the sweet brother I once loved went off to. Now I just can't stand the person he became."

Sansa couldn't contain her derisive snort. "When has he ever been sweet?"

"That's something I even ask myself now." The Princess muttered. "I just recall a time long ago where he wasn't the vicious Prince, brief as it was."

Calming down slightly, Sansa hung her head in self defeat.

"Things were never meant to be, I'm afraid. Me not being with him."

It was at this moment did the princess recall some conversations she had with Arianne. Even with Margarey for some form of insight on the subject. A topic Myrcella was afraid to speak with her mother and the septa's about, all for curiosity sake.

"Maybe they can."

The redhead quirked a brow, looking at the Princess. "...I beg your pardon?"

Myrcella coughed lightly into her hand and color dusted her cheeks. "It wouldn't be the first time such a thing happened."

Sansa still didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, it could solve some issues between us, yet sadly not all."

"Myrcella." Was the flat response.

"I… I…"

"J-Just spill it out. You're scaring me."

The Princess coughed into her hand, face now becoming as red as Sansa's hair. "I… I would take you as my secret paramour. And in turn you shall become Roxas' once we marry."

For the second time since coming to the capital, Sansa's mind seemed to short circuit due to the topic being mentioned.

Reboot… Reboot… Sansa .exe… Reboot… Reboot…

Just when she was slowly coming to her senses after who knows how long…

"Forgive me for doing this." Myrcella whispered as she leaned close. "I just want to… try this…"

*Chu*

Soft lips were pressed onto the other.

Once more, the Stark girl's mind tried to reboot, yet failed as her blue eyes widened.

As much as it was wrong to go through such an action, Sansa barely recalled the princess apologizing in advance before proceeding.

Not to mention the kiss was so gentle and sweet, despite how awkward it was to initiate it.

Before long, Sansa was surprised by herself when she slowly reciprocated in a clumsy, eager fashion.

It may have been out of innocent yearning. It may have been out of confusion in their time of grief, but slowly, the two girls deepened their kiss and pulled themselves closer to each other and wrapped their hands around one another.

They pulled away from one another to briefly catch their breath, panting heavily.

They remained apart for a moment until they looked into one another's eyes and instantly resumed their embrace a moment later. Inhaling their respective scents through their noses while trying to maintain lip contact.

The two continued for a time until they separated at last, both girls exhaling heavily.

Myrcella's hand rested upon Sansa's cheek whilst the red haired Stark had her own arms wrapped firmly around the Princesses back.

"So… what does this mean between the two of us now?" Sansa whispered, their foreheads leaning against each other.

Myrcella found herself giggling suddenly. "Now? Well, I suggest one step at a time. I'm new to all this too, you know."

"...The Martells are a horrible influence on us." The eldest Stark daughter remarked with a chortle.

The Princess laughed at that. "On that, we can agree wholeheartedly."

Sansa soon fidgeted in their embrace. "But… But how can we… And Roxas…"

Myrcella shushed her gently, fingers gently grazing over Sansa's lips.

"Not now." She whispered, her breath tickling the other with how close they were. "Let us just have this moment, just the two of us and try this out. And just until you leave my side."

Sansa only nodded, pulling Myrcella in for another kiss before the two lay upon the bed, intertwined with one another. Holding onto each other for comfort and safety for hours.

Even if they weren't kissing and embracing the one they loved with all their heart and very being, they at least had each other. Something which they hoped could work out for the better.

-The Wall-

Trekking up the steps, Jon made his way to the rookery. Nearing it, he heard the sound of meat being carved up by a blade. Upon reaching his destination, Jon saw Maester Aemon carefully cutting the bloody meat after several second intervals.

"Sam said you wanted to see me?"

Aemon stopped cutting the meat as he spoke. "I did indeed. Perhaps you would be kind enough to assist me."

Knowing what's more or less requested, Jon went over to a bucket filled with chopped raw meat. Carrying the handle in his right hand, the Stark bastard felt his palm tingle a little. The same hand which flames shot out of it in the incident. The other hand became bloody from the meat he tossed into the cages.

The ravens and crows soon feasted upon the bloody meat, just like how many have in the past. Both from rookeries and from battlefields. They relish the taste of blood.

As he went on with the given task, Aemon spoke again.

"Tell me, did you ever wonder why the men of the Night's Watch take no wives and father no children?"

"...No."

The topic quickly got him on edge, making him remember some issues he wanted to forget back at Winterfell and Wintertown.

"So they will not love." Answered the blind maester. "Love is the death of duty."

"Weird phrase." Jon commented, still feeding the ravens the bloody meat. Yet it didn't sound right to him all that well, in which he didn't comment.

"It is, but wise once knowing the meaning. But if the day should ever come when your lord father was forced to choose between honor on the one hand and those he loves on the other, what would he do?"

Jon hesitated. He wanted to say that Lord Eddard would never dishonor himself, not even for love, yet inside a small sly voice whispered in his ear.

"He fathered a bastard, where was the honor in that? And your mother, what of his duty to her, he will not even say her name."

Jon shook the unpleasant thought away and spoke what felt right to him.

"He would do whatever was right. No matter what."

"Then Lord Stark is one man in ten thousand. Most of us are not so strong. What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms. Or the memory of a brother's genuine smile?"

Jon finally realized why Aemon requested his presence here. "Sam told you." He stated.

Maester Aemon turned his head and looked at him with those dead white eyes. It was as if he were seeing right into his heart. Jon felt naked and exposed as this continued. Thus it made him look away to continue feeding the ravens.

"We're all human. Oh, we all do our duty when there's no cost to it. Honor comes easy then. Yet sooner or later in every man's life, there comes a day when it's not easy, a day when he must choose."

Jon turned to see Aemon and briefly stepped back when seeing the blind maester was so close to him.

"And this is my day?"

"It hurts, my boy. Choosing always hurts. I know."

Jon snapped back at him. "You do not know! No one knows." He walked past Aemon, slammed the bucket down and turned back to face the blind old man. "The king is dead, most of my family is at the capital where it's not safe. I want to head back south and help Robb, my brother, to help-" A series of chuckles emanating from Aemon's mouth interrupted Jon, making him blink at him in brief surprise. "You think this is funny to you?"

"Forgive me, Jon Snow. The Gods were cruel when they saw fit to test my vows. Three times in fact and the last was as cruel as the first."

"...Excuse me?"

"They waited till I was old when the last test came. What could I do when the ravens brought news from the South, the ruin of my House, the death of my family? I was helpless, blind, frail." Aemon's body seemed to tremble, both in sadness and rage. "But when I heard they had killed my great grand nephew's son and his poor son. And the children. Even the little children!"

Jon stepped back in startled fright. For as long as he had been here, not once did he see this kind, wise old man be angry at all. Not even raising his voice at a certain degree.

Yet witnessing this rage unleashed made him wonder if this was a complete stranger to him.

Of course, he wondered where all this anger came from. The kind of anger which seemed built up for decades. Especially the tears which welled up in his milky white eyes.

"Who are you?" Jon finally asked.

The blind Maester stepped closer to the bastard of Winterfell, speaking in a low voice.

"My father… was Maekar. The first of his name. My brother Aegon reigned after him when I had refused the throne. Succeeded by Jaehaerys after the tragedy of the great fire. And he was followed by his son Aerys, whom they called the Mad King."

In mere moments, the words finally sunk in as Jon realized who was standing before him.

"You're Aemon Targaryen." He whispered out.

"I'm a maester of the Citadel, bound in service to Castle Black and the Night's Watch." Spoke the revealed Targaryen, the one who abdicated the Iron Throne. "I will not tell you to stay or go. You must make that choice yourself, and live with it for the rest of your days." Slowly, Aemon brought his hands to Jon's face and cupped it. His fingers briefly feeling the surface as an odd expression crossed over his features. One of remembrance if Jon could describe. Pulling away, the maester spoke again, albeit softly as a whisper. "As I have…"

Moving away slightly, the old man went back to chop up the meat.

As this went on, Jon thought on a number of things as Aemon's words began sinking in.

He wanted to go back to Winterfell and be by Robb's side. He wanted to perhaps help him on this present endeavor with the kingdoms.

If he did, then he would become an oathbreaker and his neck would be met with an executioner's blade like how many other deserters went through for centuries.

If this were to happen, then word may quickly reach his siblings and friends back south. They would be greatly heartbroken with what happened to him and wouldn't know how to respond to it.

Hopefully, if possible, the Gods may give them the strength he could've brought if he were there instead of here.

Soon enough, Jon came out of his thoughts when he heard the aged maester let out a haggard sigh. "To think… the King who usurped all I once knew and had would be done in by that vile monster."

Jon arched a brow at the Maester. "Vile monster? You mean Vanitas?"

Aemon nodded. "Yes… that, well… I don't even know if man would be the best word to use in describing him."

"I've been hearing that as of late." Jon said with a frown. "My father never spoke much of the Rebellion and even less of this Vanitas that appears to have paralyzed Westeros in fear."

"I met him."

Jon's brows shot up and his jaw dropped slightly. "You have? How? When? During the Rebellion?"

Aemon shook his head. "Near its end. I am not sure as to why he came up here but it was for his own reasons. Was it to gloat about the ruin of my House? No, that was just something of a bonus in just being here. No… Vanitas came up here with a purpose in mind. He was looking for something, someone. I was never able to discern what it was he had come for because he was unlike any man I had ever met before."

Snow felt rather… perturbed by this statement as an unsettled feeling washed over him.

To hear someone as sage-like and wise as the Night's Watch Maester speak of something he doesn't know or understand.

Just who was this Vanitas supposed to be?

"I have seen and encountered men of many walks of life. Men as virtuous and honorable as your father to the mad fools of my own family. But none came close to the pure dread and horror I felt when I had first met that being." Aemon appeared to shiver. "He was this all encompassing void of malice that seemed to hold no end. Violence and death wasn't his trade, it was his art form. He thrived off the suffering of others in a way that would even put my brother's grandson to shame. It was as if he fed off the torment of others."

'Well that's a descriptive way of making him terrifying.' Jon internally said to himself. 'Seemed whatever Roxas spoke didn't do Vanitas justice on that.'

"What… What did he talk about with you?"

Aemon took a moment to recollect the meeting he had with him. "He spoke about hearing a few tales at the Wall. Some which made him too interested. The Night's King being his favorite amongst them all."

"Of course it would." Jon couldn't help but say, judging from the way this man has been described to be. "Anything else?"

"My cousin."

"...Your cousin?" Jon asked, mind a whirl as Targaryens -like all Houses at one point- had too many cousins and relatives to keep track of.

"Vanitas heard of his "grand" reputation. Participated in the first Blackfyre Rebellion and slew the brother he loved in his own fashion. Became both Master of Whispers and Hand of the King as a result of the Great Spring Sickness. Was banished to the Wall after breaking guest rights upon a great council meeting to choose the next king. And soon enough, I served under him once he became Lord Commander of the Night's Watch."

Jon Snow racked his brain for a moment as to who it was that the Maester was speaking of.

The old man seemed to sense his conundrum and chuckled at the boy.

"Brynden Rivers was his name. Otherwise known as Bloodraven, the Sorcerer who bore a thousand and one eyes."

The Bastard of Ned Stark nodded. "I've heard a lot of stories about him."

"How many of them were good?" Aemon asked with a snort. "I can literally count them on one hand alone."

"Was he really that bad?"

"That and more. He was someone who always tried his damndest to justify his actions." The blind maester scoffed. "After all the time I knew him, I learned each and every one of his actions were for the greater good…" he said sarcastically, "or so his excuses were."

"What happened to him?"

Aemon threw his hands up slightly. "He went North of the Wall one day and he never returned.

"And was that all Vanitas wanted to talk about?"

The Targaryen frowned now. "There was one other thing which piqued his interests."

"Being… what?"

Jon was met with an uncharacteristically grave look from Aemon. "The horrors sought to be forgotten by men south the Wall."

-Next Day, Riverrun-

"Is that it?"

"Yes. There be Riverrun."

Roxas and Tyene stood with Thoros and Beric at the front of the company of one hundred sent by Ned Stark to confront Vanitas.

It had taken a bit of time since the company had been decently sized but with Roxas leading the charge, they had gotten to Riverrun relatively quickly.

Being occasionally harassed by the Heartless ironically helped in this regard.

But they made it at long last with not as many casualties as expected. The wonders of items and magic.

No. XIII stood there, in front of the company as he gazed upon the seat of House Tully with only one word coming to mind.

"Huh." Was all Roxas said.

"What?" Thoros looked down at the teen with an amused grin. "Not as impressive as what you've seen before?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, I've seen more interesting and grander stuff. Winterfell and King's Landing for example."

And even if he wouldn't voice it, he would've added in the Castle that Never Was and Alucard's home in Wallachia.

They were able to see their destination while they were still miles away.

As is fitting for the seat of the Lord Paramount of the Trident, Riverrun seems to rise up out of the river itself. It's curious, triangular shapes it's nestled in the confluence of two rivers; the Red Fork and the Tumbledown. And as they slowly approach, it's clear that the western side of the castle is protected by a massive ditch with sluice gates at either end.

At times of war and siege, these gates can be opened letting the rivers rush in; turning Riverrun into an island fortress.

They could get to the castle by road, leading their horses over the drawbridge and through the imposing barbican, but to really get a feel for this place is best to approach it by boat.

Getting closer to the place, the company could make out the sandstone curtain walls. They are marked by many arrow slits and if they were to crane their necks upward, they'd see soldiers peering down from it's crenelated top. The sky towers at each corner of the wall offer excellent views over the surrounding area and guard the shores of the river. If an enemy gets too close to the river's edge, they are in longbow range.

This may not be the largest castle in Westeros, but it is surely one of the more easily defended.

From what Roxas heard, the provisions stored inside can last them up to two years. The island fortress can be fully manned with just two hundred trained guards. And it can be seen as how it has never been successfully captured. Given over to enemies, perhaps, but never stormed.

The Watergate itself is a large arch protected by a portcullis. The bottom half of which sinks deep into the water down to the bed as it rises to let anyone into the place as the sounds of the creaks of machinery and the lapping of water against the castle walls reveal the rusted red coloring.

There were several other boats docked nearby. Provisions are being loaded and unloaded, no doubt trying to get things spread all over the Riverlands for the present issues at hand.

Even if Riverrun is situated far inland, the rivers connect it to the wider world.

"When we make it inside, we'll be presenting ourselves to Lord Holster Tully and Lord Edmure." Beric reminded a number of their company nearby.

"Obviously Roxas will need to be amongst the small retinue for the audience." Said Tyene. "Is there anyone else who'll be joining?"

"Better yet, who would be staying in and out of Riverrun's walls for the evening before we go back out on the morrow?"

From some feet away, Tom the bard spoke up. "I volunteer not to go inside."

This earned a number of looks aimed towards him.

"Any reason why?"

"Usually bards love to go into castle keeps and earn some praise and coin."

"Not me."

"Oh horseshit." One called the bard out.

"Let's just say I have… an issue with the lord's son and leave it at that."

Being curious now, Roxas sought to ask Tom of his reasons when he felt something cold and dark.

And he wasn't the only one.

A large corridor of darkness appeared beside Riverrun, unusually big which brought a sense of dread by many onlookers. They practically stopped in their tracks as silence seemed to reign supreme upon the land.

A pitch-black, gargantuan arm reached out with another following before pulling itself out while much water seeped inside.

It could only be described as a true giant. It's formerly pitch-black body was now covered in bright purple and blue veins. It had short, stubby legs, and very long, muscular arms that almost reached the ground despite the entity standing upright. Black tendrils sprouted from atop its head in some mockery of hair, and wrapped around it's lower face, almost like a scarf. A gaping, heart-shaped hole was prominently displayed in the center of it's chest, and it's piercing yellow eyes were looking down at the seat of House Tully.

"No, no, no, no, no." Roxas said, looking onward in utmost surprise. "What's one of those doing here?"

Beric gaped at the fight of the gargantuan foe. "That's a really big Heartless. Bigger than the one Vanitas created"

"It's a Darkside." Roxas quickly summoned his Keyblades. "I gotta get over there now!"

"What?!" Tyene looked at him in alarm. "Why?"

"Those things… I know none of you can handle one of them at all. And this one looks different from the last ones I fought."

Beric scoffed, reaching for his sword. "No matter. Together we can-"

"Don't follow me, I'll take care of this." No. XIII declared, dashing forward now.

"WHAT?!" Was the collective response.

"You heard me." Roxas shouted back at them, running at full speed towards the Darkside. "This is my fight."

"Roxas, let us help you!" Tyene cried out to him.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts 3: Fragments of Sorrow-

Her pleas were heard, yet ignored as the Keybearer was too far away now.

Both Oathkeeper and Oblivion were in his hands as he ran, lept and flew towards the large Heartless.

He reared Oblivion back, Keyblade flashing before he threw it at full force.

The Keyblade spun through the air at rapid speeds and struck the head of the Darkside.

It flinched at the weapon hitting it in the eye, the Heartless slowly turning its head in the direction of its attacker.

The yellow eyes let out flashes, glowing menacingly as the Darkside now fully turned to face Roxas.

It cocked one of its large fists back and swung forward.

Roxas jumped into the air, using the edges of his Keyblades to strike at the Darksides knuckles and flip through the air before landing atop its wrist and running up the arm.

The Darkside's slow motions did little in keeping Roxas from reaching its face and landing a dual hit to the face.

It reared its head back slightly, signifying the damage it had received from his attack and he was about to go in for another one.

Roxas jumped up to avoid a retaliatory swing and began assaulting the Darkside's right hand. Flipping and twirling as he began striking the appendage as hard as he could with his rapid blows.

The giant Heartless tried swatting him away, making him evade and perform an aerial recovery before casting Blizzaga across it's head. As it tried swatting him again once more, Roxas casted Firaga Burst, letting the mighty ball of flame hovered overhead and broke apart, letting smaller flames rain down hard.

Just as he was about to fall to the ground, Roxas barely registered the stunning burst of speed from the Darkside.

Its large, blackened hand had shot out suddenly and grabbed the blond Keybearer in the air and began to squeeze tightly against him.

Roxas let out a cry of pain, struggling to free himself from the Heartless' grasp.

He had one arm free, being the one with Oblivion and he began stabbing the large hand.

The appendage let him go and he dropped to the ground.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he instantly jumped into a dodging backflip as the Darksides fist slammed down to where he landed.

Roxas managed to deliver some counter slashes in mid-jump though the Heartless was unfazed from this attack.

Just as he was about to go on the offensive once more, he halted in midstep at the sight of a hail of arrows coming from behind and embedded themselves in the Darkside.

He spun about to see the company of men he had traveled with Thoros, Berric and Tyene leading the charge.

"Guys! What are you doing here?!" The Nobody yelled in alarm.

"Here to assist you, you idiot!" Tyene retorted, wielding her daggers and shortsword, flicking the former at the Heartless that was nonplussed by the newcomers charging in to attack it.

"I told you this was my fight." Roxas stressed out, leaping into the air as the Darksides fist came down again to try bashing him into the ground.

He ran up the arm of the Heartless, Keyblades flipped downwards to deliver a dragging damage up the limb before reaching the head.

Just as he was about to strike, a shadow loomed above him and Roxas looked up in time to see a glowing orb of Darkness falling towards him.

The Nobody immediately pivoted forward and used his two Keyblades to swat away the sphere whilst flipping over the Darkside's shoulder.

The rest of the company began surrounding the giant Heartless, setting up archers to fire off another volley of arrows that did little in affecting the giant being of Darkness.

Roxas landed on the ground and rounded on Beric, Thoros and Tyene coming up to him.

"What the hell is the matter with you guys?!" He nearly shouted. "I told you to stay away."

"You really think we were just gonna let you fight this behemoth by yourself?" Tyene rhetorically asked.

"Yes!" Roxas said incredulously. "I do this all the time, I've beaten bozos like this one before."

"What good are we if we don't help you out. Don't you trust us?"

"Tyene…"

"Roxas, she's right." Said Beric. "We are all in this together now whether you like it or not.

"No, she's-Urgh." Roxas seriously wanted to bash his head against something hard. "Fine. you keep your distances and do not come in close. Just make sure it doesn't have the chance to hit you cause it'll be a one hit kill."

"Oh really?" The Red Priest of Myr sarcastically asked.

"Yes, really." Roxas pointed his Keyblade at the giant Heartless. "These guys are extremely dangerous. Dangerous to the point of them essentially being walking Nexuses by summoning more Heartless and consuming a "land" if left alone long enough. So stay back and let me do the heavy lifting."

Roxas didn't wait for their reply as he turned back and ran towards the Darkside.

The Heartless sensed him coming once more, slowly turning to face the Nobody, it's two fists glowing with power.

Instead of striking the Keybearer, the Darkside threw them into the air. The orbs of power mixed with the overcast above, greatly darkening it.

In mere moments, what looked like bright purple spiked balls rapidly shooting down like arrows upon them all.

Many evaded for cover while others were hit from the barrage of darkened projectiles.

Roxas had to come in and create a barrier to protect Tyene and Chocho while Beric and Thoros created a Flame Wall to defend themselves.

The blonde Nobody was trying to come up with a plan when he heard a noise above him. Glancing upwards, his instincts flared to life.

"MOVE!"

Shooting down from the sky were bright laser beams which harshly dug through the ground in seemingly random directions. This forced the fighters to constantly move to avoid getting hit by them.

By the time this came to an end, the Darkside slowly got back up to its full height, surrounding itself in a dark barrier, while it gathered energy in it's chest.

Hoping to stop the incoming attack, Roxas switched one of his Keyblades to Winter's Howl and performed it's shotlock attack. Locking onto it's head, Roxas focused and built up energy before unleashing a volley of projectiles from it's tip. They all made significant damage at the barrier before punching through to collide against the head.

Yet it wasn't enough as the Darkside unleashed its attack from the heart-shaped hole on its body.

About a dozen, dark energy projectiles primarily homed towards the natives of this world, causing the three to flee and evade.

"Seven hells, how are we supposed to help fight that?" Thoros asked, slightly regretting coming to assist the Keybearer now.

Beric only grunted in response as he held up his sword in defense, being knocked back from the fierce blow from the blast.

"Come on." Tyene said, running ahead. "I have some ideas."

Pushing her legs to the limit, she jumped as high as she could and began her assault on the Heartless' left hand. There seemed to be a reaction, as to her belief as she continued on with her strikes.

Chocho assisted the Sand Snake by firing off a volley of elemental attacks at the appendage. Occasionally flying by her and using his talons to momentarily hoist her up back into the air to carry on with the attacks.

Thoros and Beric followed suit. Instead of constantly jumping and leaping about, they fired off their respective Fire spells. Even the Stormlander shot out a few Thunder attacks for good measure to live up to his moniker.

After some time, the Heartless took a mighty step back and slowly leaned backward.

"What's it doing?"

Seeing this, Roxas yelled out to them.

"Prepare to get back, now!"

Much energy was gathered into its hands. At its apex, the Darkside suddenly slammed it's palms onto the ground, sending it's opponents flying back.

And this wasn't the only strike as this was repeated a few times over.

The last one, instead of sending out a shockwave, formed a large pool of darkness. And from it did a litany of Pureblood Heartless crawl out of it.

"Form up and make sure you aim for their heads." Roxas quickly called out to the men behind him. "They twitch around a lot so when you see them hold still for any small seconds at a time, that's when you strike."

The company from the sidelines complied and went to work as the newly arrived Heartless took notice and went towards them.

Roxas all the while resumed his focus on battling the Darkside alongside the three world natives and his chocobo.

Sprinting towards the large enemy, he cleaved and slashed through several Shadows that were in his way before reaching the Darkside.

The Heartless was ready for him, already swinging its large hand in his direction.

Roxas waited at the last second until he curved his body and managed to maneuver over the large limb, stabbing Oblivion into the hand and being brought up into the sky.

Once reaching the highest point, Roxas pulled his Keyblade out of the hand and proceeded to dive forward at the Darkside.

What the Nobody did not expect was the Heartless turning to face him and its yellow eyes aglow with a dark radiance until a flash of light came out. Blinded, Roxas had his sleeve over his eyes, grunting at the sudden loss of sight.

This in turn allowed the Darkside to literally swat the blond teen out from the sky and made him crash down into the ground in a hard landing.

A small crater was formed, the young man lying in the center of it.

"Roxas!" Tyene cried out in horror, rushing towards him whilst Beric shouted at the men to gain the attention of the Darkside.

She jumped into the small crater, quickly seeing the boy she loved and fell to her knees beside him.

"Roxas." The Sand Snake cried out in desperation, hands on his shoulders as she shook him. "Roxas, are you-"

She was cut off from a loud, pained groan as Roxas sat up, dirt falling off his body.

"Alright." He grunted. "I'll admit it, that one hurt."

Tyene let out a strangled laugh of relief, grabbing the sides of his face and pulling him in for a desperate kiss.

Roxas let out a slight sound of surprise that was drowned out by her mewl of relief.

She pulled away and was severely tempted to slap him then and there though she knew that really wouldn't help.

"You idiot." Tyene berated. "What were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking 'that's new'." He said with a shrug. "Didn't know those types can do that."

The sour look on her face made the teen wince slightly.

"Is it too late to say that I've felt worse?" Roxas asked, casting Cura on himself to alleviate some of the pain.

Tyene huffed, turning away for a moment when the ground shook.

The duo saw the others in their company were getting a bit overwhelmed with the other Heartless present. And coming towards them was their giant summoner.

"We need to stop it now before it's too late."

The Keybearer nodded and sought to return to the fight.

Suddenly, a feeling of warmth emanates from his chest, making Roxas know what to do.

Grasping the summon charm hanging around his neck, he focused on it more.

"We need you."

Light and fiery wisps began emanating around the charm and Roxas' hand more brightly.

Grasping it tightly, he felt the energy flowing into him as he sent some of his own into the trinket. "Give us strength!"

A massive ball of light appeared above Roxas with glyphs and runes circling around it. Before long, it disappeared as a massive roar was heard, signaling Ifrit's arrival onto the battlefield.

With it crashing onto the ground, everyone else present were absolutely surprised with the entity the Keybearer summoned.

"By the gods."

Rushing forward with a trail of flames, Ifrit delivered one powered punch after another against the Darkside. With each blow, it was knocked back significantly with scorch marks in its wake.

As this went on, the temperature within the area began to climb exponentially, to which many had taken note of. Even to the point where the river nearby started to boil and bubble.

The giant Heartless retaliated with blows of its own in hopes of taking down the summoned beast. Yet the assault only made Ifrit roar in defiance, headbutting it's opponent before grappling it and performing a judo-like throw.

The creature of darkness was brought down hard to the ground with a significant quake. Before it sought to rise back up, Ifrit leapt into the air and let out a bellowing roar. Flames exploded from it's form as every bit of fire and heat seemed to disappear from the summon and the surrounding area.

A great number of onlookers wondered what happened to the giant djinn before the heat skyrocketed as if they were being bathed by dragonfire.

Like a bomb, the Darkside's form exploded as a large torrent of flames shot out from underneath it. More and more appeared from around as it almost reached the sky before merging together for a Hellfire Inferno.

Once the spectacle ceased, they saw the summon reappear, only to disappear in wisps of flames and light mere moments later.

The men all cheered in victory, watching as the Darkside fell to the ground.

Yet whilst they celebrated, Roxas remained tense and wary.

Something about this felt off.

Whenever he had defeated a Darkside or any Heartless for that matter, they would simply fade away.

Yes, the larger ones took a bit of time for the most part but this was different.

He could feel it in the air.

Upon it crashing down upon the ground, the earth shaking slightly, the Darkside did not fade in the traditional sense.

Instead, the body seemingly appeared to melt into the ground and form a large pool of Darkness.

This instantly put the Keybearer on edge, slowly moving his legs apart to get into his stance once more.

The pool grew larger until the Darkside's body completely dissipated into the pool itself.

And from that pool, something came out.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts 3: Wave of Darkness I-

Instead of independent Pureblood Heartless crawling out, it was a massive swarm of Shadows shooting and flying about. They all clung to each other, constantly moving as the enlarged mass went all over the place. And instead of yellow eyes, they were a fierce orange.

"Ok…" Roxas stared at the combined mass of Heartless. "That's new."

Thoros, Beric and Roxas all launched Fire spells at the swarm. Shadows fell from the swarm in large numbers, only to run at the group and beyond them.

As this occurred, Chocho moved to assist Tyene in taking care of a good chunk alongside the others in their company.

"What the hell is this Roxas?" Tyene called out to him.

"Your guess is as good as mine." No. XIII replied, casting Thundara on the ever growing swarm of Shadows.

Through this moving mass, much of the dug up earth was picked up to slowly become a dust storm. Many people in the area became momentarily blinded before being knocked aside all over.

Before long, the mass struck the earth and began digging through before popping up all over the place.

On occasion, Roxas was assisted with the casted offensive spells before having to rush to the sidelines to cast Curaga on the others in their company as they congregate together. Yet this proved problematic as the large number of Shadows would rush towards them moments later.

'This is getting ridiculous.' Thought the Keybearer as he casted a number of Mine spells along the earth.

As the Heartless tide swept around the vicinity, the ground below exploded as the Mines activated. A whole lot of them were greatly destroyed, but they seemed endless.

Once stabbing and cleaving through several other Heartless, Roxas got a clear view in seeing Tyene being swept up in the Heartless Tide.

She let out a cry, looking to Roxas for a moment until she disappeared into the seemingly endless swarm.

"TYENE!" He yelled, rushing towards her.

"Let me go!" She cried out, struggling to free herself.

With her being so close to them all, she saw something amiss within the Heartless mass.

A moment later, she felt an overwhelming pressure as if she was suffocating.

Not a moment too soon did that feeling disappear and she felt an arm around her waist.

"I got you."

Tyene didn't have to turn to know that her love had saved her. She gave him an appreciated nod as she performed a recovery landing strategy, due to them being knocked out of the air.

Landing on the moving mass, she lept off of it and rolled across the ground as Chocho swooped in and covered her by firing off some elemental attacks.

With the Keybearer landing beside them while casting Cura, Tyene pointed something out.

"I noticed something while I was entrapped." The Sand Snake said loud enough for Thoros and Beric to pick up on. "Towards the front of that thing, there's this big glowing ball the Shadows are clinging onto."

"Must be something quite significant." Said the Lightning Lord.

"Then we try going for that." Said Roxas.

"But how can we keep it in place?" Questioned the Red Priest.

Knowing a technique he could use, Roxas spoke up.

"Leave that to me."

Separating once more, the group fought against the moving mass in their own ways.

Switching Oblivion to the Vampire Killer, Roxas quickly threw up a barrier to prevent himself from being run over by the incoming collision. As it circled around, he focused and fired off a dual Shotlock attack at the flying mass. Much of the combined light elemental attack broke through and struck the glowing ball in the front.

Rushing in, he soon raised both of his Keyblades into the air and casted Magnega. A large silvery, black shape shifting orb formed above and in mere moments, the Heartless broke away and swarmed the gravitational orb with no way of escape. With much struggle for freedom, they were soon destroyed with his oncoming assault with blows from his Keyblade before unleashing Firaga and Blizzaga onto the mass.

With enough cleared away, Roxas began focusing and concentrated enough to summon glowing golden chains around his body and launched them at the ball, immobilizing it while a good number of Shadows were trapped within it.

When he landed near the Sand Snake, Roxas didn't notice the golden glow around him seeped out and made contact with her.

Her weapons glowed alongside her as she lept into action.

Moving beside her love, the two teens appeared to move in sync as their blades began cleaving through the entrapped mass. When together, they clung onto each other and performed a dance of death as they spun all about. The pair began building up speed with each successful slash and cleaving motion.

During all this, Roxas shifted his Vampire Killer Keyblade into it's Combat Cross form. The chain came out as the two carried on their dance with it spinning about and continuously smacking the floating mass. Near its end, Roxas recalled the chain, only for Tyene to grasp it's end as she soon flew through the air as a result.

With her blade drawn out the Sand Snake began cleaving through the chained up Heartless before kicking it away which sent her flying back. Just in time too for the tip of the Key-chain whip to zoom past her and greatly explode against their opponent, sending shockwaves around the area.

Falling from the air, Tyene was soon caught by Roxas as he made a landing which had him spin on his foot several times around to signify the end of their unique dance.

At that moment, the Dornish girl widened her eyes considerably as she began processing what had just happened as the moving mass they fought against was now destroyed.

And she wasn't the only person with others having witnessed this spectacle.

"What in the Seven Hells was that?" One of the men in the company asked.

Beric and Thoros turned to their resident Heartless expert and saw him standing a stunned and confused Sand Snake who was looking at herself.

"How did I survive all that?" She asked in a low voice, looking up at her love who hummed aloud in thought. "How did I even-"

"Well Robb and Jon up North are developing abilities of their own after fighting against the Heartless for so long." Roxas revealed. "Now, that's what you're going through."

"You mean-"

"Oi, Roxas."

The two teens turned to see Beric and Thoros coming over to them.

"What was that?" The Lightning Lord asked straight away. "The way those Heartless acted and attacked us. I know we have only been fighting them for a short while but we had never seen them act like that."

"I'm in the same boat as you." Roxas said with a frown. "That was a first for me too. I've never seen them do that before."

"Truly?" Thoros inquired, a tone subtly asking 'are you certain?'.

The blond Nobody nodded in confirmation. "I've faced many forms of Heartless and seen a number of ways they've attacked and formed. Never like that."

"It was like a tidal swarm." Tyene said, shuddering as she suddenly recalled the way the Heartless had snatched her up like that and began suffocating her.

"So what does that mean for us?" Beric asked, clearly weary about this sudden development.

"Leave it for now." Roxas declared. "We saw that it can be beaten so that'll be enough to at least hold us over."

"Doesn't really instill me with confidence." Thoros muttered, taking a swig of his flask.

"It's all we can do for now." No. XIII said with a shrug.

"I hate how calm you are about all this." The Red Priest deadpanned at the Nobody.

"I've been doing this since I could remember." Roxas stated. "Seeing other ways in how the Heartless fight comes with the job."

Thoros only grumbled, drinking from his flask again.

The group was silenced when they heard shouting coming from the castle they had just saved.

The drawbridge for Riverrun came down and a number of Tully guardsmen ran out and went towards them.

"Thank the gods for your arrival." Spoke one of them. "We thought the worst-"

"It's alright, we understand." Roxas said aloud, cutting off the man. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, we would like an audience with Lord Tully."

The guardsmen nodded as they escorted Roxas and his small group into the keep.

Making through the courtyard and corridors, they saw many people from the Riverlands taking shelter behind Riverrun's walls; both soldiers and smallfolk. It was rather hard to tell by this point with them all generally the same on their varying form of stress and anxieties.

Upon entering the Great Hall, they were greeted by a number of other Tully guards.

Situated nearby conversing with some soldiers was a man who, in Roxas' opinion, was close to Catelyn's age with a number of similar physical descriptions. There was the dark auburn hair and dark river blue eyes. He bore slightly strong features as he wore leather armor resembling fish scales. Though with recent problems, the man appeared to grow older than needed.

The man soon took notice of their arrival and spoke in a rather tired voice.

"Yes? May I help you?" His voice exuded exhaustion.

"Hello, I'm Roxas. Ned sent us from the capital." Said the head of this company. "Here to assist you."

The man at the center table squinted at Roxas, his eyes widening moments later. "You do look like him. Seven Hells, I thought Cat was jesting when she told me you were an exact copy of him."

The Keybearer sighed, holding out his hand for Beric to hand over a gold dragon.

"...Really?" Voiced Tyene.

"It's gotten to the point, Tyene, where that is becoming ridiculous." No. XIII said, pocketing the coin.

A few chuckles emanated in the hall.

A twitch of the man's lips went upward as he let out a small sigh of relief.

"I see. We were expecting you." He said to them. "And I believe the rest of your company is outside."

"They are, my lord." Said Beric. "We are at your service until further notice to relieve you of your present blight."

"That's good." Said the man in fish scale armor. "I greet you. I am Edmure Tully, Lord of Riverrun and Lord Paramount of the Trident. Thank you for coming in our time of need."

"You're very much welcome." Oberyn's daughter said with a faux-smug smile, hands upon her hips.

"I'm sorry, but not acting?" Roxas said, tilting his head. If memory served him correctly, wasn't there a Hoster Tully who was the Lord of the Trident.

The man in front of them appeared somber and torn now.

"My father… he…" The pain in Edmure's voice was evident for all to hear.

Beric was the first to speak upon realizing what the Tully tried to say. "When did he pass on from this world?"

"Several days ago." Edmure revealed, head hung low with his eyes shut tight at the thought of his deceased father.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Dondarrion said softly, the hall becoming silent for a brief moment.

"Was it because of his health?" Roxas asked, breaking the silence. "We heard from Ned your father has been declining as of late."

"Old age was a contributing factor to him being bedridden." Voiced the Lord Paramount. "The other pertains to something else."

"Was it stress with what's been happening lately?" Beric inquired.

"In part." The Lord said with a strained voice.

"What do you mean by that?"

Edmure sat down and looked at them with tired eyes.

"Tell me, have any of you received word with what has happened at both King's Landing and the Eyrie?"

The group all looked at one another in confusion.

"The Eyrie?" Roxas said. "Home of the Arryns? And the capital?"

Edmure nodded.

"Sorry, my lord, but we have been on the road for days." Tyene spoke in a respectful tone. "We wouldn't have received a raven pertaining to anything."

"I see. Forgive me for assuming." The Lord of The Trident said in a tired voice.

"Did something happen?" Roxas asked.

"A number of things happened." Said Edmure. "To begin with… King Robert is dead."

A sense of foreboding filled the room as this bit of news dropped.

"Excuse me?"

"He's gone, courtesy of Vanitas."

Worry encompassed the group. Roxas, meanwhile, tightened his fists, having the leather gloves strain under the pressure. They receded when he felt Tyene bring a hand to his in hopes of calming him down.

As if knowing his thoughts, the Sand Snake spoke in turn.

"It was not your fault. You wouldn't have known beforehand."

He gritted his teeth in turn. "I should've at least… We were lured away, leaving the Red Keep defenseless. I should have realized-"

"What's done is done." Beric interrupted. "I'm sorry to say that, but we may avenge the king in due time by defeating Vanitas."

"I agree, Roxas. You can't drown yourself on this." Thoros added in.

Taking several deep breaths, the Keybearer nodded and focused back at Lord Tully.

"And the other news?"

"I received a letter from Lady Caitlyn, my older sister, telling me a number of things."

"Is she alright?" No XIII asked out of concern.

"She is, in a sense. Physically for the most part." Edmure exhaled a sigh. "Mentally and emotionally, she shares the distress our uncle and I now share, to my belief."

"What happened?" Asked Tyene. "Did it pertain to Tyrion Lannister and him being held captive?"

This was a resounding question a good number of people wondered for a while now when word reached the capital of Caitlyn Stark's controversial action at the Crossroads Inn.

"In part. And before you ask, he has been set free for being falsely accused of his supposed crimes. A trial by combat by some unusual sellsword in black with a large sword."

It didn't take much of a guess for Roxas and his companions to know Edmure was talking about Cloud. It did make them realize he fulfilled part of his job while currently completing the other half at this moment in returning Tyrion Lanniter to the capitol.

"Then what's wrong?" Tyene asked, now impatient, choosing to forgo courtesy. "We've been traveling for some time now, Lord Edmure, so we would like some answers now."

He appeared hesitant before relenting.

Edmure stood to his full height, regarded the company that had come to aid in Riverrun's troubles before at last speaking in a cold yet distraught tone.

"My sister, Lysa Arryn, colluded with that rat Petyr Baelish in a plot that resulted in the death of Jon Arryn." Edmure revealed, causing a wave of stunned looks and reactions. "Coupled with the fact that my nephew, Robin, is in fact a bastard conceived between my sister and Baelish. Due to the fact that the late Jon Arryn never had any other children and the previous heir died during the reign of the Mad King, House Arryn is no more."

Silence filled the hall with the newcomers having a hard time processing what was just presented to them.

"Well… shit…"

"Shit indeed." Thoros said, looking at his flask. "Gonna need something stronger than Rum for this shit."

"Thoros, not now." Beric deadpanned.

"It's alright." Said Edmure, waving the comment off. "I had to drown myself in ale shortly after hearing this."

"I can imagine."

"My father… didn't take it too well. We had already had our hands full with the Unversed and Heartless attacks. But when he heard this, it became too much for him to bear, causing him to have a severe heart attack and he passed away later that day."

"Damn…" Roxas murmured. "Just… damn."

"I understand." Edmure said, looking positively miserable. "Words cannot begin to describe what me and my kin are going through. Seven knows what my sister Cat and Uncle Brynden went through. They were there to hear it all."

Silence filled the hall for several moments before Lord Tully resumed.

"In truth, I should've seen this coming now that I think about it."

Varying looks were aimed towards the Lord Paramount with confusion being most prominent.

Edmure saw this, sighing aloud.

"My sister Lysa, you see, had long since been infatuated and in love with Baelish since we were children." Edmure revealed. "It was a not so open secret of her affections to many of us at the time. The only one oblivious was Caitlyn, apparently. My father tolerated it, believing nothing more would come from it. Of course things came to a head when the announcement of Caitlyn's betrothal to Brandon Stark was revealed."

"I remember her talking about that." Said the Keybearer. "Baelish wanted to marry Caitlyn and fought for her."

"In which he badly lost." Snapped the Tully lord. "You don't need to remind me. I was there as Brandon's impromptu squire." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Forgive me. It was uncalled for."

"It's okay. No harm done. You were saying."

Edmure nodded as he resumed. "Because of his actions, Petyr was to be sent back home once he recovered from his wounds. Father was livid about that embarrassment." He soon adopted a thousand-yard stare as he recalled the next series of events. "It was only weeks after Petyr was sent away did I awake in the dead of night, hearing haunting screams. I went to find the cause of this when I saw servants rushing in and out of Lysa's chambers with bloody sheets. I didn't know what happened back then, but now I know what befell her."

As this bit of detail was spoken, a number of Roxas' companions slowly processed what was going on.

Edmure noticed their expressions of slow revelation. "I see you all can understand."

Roxas, however, raised his hand. "Sorry, but I'm a bit in the dark here."

A number of reactions were present, seeing the Keybearer was unknowing on such details.

It was Tyene who basically ripped off the bandage.

"She got pregnant and she had a stillbirth, a really bad one."

"...Oh…"

"It wasn't just a normal stillbirth, but a forced abortion."

Edmure's reveal got the guests to look at him in shocked confusion.

"How could you know?" Tyene whispered out.

"On his deathbed, my father was muttering a number of things in a delirious state." Edmure said with a saddened and deeply troubled frown. "There's a lot I learned in that time. One of which being him kept on saying Lysa's name along with Tansy, making me think he was thinking of some girl he was close to and bedded in his youth before marrying my mother. It was after his passing did I speak with the Maester about it. He said that Tansy wasn't a girl, but a plant."

"A component of Moontea." Tyene quickly said.

She knew plenty well what that drink is primarily used for. Her mother often took it along with any female lovers she and her father bedded to prevent further pregnancies. It was safe on occasional doses, but taking it too long often left a woman barren and had birth complications.

"You don't think…"

"Father found out Lysa was pregnant and either forced her or had her unknowingly drink it until that dreadful night. My little sister was never the same since. But I never knew she would hate him so much because of his actions."

"But why would he do that?"

"In terms of comparison of ambition and power, my father was just as bad as Tywin Lannister." Explained the Tully lord. "He wanted Lysa available for marriage and not to be sullied with a bastard, just so he could have his reach to any and all territories available. The pact with the North was secure with Caitlyn. But with Lysa, he sought to use her to secure a partnership with House Lannister by having her marry Jamie Lannister."

"Yet him joining the Kingsguard back at Harrenhal screwed that up." Said Beric.

"Precisely. When the rebellion occurred, father sought to have Ventus marry Lysa, but Jon Arryn jumped in and volunteered to marry her instead. And you probably know the rest."

"Well… fuck." Thoros of Myr said, voicing a sentiment shared by many in the company. "When we had first set out on our journey to aid Riverrun, I seldom think any of us would come to hear the news of the death of one of the Great Houses of Westeros among other things."

There were murmurs of agreement from those present and Edmure let out a humorless laugh.

"My apologies, my good men and Lady."

"Why are you apologizing?" Roxas asked in bewilderment. "You have nothing to be sorry about here. Your sister was the one who did this."

"But she is still a Tully and therefore, her actions reflect upon the whole House." Edmure said with a dejected smile. "And in turn has effectively tarnished our name and reputation."

""Something which will haunt a generation or two." Said Beric.

"A generation?" Edmure scoffed. "We brought about the ruin of one of the oldest Houses in Westeros. As I said earlier, a shadow that shall hang over my House until our own collapse."

"Easy, Lord Edmure." Roxas spoke up. "I know a lot's happened since we left King's Landing. And I know this feels inappropriate to say but let's focus on what we can do for you and Riverrun here and now."

"No, no, you're right." Edmure said with a shake of his head. "At the very least, I can assure the safety and well being of the Riverlands first and foremost."

"We can discuss plans later once everyone is settled." Suggested the Lightning Lord. "Everyone is tired and we had just dealt with the Heartless attack outside your very home not long ago."

"Of course."

"And about your father's death…"

"We had to more or less keep it under wraps for moral sake."

That was partially true. Edmure indeed wanted his vassals to know Holster Tully was still active at this time for as long as possible. Yet it was more so towards the factor of House Frey.

The "Late" Walder Frey hated Holster Tully with a passion. This was no secret. In terms of pride, Edmure didn't want the old weasel to learn of this and take satisfaction of his liege lord having died in such a way.

Seven knows how the rest of Westeros was already reacting to Lysa's despicable actions in contributing to the death of House Arryn.

This action will haunt the Tully's until the ruin and collapse of their House. Hells, he wouldn't have minded that happening now due to the degree of overwhelming shame and grief he had.

"How long do you plan on keeping that up?" Roxas asked.

"Not much longer. I've delayed his funeral rights for too long. I will have to perform it either today or tomorrow." Edmure said solemnly.

There was a unique kind of funeral right with many of House Tully which stood out from many Houses in Westeros. Funeral pyres were a contributing factor, one which was shared with some people like House Targaryen as an example. But another thing to consider was that the body would be placed on a small boat with a number of their possessions and set aflame via arrow with the new or present head of the family while drifting down the river. It was so their cremated remains would join with the surrounding waters like their ancestors.

"Is there a reason for the delay?"

"I… had wanted my sister and uncle to be in attendance. But I don't know where they presently are." Edmure admitted with a clearly worried frown. "I know they were last seen in the Vale but they had told me of their plans in coming here. Since the arrival of the Unversed and Heartless…"

"They'll be fine." Roxas spoke up, trying to assure the man. "I was with Cat for a while in the North and gave her a few tips and tricks in getting around the Heartless. The Unversed are similar and I hear your Uncle Brynden is a great swordsman. Cat likely told him some of the ways I have told others how to handle the Heartless."

"If you would like, we would be honored to pay our respects during the funeral." Said the Lightning Lord.

Edmure nodded as he appreciated the gesture. He then called out to a servant to fetch them salt and bread for guest rights.

For now Roxas and his party will rest, plan and head out in the morning on their next course of actions.

-Near the Southern borders of the Dothraki Sea-

The sun was bright and the land was hot. The scenery could be considered beautiful by some while outright boring by others.

Despite the hot weather, it was rather cold all around in the semi-arid lands south of the Dothraki territories. For what was once lively was now dead in numerous ways.

Traversing through another village, Khal Drogo's khalasar saw it was outright deserted. There were signs of destruction and battle. The farm fields were greatly disturbed with the rye and lentils being trampled upon. Walls and houses were utterly wrecked. Anything possibly of value was all gone.

But one question often popped up: where were the bodies?

There should've been corpses. Dismembered limbs. Blood. Anything. Yet there were no signs of them through this kind of conflict.

It was as if they all just up and left.

And it wasn't just this village, but several others.

Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time was enemy action.

Either there was another dothraki horde out here and nearby, or something worse was at play.

By word of mouth, many guessed the Heartless were the cause of this.

It had to be given that they were surprisingly clean when it came to the dead.

The dothraki were the opposite. They would be bloody on their conquest along doing a whole number of things towards the individuals they capture. In the end, they would've been taken as slaves to whatever they saw fit.

Speaking of, most of Drogo's khalasar were getting agitated as they weren't doing their raids and full plundering of the lands. Soon enough things will get worse on their bloodlust not being satisfied.

So far, this suited a good number of individuals well; particularly Daenerys.

After they all left Vaes Dothrak, Dany dreaded witnessing a legitimate raid on a village. Having their people slaughtered and heavily assaulted with them eventually being sold as slaves.

All for Drogo's gift for her unborn child in claiming the Westerosi throne.

For this to begin, the mighty Khal sought to acquire riches and more slaves for him to trade for ships to cross the sea. Drogo would've just gone to a port city over at Slaver's Bay or at Volantis and demanded the ships right away. Yet he and his people don't know how to operate them so needs to purchase the services to transport his khalasaar comprising forty thousand men.

Given what was told by Beskha and the two Westerosi exiles, Meereen would pay the Dothraki far more than a slaving caravan. All due to the fact a plague hit the slave city hard last year where a great chunk of their "assets" eventually died. Brothels are paying double for young girls and triple for boys under ten.

The mere sentence made Dany sick to her stomach.

Her best friend was in a similar boat as Xion admitted she was going to end up doing something stupid in order to stop this travesty from happening.

Fortunately for the Targaryen and her small company, this didn't happen quite yet.

At this time, No. i was lost in thought as she was more absorbed with the book she presently read.

Upon first glance from any onlooker, nothing spectacular could be of note of the tome, aside from the intricate cover. But for Xion, this was something which could be considered priceless.

The Memoirs of a Sought Legacy: written by Keyblade Master Luxu.

It bore knowledge on the Keyblade. And not just about the unique weapon in general, but bore information of moves, magic, skills, abilities, etc.

This greatly expanded Xion's mind on a plethora of things. Not just on her swordplay, but on her magic from what she didn't know beforehand; both on her general experience and from Sora's memories.

During these past days, No. i would drink up the tome's contents and train to be sure she got them right. Even parting some of these lessons to Dany as she learned swordplay from not just her and Jorah but Asher and Beskha once joining their company. And hopefully it'll expand to magic once the baby is born.

Xion was ultimately glad of doing that particular trade back in Vaes Dothrak.

Yet she wonders how the one merchant acquired this book in the first place.

There were even a number of moments of her wondering what to make with the two charms she gained during said trade. And there was something odd about these items, but she couldn't quite place it.

Only time will tell on their significance.

"Xion?"

Blue eyes blinked away from the tome's pages and looked around slightly to find the one who addressed her.

"Huh? What?"

She refocused and looked over to see Dany looking at her with a concerned look.

"What is it Dany?"

"I feel that's the question I should be asking you." The last Targaryen Princess stated. "Asides from reading that book of yours, you've had this look on your face for the past few days after every empty village we've come across."

"Have I?" Xion said airily, not taking particular issue with it. "I hadn't realized it."

"You're the best warrior here." Jorah Mormont spoke up from her side. "What have your instincts been telling you?"

Xion was silent for a time, looking away from her book and towards the empty settlement they were currently passing by.

There was nothing, nobody here.

She had noted some signs of struggle here and there but nothing to the point of a full fledged battle. Just pointless resistance against inevitable… well death by Heartless or kidnapping of some kind. But Xion has never seen anything like this, both during her time in the Organization and shortly after. All she could reference were from what she could recollect from Sora's memories.

"This is rather unusual. I don't know why the Heartless are doing this." No. XIV said after a few moments of contemplation. "This is very much unlike what I've seen them do in the past."

Asher and Beskha were riding close by with the former speaking up.

"Any theories?" Asked Asher.

"As I told you and the others before, they act upon their instincts and are drawn towards the darkness of people's hearts. They hunt people down, slay them and build more of their numbers in the process." Xion then dropped a unique bit of dialogue. "But the only way they act out of turn is if someone is controlling them."

"I honestly don't know how that's possible." Beskha commented.

"The prospect of this is rare but not impossible." Xion revealed. "Only those who have strong enough wills could control them. Then there are those who just become puppets to the Darkness and serve the Heartless and their objectives. Other times this is given to those by others who can, only due to the fact they are going to be using them for their own ends."

"There's gotta be a drawback for that." Asher remarked. "Doesn't sound all that pleasant to begin with."

"If they aren't focused enough or too blinded, they'd risk having the Heartless rebel and retaliate. Not to mention they would even risk becoming a Heartless themselves if not careful enough."

Dany reflected on this factor through the story Xion spoke to her of this dark fairy turned witch. She controlled an army of Heartless by her power and vast inner darkness alone. And to be sure her reign is secure among a number of territories, she gave this gift to a band of villains so they may strengthen an alliance.

Unfortunately they were all defeated by two factors. The first was a Keyblade wielding islander by the name of Sora and his two friends and companions, Donald and Goofy. And second was their own hubris and arrogance of their newly gained power.

This story, at first, would've been an interesting tale to hear upon like many she had grown up listening to. Of a fantastic series of events of good prevailing over evil with justice being served. Even being part of a cautionary lesson in terms of swiftly obtaining power without not being careful in properly using it.

Of course this wasn't the end of it when -in private- Xion told her a startling truth.

There was another factor with how one controls Heartless.

When asked how this was possible, Dany was horrified to learn the person must not literally have a heart at all. For it's the only way one can safely control these beings of darkness, due to them not having a heart to take from the one reigning over them.

This outright confused the Targaryen princess, making her truly wonder how this was possible at all. But she recalled her past lesson with Xion with Heartless of them not taking the literal organ, but the representation of their spirit, their essence, emotions, etc.

From there, Xion told her how she and her fellow Organization members were rather different from just about everyone else. Dany quickly knew, given she can use magic; not blood magic or illusionary tricks but legitimate magic.

It was merely the factor that Xion revealed she was missing something important. How it affects her behavior and personality, or lack of it. This confused Dany, which had Xion finally relent on revealing an important detail about herself.

"As far as I have remembered, I was devoid of emotion, devoid of anything which could actually make me feel anything." Xion said back then. "All I was expressing and acting was unnatural as I was basing things off from memories and instincts. How I was to eventually be seen to never change or become more as an individual. Only spending the rest of my existence as who and what I was before… my friends and I were betrayed by our former colleagues."

"I don't understand."

"You see, Dany, I wasn't born in the traditional manner, but created in an unnatural way."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'm a Nobody."

Dany bewilderedly looked at her friend as if she was a tad crazy. "You're speaking nonsense. Why are you saying you're a nobody? You're somebody to me. You're Xion. You're my best friend. I love you."

Xion laughed quietly, small tears forming out of the corners of her eyes.

"You're real kind Dany, you know that?" No. XIV said, smiling at the last Targaryen. "But it's not that I'm a nobody in the way that you think or even understand."

Her friend was still confused by this all as Xion began to elaborate as to who or rather what she really was and where she came from. Nothing was held back from the truth she had to tell.

By the end of it all, Dany was both shaken yet remained unsure.

"I… I don't know what to say." She muttered, a deep frown adorning her face. "I can't lie to you Xion, I still don't fully understand what you even told me. How can you be here yet claim to be something that shouldn't exist?"

The young Nobody puppet chuckled wryly. "Quite the conundrum, aren't I?"

"But… you're saying that if you were to disappear… that I would forget about you?"

The fear and terror of the aspect of losing her closest friend was evident to see and feel and Xion had wordlessly pulled Dany into a hug.

They had remained that way for a time until…

"Yes, you would."

Xion wondered if telling the truth of what she truly was would ruin her friendship.

Was Dany hurt about Xion withholding the full truth of her origins? Yes. Did she think anything different about her best friend? No.

The exiled Targaryen loved her friend all the same and wouldn't trade her for anything.

She recalled her words that resonated with her to her very core.

"You mean the world to me, Xion." Dany said in a quiet voice as both of them held one another. "I would give all of it up just to spend the rest of my life with you by my side."

The Keybearer felt deeply moved by these words, having not felt such a strong bond with anyone other than Roxas and Axel.

Speaking of which, Dany had asked her about her two best friends to which she replied that the future queen was going to have to get used to the idea of sharing the best friend slot.

That got a laugh out of her.

Those memories soon shifted to the present circumstances. That for days, Dany, Xion, Jorah, Asher and Beskha were plotting and planning a means of leaving Drogo's khalasar entirely.

The sellsword pair -however- weren't a part of the group, but were considered honored guests due their actions at Vaes Dothrak. Yet Asher and Beskha didn't want to witness such atrocities on what may come, thus swore to assist stopping Drogo.

With Asher, it was for a moral virtue through his upbringing. And with Beskha, it's something she doesn't want others to be subjugated to in such a fashion.

And with each passing deserted village gave them more time to prepare and iron out a number of details.

What they more or less plan to do is considered treason with the Dothraki, but they didn't want to have the kingdoms of Westeros suffer; let alone various areas of Essos. They have to be a tad hush hush if they don't want their plan to be leaked towards the other dothraki or else they'll get executed. As for Dany, she'll probably get killed once her baby is born.

They plan on possibly getting Drogo killed, either through assassination or happenstance.

If Drogo dies, then the other bloodriders would fight amongst themselves in order to see who'll take his place. They could more or less honor their late Khal's wishes or decide to take their own path once taking over.

But then comes the hard part: if whoever's the victor, the fate of Dany and her baby come into question as the strongest among the fittest comes into play. They could decide whether both mother and child could get killed, be spared or exiled as possible choices. And if spared, Dany would be sent back to Vaes Dothrak to join the Dosh Khaleen as per tradition and to never leave the city's borders ever again.

At first they did ask Dany if there were possible feelings she has towards Drogo.

To her it's complicated, but for the most part she doesn't love him. Despite how she got pregnant, she started to care and love the baby growing inside of her. It's a part of her and hopes to possibly raise the baby better than what's intended.

The dothraki may have been a way for Dany to return home, but she would be damned if she used them in such a fashion now. She would rather go to Westeros on her own terms, just not this.

It was honestly troubling how things got so complicated in such a short amount of time.

Not that their lives weren't complicated as is but this whole notion of trying to stop a dothraki invasion on Westeros while plotting the death of Dany's husband…

When one says or thinks that, it does feel a bit much.

Yet they had to figure something out nonetheless. And perhaps soon as their luck won't last forever.

The ravenette spotted something out of the corner of her eye and in an instant jumped down from her horse and summoned her Keyblade.

This was greatly noticed by everyone else, causing the khalasaar train to momentarily stop.

"Xion?" Dany spoke up in concern.

She didn't answer, keeping her gaze ahead.

All eyes soon turned to what she was looking at and the khalasaar tensed up for battle.

There, in front of them were several Neoshadows.

And in between them all was a lone teenage boy who was being held down by the Heartless.

Many were ready for battle yet the actions of the Neoshadows halted them from moving.

All but one.

Xion immediately knew what was about to happen and proceeded to dash forward yet it was all for naught.

One of the Neoshadows reared its arm back and plunged its shadowy hand into the back of the boy.

The young man's eyes widened in indescribable terror, mouth agape with a silent scream of agony and a plea for help that would come to late.

The Neoshadow withdrew its hand and with it, a glowing heart that was clutched between its clawed fingers.

"Seven Hells." Jorah Mormont verbally blurted out, eyes wide and skin tone pale at the sight of something rather horrific.

This was a first for the Northerner to witness, just as much as the two sellswords and others in Drogo's khalasar.

Moments later, the boy's body began to fade away into dark wisps before disappearing in its entirety with the Heartless vanishing shortly after in darkened wisps.

She cursed herself on not noticing and reacting to this sooner. She trudged back to the khalasaar train and had all but commanded them to continue onward.

-Night, Riverrun-

Lying naked in a tub of hot water, Tyene was properly washing herself after being on the road these past days. She wasn't able to beforehand, getting rid of most of the stink and grime with water from a stream along the way to Riverrun. But nothing beats getting a thorough wash with nicely clean hot water, especially after quite a stressful time.

If she were back in Dorne, she may have spoiled herself a little with scented candles, certain oils in the water and to top it off some flower petals she personally plucked from the gardens of Sunspear or the Water Gardens.

What may have truly topped it all off was possibly wishing this to be shared with a lover.

This may seem a bit too much and a little extravagant, but she was influenced by her cousin Arianne and her mother after all.

But they did have the right idea, and the mere thought of Tyene sharing her bath with Roxas made her heart beat a bit faster, her face flush and loins quiver. Especially when thoughts of them getting intimate in the steaming water; from the kisses, petting to going further.

She actually asked him to join her earlier so they wouldn't waste any bath water. Despite her not getting what she desired, she was able to enjoy the embarrassed look he gave out.

She knew sooner or later he'll need to grow out of it for what's to come in his eventual relationships. Yet she wanted to respect his decision on taking things slow on their relationship, which made things a bit more memorable.

Until then, Tyene would merely have to savor the innocence he bore.

Thoughts crossed her mind, some of which were more prominent all due to the fight earlier that day.

Darksides were truly dangerous from what Roxas described. Them summoning more lesser Heartlesses like that moving-mass which was aptly named the Demon Tower. And after some long exposure, they consume and conquer "lands" for the rest of their kind. What else was more unique about them was how they appear. Either they show up during "end times" when a great darkness falls upon the land or they are summoned by something more powerful.

This made nearly everyone in their company truly worried about the prospects and for future encounters.

Then there was how she helped end the Demon Tower.

Limit Breaks allows one to unleash a tremendous amount of power as an attack that they wouldn't normally be able to perform. And it isn't just from an individual but can be performed with several others for more devastating moments.

It was a little confusing for her and the others to digest, but what she was able to get out of it was the prospect of her using magic for the very first time.

The idea was exciting. Her casting spells would be a thrilling experience. Only if she was able to tap into it.

Yet no matter how hard she tried since that fight earlier, nothing came up.

A performance issue, perhaps?

'No, it's not that.' Tyene thought as she leaned her head against the tub's rim. 'It may be something else. What happened was in the midst of battle, after all.'

She pondered a bit more on what was wrong.

Could it be her not having any magic in her bloodline? She heard from Roxas that Robb Stark is able to slowly use magic for months now. And Arya claimed she's able to summon her sword Needle to her side, albeit with some difficulty. Even saying that she's feeling the magic in her, but not coming out the way she wants it to, much to her confusion.

No, it couldn't be just magical blood. She does have a Targaryen ancestor -Princess Daenyrys, sister to King Daeron the Good- who joined House Martell years prior to the first Blackfyre Rebellion. Not once since for over a century has anything come from it, until supposedly now.

Hence why many Targaryens performed their incest marriages to keep their bloodlines pure and magics strong, but that was utter horseshit. House Stark married outside of their family for generations and yet now a number of their members have awakened magics.

In recent times, Beric Dondarrion is able to use magic after Thoros helped awaken his magics sometime after the Greyjoy Rebellion. And the Lightning Lord hasn't converted to the Red Faith, which would supposedly label him as a practitioner of Blood Magic.

'I probably should have Roxas do the same to me.' She decided after a few moments. 'If I can't awaken it on my own now, I'll need his help in doing so. Especially since he'll need more assistance with what's to come.'

Tyene wouldn't mind at all having Roxas as her mentor in teaching her spells. Either from his own arsenal or from that Keyblade tome of his. And if needed, she could get in contact with her older sister, Sarella, who may dig up magical knowledge where she's presently at. Or the rest of her family once they return to Sunspear, given what artifacts, tomes and scrolls their ancestor -Princess Nymeria- brought over during her people's exodus from the River Rhoyne.

Overall from what she learned from her father, from what he learned in both his time at the Citadel to places around the world, magic is part of nature itself. Some have it. Some don't. Some can wield it. Some cannot. Some even believe it's a gift from the gods, only to those who are deemed worthy.

While it seems believable towards a number of individuals she has met, Roxas didn't fit that category. In fact, he practically breaks the latter in order to support the former notions.

Stepping out of the tub, water droplets rapidly fell off her naked flesh and onto the floor. She began drying herself off with a towel as her dark eyes surveyed part of her assigned guest quarters with Roxas for their brief stay at Riverrun.

The room itself was done in Tully colors with a faded deep blue carpet and creamy white curtains over the window. Some bits of fish decorations were spread out, especially hanging above the small stone fireplace. And the bedroom through the other side of the closed door was similar, but had a slightly bigger fireplace along with a mahogany bed with red bedsheets.

It was a nice place. Could've been nicer if she were to enjoy it a bit more without the dreary feeling all around.

For hours Lord Edmure was discussing plans and coordinating eventual trips with a good number of their company to where their next destinations may be in hunting down Vanitas. Moreso with the added drive of avenging King Robert was prominent with a good chunk of them.

Afterwards, everyone separated to do their own thing, even as they had supper separately.

Once fully dried, she changed into her nightclothes.

She would've worn something more lacier, more enticing of a nightgown. It would've gotten a rise out of her love, one which she would exploit as she would sleep with him yet again. But the simplest, normal one was required given where they presently resided.

With them behind safe walls, it didn't mean they wouldn't be in danger or perhaps have to be deployed at a moment's notice.

Practicality and all that.

Making it to the door, Tyene was about to open it when she heard something in the guest room.

"-I really find it strange that things are going on like this." Came Roxas' voice.

"I concur." Spoke an unfamiliar voice. "Then again, time makes a whole lot of things strange for us all."

Roxas let out an exasperated sigh. "There are moments I wonder if there are higher powers out there wanting to screw us over, all because of who and what we are."

"Careful, Roxas, you're beginning to sound like Belmont." The voice said cheekily, getting the boy she loved to laugh.

'Who is Roxas talking to?' She thought, opening the door.

When the action was made, she saw Roxas turn over from the nearby desk to reveal an assortment of floating mirror pieces… which honestly confused her.

"Hey, Tyene." He greeted casually.

The Sand Snake blinked away for a brief moment and looked at him in confusion.

"Are you talking to someone?" She asked him. "I don't see anyone else here aside from you and Chocho."

The chocobo in question made himself comfortable as he was trying to sleep at the foot of the bed.

"Yeah, I am."

Tyene took a moment to look around the still empty room. "Where are they?"

"Right over here."

Tyene regarded the unfamiliar male voice. She blinked more and found the source came from… the mirror?

Coming closer to it, a number of thoughts brushed through her mind. Yet more became more prominent as she stood beside her love's seated form.

Instead of seeing their reflections, there was another face on the mirrored surface.

He was a very handsome man with pale skin with long platinum golden-blonde hair to frame his nicely shaped face. His eyes were a rich yellow and as he smiled at her, she swore his two canine teeth were longer and sharper than normal people.

Her gaze lingered on to which her cheeks flushed a little.

A few snaps were then made in front of her face, literally snapping her out of the trance.

"You okay there?" Roxas asked in slight worry.

"I doubt she's all there at the moment." The man in the mirror remarked.

The Dornishgirl was at a loss for words. It took her some more moments before trying her best to compose herself and finding her voice.

"W-What's going on?" She asked. "And who's-"

"I believe some introductions are in order."

"Very much so." Roxas moved his chair slightly to give some more room to the Sand Snake. "Tyene, this is a good friend of mine, Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes. And this here is Tyene Sand."

The girl shifted slightly as she looked into the floating mirror pieces.

She was silent for a moment as she was still trying to process what she was looking at until the Sand Snake realized her rude silence.

"N-nice to meet you." Tyene stammered out.

"Likewise." The dhampir shifted his gaze slightly to the Nobody. "I prefer being called Alucard, you know."

"I know, but I wanted to be more cordial for the first meeting." Roxas waved off. "Besides, would you rather have me start things off by calling you Lord?"

"What do you mean Lord?" Asked Tyene, looking back and forth between the two.

"I don't own any lands, if that's what you're asking." Alucard stated. "Only a castle with no staff."

"And inheriting your father's title." Roxas added in.

"That too, but nothing else." Alucard put a bit more attention towards his friend's companion. "Tyene Sand… I have heard quite a lot about you."

"You have me at a disadvantage here, cause I don't exactly have no idea who you are."

"I don't blame you." The dhampir had a slightly curious look. "And by exactly-"

"I've heard a few stories about you from Roxas. It took me a bit to recall them." Tyene smiled at the man behind the mirror. "It's good to finally put a name to the face."

"Hopefully he put me in a good light." The regal looking man remarked. "Has he?"

"He calls you a good friend." Tyene stated. "Does that count for anything?"

Alucard shrugged. "Good enough I suppose."

"What a glowing review." Roxas deadpanned.

"And what has Roxas said about me?"

"A good friend. A capable, dedicated fighter." The Dhamphir listed off.

"Anything else?" The Dornish Girl asked expectantly.

Alucard appeared a bit confused and the Sand Snake scoffed.

"Roxas~" She admonished in a coy tone. "How could you forget to mention that?"

The blue eyed teen was clearly confused. "Mention what?"

The girl rolled her eyes though she held a mischievous smirk in place.

Her love was learning but remained dense.

Still, all the more fun for her to educate him.

Without warning, she pulled him in for a fierce kiss, climbing onto his lap whilst Alucard blinked and reeled back slightly from such an open display of passion and lust.

The vampire hybrid could only watch with a sense of growing amusement at Roxas going into a daze which remained as the girl pulled away, cradling his head close to her chest.

"...And here I thought you were more or less fine courting the princess. Yet here it seems you're sharing a bed with someone else." He then took on a faux expression of horror. "Dear God, you are becoming Belmont."

Roxas snapped out of his daze and gave his friend a flat look. "Oh bite me."

Alucard merely smirked. "I'd rather not. I like you just the way you are." A pondering look was then adopted. "My~ what would Sypha and Belmont say when-"

"I will come over there and steak you through the heart before you have the chance." No. XIII said with a murderous gaze.

"I'd like to see you try. And don't even try having those Samurai of yours to do so in your stead." The Dhamphir shot back.

The banter went back and forth between the two, with a few questions floating around Tyene's head with what was being said.

Yet one was prominent as she brought a finger to one of the floating pieces before her.

"What is this thing anyways?" Tyene finally asked, hand reaching out to touch one of the floating shards of the mirror.

The banter ended as the two respective males saw Tyene's present inquiry.

"It's a Carpathian Mirror." Answered the dhampir before elaborating. "A magical device which allows us to communicate with each other from vast distances, among other things. To communicate properly, each party must have a magic mirror."

"And the amount I have here with me limits its full capabilities."

"Like what?" She asked, shifting slightly on his lap.

Roxas' brow twitched as he coughed into his hand to try to keep himself calm despite Tyene's proximity with him. "S-safely sending people through it to some desired destination."

A look of wonder appeared on the girl. "Like a means of instant teleportation? Like you do with your Corridor?"

"Yes."

Tyene hummed with interest as she eyed the magic mirror pieces a bit more.

"What else can this do?"

"Essentially you can find and spy on anyone and no one wouldn't really notice unless they have a magic mirror of their own."

The Sand Snake regarded these words, eyes widening on the implications. However, a thought soon crossed her mind shortly after.

"Wait… how can anyone not notice if there's a bloody floating mirror?" She asked.

"Magic mirror." Alucard replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world… or Worlds in this matter.

Tyene shot the vampire an unimpressed look. "That doesn't explain anything."

"A shimmer in the air where no one really pays attention to." the dhampir elaborated. "My father told me of this in his lessons. Though there is a way to speak through it without a receiving mirror, requiring one to exert more magic to make it happen."

Quite the number of ideas streamed through her head. If possible, with her love's help, she could check up on her family and see if they had reached home yet or not. Even checking up at the capital or any other place in the world she had never been to like Winterfell, Highgarden, Casterly Rock, some places in Essos.

Yet one thing stood out among the rest in an instant.

"You mean this could perhaps find Vanitas?" Tyene asked with eyes wide at the prospect.

Though this was quickly shot down with Roxas shaking his head. "I tried when we first came to the Riverlands. It's not exactly working all that well."

"How come?" She inquired with a frown.

"He lived up to his promise of moving all over the place." Roxas revealed with a grimace. "Can't exactly get a lock on him."

There was more to it as Vanitas may have occasionally left this World for some periods of time. And in order to view locations on other worlds would take a while for the Carpathian Mirror to adjust accordingly. Time which Roxas did not have on the present task.

She deflated upon hearing this.

It would've saved them so much time and effort on this present mission of theirs.

Time came and went as the two teens conversed with Alucard. They would've talked longer, but they had a big day ahead of them.

After bidding him goodbye and goodnight, the two retired into Roxas' bed, much to the boys amused embarrassment. He was getting used to it but Tyene's eagerness was still something he was getting used to.

The pair were asleep with neither giving off any discernible sounds. The only one that could be heard were the soft noises emanating from Chocho.

Once more like previous nights, Tyene used Roxas as a body pillow and he had started to become quite the cuddler as a result.

If Tyene wasn't tired earlier into the night, she definitely was after making a certain request.

"Can I ask you something, love?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Could you help me tap into my magic? Fully awaken it, even?"

She never knew it would be such an experience.

His hand placed over her heart, which made them both blush as he was touching the developing breast. It was in order to essentially reach into her through physical contact, find her core and pump some of his magic into it so it can awaken.

This was a first for him in doing such a process, given he read it in his Keyblade book and basically tested it out on her. And he just didn't realize him doing this would cause quite a reaction as he made Tyene feel things she never knew before. It all but knocked her out in the end from the essential rush.

The blonde Nobody wondered what would've happened if he did the same process to Robb and Arya, given they were getting into their magic in their own way. But it's already in the past and what's done was done.

Within the moonlit, yet darkened room, Roxas stirred in his sleep and soon awoke.

It wasn't because of a nightmare, a loud sound or an urge to use the privy.

It was due to him that something had prompted him to awake.

He sensed something was amiss and the source of it all was strong.

When he scanned part of the darkened guestroom, he saw something else was wrong.

There was a light.

Not from a candle, a lantern or from the fireplace. Those gave off a yellow or partially orange glow. And it wasn't the moonlight coming from the window as it was mostly white.

The one faintly filling a spot of the room was blue.

Startled and thinking an enemy has breached Riverrun, Roxas swiftly unlatched and pushed Tyene before getting off the bed. With his hand stretched out, he was about to summon his Keyblade-

*KA-THUNK*

"OW! What the hell?!"

The yell got Chocho to startly wake up and look around in confusion, emanating several chirps.

Looking over to the other side of the bed, Roxas saw Tyene was no longer on the mattress. A moment later, he saw her pop up from the floor with a crossed look aimed right at him.

"Sorry, Tyene-"

"Did you just do the "tuck and roll" on me?" She asked with a slight glare.

His thought process momentarily halted at what she just said. "...Tuck and what?"

"Uh, nevermind. But why'd you-"

It was then did she too finally notice the odd light in the room.

The source of it came from a blue, airy wisp floating by the door.

Getting close, they saw it seeped through to the other side.

The two teens and chocobo were confused with what's happening, more so when the blue wisp seeped back into the room.

"You have any idea-"

"Nope."

Entering the hallway, they saw there wasn't just one wisp, but several. Each one spaced out throughout most of the hallway floor and turned around the corner.

Something was clearly wrong here.

They all meant for them to follow.

Slipping on some shoes, the teens went along the blue wisp trail with Chocho trotting beside them.

"Should we try to alert the others?" The Sand Snake asked, clutching Roxas closely as she felt a nervous shiver down her spine.

Roxas sought to voice a response as they made the turn, only to halt it when he saw a Tully guard stationed nearby.

The pair came up to the man, yet saw he wasn't regarding them at all.

This wasn't the only time as the other guards or servants came and went, yet were oddly ignoring them completely; even when they were speaking or touching them.

"What in the Seven hells is going on?" Tyene asked, visibly frustrated and a bit perturbed by what they were witnessing and experiencing.

Questions arose with no answers being given anytime soon.

All they could do was follow the wispy trail.

After all the twists and turns upon navigating through Riverrun, they eventually came to the trail's end where they found themselves in the godswoods.

Looking around, the two teens inspected the area and saw there were some contrasts with the ones they've seen in the past.

Instead of the gloomish atmosphere Roxas knew back at Winterfell, this one here at Riverrun was more of a garden with elms and redwoods spaced well apart to let the sunlight or moonlight in. And unlike the one at the Red Keep, there were small streams tinkling through the grass before disappearing back down into the ground. The insects made their chirping sounds among the nightlife present here. And the air is filled with the smell of wildflowers.

Standing amidst all this, it is hard to remember that they were in the middle of a castle at all.

There is a weirwood tree of course, but it is slender and elegant rather than overgrown and disconcerting like a number they've previously seen. This place was more designed to be a place for family play and relaxing after stressful days, not a place of veneration for the old gods.

As far as Roxas and Tyene knew, the Tullys don't worship the old gods here and in many other southern towns and cities. The presence of a godswood and heart tree whether or not it's actually a weirwood is more of a statement of political inclusivity than religious adherents.

When the Andals invaded, they rather wisely decided to keep the godswoods in some of the key castles they captured like here; knowing that destroying them would only anger the first men who still lived in the south.

After all, the Tullys are an ancient House being descended from the First Men, but this is not an ancient castle by Westerosi standards; being just a thousand years or so old. And it was only with Aegon's Invasion that the Tully's were elevated to being Lords Paramount of the Riverlands.

The pair clearly knew the Tullys are followers of the Faith of the Seven and the sept here -to their knowledge- sits inside another garden.

"Is there any reason why those things led us here?"

"I wish I knew 'cause I have no clue in the slightest." Roxas then eyed the remaining wisps as they led up to the heart tree. "And yet…"

Coming up to the slender weirwood at the edge of the area, Roxas inspected it in order to figure out what's so unique about this one. He had to move around the thick bushes behind the tree where he found the carved face with the red sap streaming through its eyes and mouth.

Yet there was something… off about it. A gut feeling, perhaps.

Leaning in closer, he saw something inside of the carved mouth. Bringing a hand up to it, he casted Lux, letting a flash of light appear in the dark space.

At that moment his blue eyes widened.

Tyene and Chocho wondered what was going on before seeing Roxas begin tearing up the nearby bushes with his drawn out Keyblade.

"Woah, Roxas, what are you doing?" Said the Sand Snake. "I don't know why you're vandalizing-"

"I need space."

"Why?"

"Cause I found something."

Both the chocobo and dornish girl rushed over to see Roxas clear out the last of the available space at the garden's edge. Once done, they saw him aim his Keyblade at the weirwood tree's carved face. A gathering of lights appeared at it's tip before a beam shot out.

It entered the open mouth where it impacted something with a resounding *click*.

From what Tyene was able to see, she spotted an outline of a keyhole.

Before any questions could be voiced, she, Roxas and Chocho felt the earth shake beneath them. They soon made it out of the way as they saw the ground part wide enough to reveal a large piece of flattened stone with intricate designs all around the surface.

At the very center was a sigil of a crowned catfish.

From what Tyene could recall from her lessons, that was the sigil of House Fisher, a long dead House which once dated back to the First Men.

But why was this-

"A hearthstone…"

Tyene turned to her love with a questioning look. "A what?"

"It's like a door to a secret holding or something similar." Said the Nobody.

"And how would you know it?"

"Saw one similar to this with Alucard, Trevor and Sypha." Roxas twirled his Keyblade a little. "The only way through it is either with a certain phrase or…"

"A Keyblade?" Tyene said knowingly.

Roxas smiled as he aimed his Keyblade at the hearthstone. Once more, light gathered and shot at the carved surface. An outline of a keyhole soon formed along the surface before flashing. Once dying down, the hearthstone seemed to have disappeared before their very eyes to reveal an ancient flight of stoney stairs.

Before long, they descended into darkness with the hearthstone reappearing and blocking their exit.

Holding up his hand, Roxas conjured a ball of light and had it hover his palm. With his other hand, he grasped onto Tyene's as he safely guided her down the ancient flight of stairs. Chocho carefully moved behind and kept focus on the light his father made.

It felt like hours for them continuing their descent into the unknown until the spaces along the steps began to light up with the familiar blue wisps. This went on, even after the passage appeared to level off, allowing them to walk on flat ground again. But when their footsteps didn't ring against the stones, they were forced to conclude they were no longer walking on familiar floors.

Following after the blue wisps, Tyene voiced a thought.

"Any idea where this path will lead us? I'm worried something bad will happen to us."

Roxas tightened his grip with Tyene, hoping he could calm her down.

Walking ever further, a light encompassed them, blinding them.

As it died down, the teens and chocobo found themselves elsewhere.

"What… What is this place?" Tyene asked, looking around at the multitude of Weirwoods and large stones that surrounded them.

Practically every tree had a face carved onto it with each one expressing an assortment of different emotions.

Chocho was looking around with what appeared to be wonder and nervousness, making sure to stay close to his father's leg.

Roxas had Oblivion out in his free hand whilst also holding Tyene close to him.

This whole place gave off a very unusual feeling of it being ancient and steeped in what he would describe as almost… like it was forgotten magic, if that made any sense.

Wracking his brain as to an idea as to just where they currently found themselves to be, No. XIII thought back to a place in Westeros where Weirwoods were still prominent.

The North.

But they were still in the Riverlands so this place had to be something else.

"Greetings."

Tyene yelped slightly and threw her arms around her love whilst he reciprocated the gesture and held her close. Chocho squawked out in fright and fluttered up to Roxas' side that wasn't occupied by Tyene and nestled himself upon the boy's shoulder.

The pair whirled around and saw something appear from behind one of the weirwoods.

It was a small humanoid, almost resembling a pre-teen if they were to guess. Yet their skin was pale gray-green with an apparent rough to wrinkled texture, similar in appearance to plants. Similarly, their eyes have a lime-green coloration. Their hair was ragged and ratty that was tied back into a high ponytail. And their clothing was a mixture of vines, leaves, bark and other pieces of flora.

"Who… What are you?" Tyene asked with slight fright.

The small figure appears remorseful and sheepish.

"Sorry for scaring you like that." The small individual said. "I just saw you two… er, three appear here from one of our secret entrances. And as for who I am, you can call me Ivy as my true name is hard to pronounce. For what… The First men called us "the Children", but we were born long before them. We have long since inhabited these lands and still do where we can."

Tyene's eyes widened in stunned disbelief.

"Y-you," She stammered, now a bit excited. "You're a Child of the Forest!"

Roxas widened his eyes when this was said.

"Huh, well I'll be."

Tyene rounded on him. "That's it? That's all the reaction she gets?"

Chocho tilted his head and chirped. "Kweh?"

"I mean… it's not like it's not surprising but Tyene… have you forgotten who I am and what I do?"

The Sand Snake blinked owlishly before turning her head away in slight embarrassment.

"Um… er… well… shut up." She petulantly complained. "It's still a shock to me."

He found himself chortling in response whilst Tyene looked back at the small Child of the Forest.

Ivy ushered them to follow as she walked through an archway.

After following the Child of the Forest for several minutes, they came across something awe inspiring.

It was perhaps the largest weirwood heart tree they have ever seen. The blood-red leaves were bright, unique flowers bloomed from a litany of its branches. The white bark it normally would've had was more silvery-gray due to age.

And from up above they saw a unique lightsource which made it seem like a star was properly entrapped… wherever they were.

"Pardon us, Ivy, was it? What even is this place?"

She looked around with a fond yet saddened gaze. "A place long since forgotten by your people, human. A place the last descendants of House Fisher helped hide from those accursed Andals in their Invasion. And ever since, none of the Andals have found their way in here."

Tyene recalled the Hearthstone back at Riverrun.

Roxas was indeed right in what he said about the stone slab. Yet what was so important and significant about this place where House Fisher basically died off protecting this place.

"I've lived a long life." Ivy said whimsically as she looked around the space. "Seen much change yet so much remains the same in all that time." She then eyed the blonde Keybearer. "But in my life, never once had I ever encountered someone like you."

Ivy looked to No. XIII with a scrutinizing frown.

"Who are you really?"

Standing in silence for several moments, Roxas gave a response.

"I'm a rather interesting Nobody."

Tyene frowned and chastised him. "That's a hurtful thing to say to yourself, love."

Roxas only gave her somber smile, before looking back to Ivy who was gazing at him intently.

Breaking away, the Child moved towards the giant weirwood.

"Keep following me please."

"Why?" Tyene spoke up, causing Ivy to look back at them.

"Why what?"

"Why bring us here?" She asked, gesturing around them.

"Because someone wishes to speak with you." The Child said in a plain voice.

Before any more questions were voiced, Ivy made it to the weirwood trunk and placed her hand at a certain spot.

In mere moments, everything began to shift around the group.

Composing themselves, Roxas, Tyene and Chocho saw they were now elsewhere.

Instead of seeing a giant weirwood, there was a litany of trees of all kinds surrounding them.

"Curiouser and curiouser." Roxas muttered aloud.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Come along, we're almost there."

They moved through the dense forest with the path before them. Countless smells were all around, both pleasant and distasteful. The sounds of rushing water could be heard from all around now. And the source of it all came at their destination's end.

At the far end of their sight, there was a magnificent waterfall crashing down and connecting to what appeared to be countless rivers. Wherever they may go, the teens and chocobo were the foggiest.

Yet it wasn't the waterfall that was the focus, but another weirwood tree stationed on a small island.

"What is this place?" Tyene asked, goosebumps visible on her skin as she literally felt a sense of magic permeating the air.

"A place highly revered by both the Children and the First Men." Ivy said, tone matching her statement as she spoke with the utmost respect and worship of where they currently stood. "A place where the pact between us was made."

"Pact?" Roxas murmured, a frown adorning his face when everything clicked in his mind. "We… Are we…"

"Indeed we are."

"What? What? Where are we?" Tyene said, confusion evident from her reaction.

"The Isle of Faces." Roxas said with a hint of awe. "I've read about this place a bunch of times in Winterfell. They have a bunch of books talking about how sacred this place is."

"Wait… the Isle of Faces? But how did we get here so quickly? Shouldn't it have taken us days from Riverrun?"

"There are many pathways across Westeros that all lead back to here." Ivy stated. "If one has the power within themselves or the knowledge, they are able to make their way here without much effort or problem."

Tyene hummed upon hearing that, looking to her love. "Guess your Keyblade really can do anything."

"Keyblade?" Ivy asked in confusion.

Roxas wordlessly held his hand up and summoned his Keyblade Oathkeeper which drew a gasp of astonishment from Ivy.

"My word." She whispered in enraptured awe. "It's… it's beautiful."

The Nobody smirked slightly at the look of amazement Ivy held before he recalled his weapon.

Tyene then cleared her throat, catching Ivy's attention.

"So, we're in the Isle of Faces right now, yes?" The Dornish girl asked, just to be sure once more.

Recovering from her momentary daze, the child of the forest shook her head.

"Not the one you are familiar with." Ivy stated. "The "Isle of Faces" you humans know residing in the God's Eye off of Harrenhal is merely a farce. This here is the genuine article as you humans say."

'Huh, never would have thought to hear that phrase here.' Roxas mentally thought to himself.

"So where exactly are you leading us then?" the black haired girl asked with Ivy.

Rather than responding, Ivy looked ahead for a few moments of silence.

"He comes." She whispered.

Tyene and Roxas share a look of hesitation when they hear something coming towards them.

A soft tapping could be heard. The source came from a cloaked individual who slowly came towards them and used a staff for support. Like Ivy's attire, what the person wore was composed of a litany of flora, even the cloak covering up their face.

The person ended their walk as they faced the new arrivals.

"Welcome." Said the hooded person. "It's so good to have some new faces here. Roxas and Tyene Sand, if I got it right."

"Kweh?"

"Ah and their little animal companion."

Tyene was a bit off put by the man in front of them but Roxas held a pensive look. He felt a strange sense that this man held no ill intention towards them.

"Pardon us but who are you?" The Nobody asked politely.

"Yes of course." The man said in a jovial manner.

Taking off his cloak, the teens inspected his appearance.

He had extremely long, ratty silvery-white hair. His dark tanned skin appeared darker, given the amount of moss and lichen clung to his flesh. Yet what stood out the most was his purple eyes.

"Are you a Targaryen?" Tyene found herself asking, knowing world renown traits of the last dragon riders.

"I'm related to them, but I don't bear their name." The man said with a chuckle.

"And how did you come here? Ivy said no Andal came here since this place was hidden?"

"Not on my own volition, mind you." He said with a hapless shrug. "Some would say it was an accident whilst others call it fate."

"And what do you call it?" No. XIII asked.

"Rotten luck." He remarked with a small chuckle. "But I have long since dodged my identity from you both. I was born Addam of Hull, but legitimized by my queen upon being known as a dragonseed and became heir to my House until my supposed death."

It took several moments for the Sand Snake to realize who was before them.

"You're Ser Addam Velaryon." Tyene gasped aloud. "But… But how are you still alive? The Dance of Dragons was about two hundred years ago."

"Velaryon?" Roxas muttered to himself, brows creased as he thought about the Dance of Dragons. He hadn't really had that much time in reading it over but he knew that it was an important event in Westerosi history. A civil war between the Targaryens.

"You don't know about him?"

"Tyene, I don't know everything about Westeros." Roxas said, a bit exasperatedly. "I'm not from here, remember?"

She didn't know how to properly respond to this.

Addam coughed into his hand in order to get their attention.

"With how I'm alive, Tyene Sand, you can thank this place. The power of the Isle of Faces is extraordinary. A power far older than the Andals, their Seven-who-are-One deity, the First Men, the Children and the Others. This power is great, terrible and mysterious as I was granted an extended life as long as I don't leave it's territory."

While Tyene was completely enraptured by this explanation, Roxas listened with a far more reserved demeanor.

"You're taking this information a bit too easily." Addam noted with a look of slight surprise.

"I've lived a strange life so with you being alive through magic, it isn't the craziest thing I've heard in my existence." Came Roxas' response.

Addam found himself laughing at the response. "Thought as much."

"I'm sorry on asking this, but we would really like to know why you wanted us here." The Sand Snake stated.

Addam gave a firm nod as he ushered them to come closer.

Roots sprouted from the ground and formed chairs for them to sit.

No doubt this discussion will be a long one for the two teens. And hopefully one which won't cost them dearly in more ways than one.

-Morning, The Red Keep-

The morning was overcast and grim. Something which may have reflected Ned's feelings or something else entirely.

It started out with him waking up to thunder from his window, not from the sky but of the earth, courtesy of hoofbeats. Looking through it, he saw people in the training yard doing their morning practices. To a degree, he didn't want to have that be how he awoke this day before he sends his daughters back to Winterfell.

He broke his fast with them and Septa Mordane. Sansa, still disconsolate, stared sullenly at her food and ate slowly, but Arya wolfed down everything that was set in front of her.

"Syrio says we have time for one last lesson before we take our ship this evening." Said the young wolfling. "Can I, father? All my things are packed and I said my goodbyes to my friends."

"A short lesson, and make certain you leave yourself time to bathe and change. I want you ready to leave by midday, is that understood?" The Wolf Patriarch said with a stern look that brokered no arguments.

"Yes, father."

Ned had spoken with Syrio about his contract with him. With how things presently were, the Braavosi could continue on being Arya's teacher as there's still much for her to learn. Yet with Arya taking leave, anything else would be put on hold for some time or put at an end.

The dancing master was understanding and said he may return home as well before perhaps seeing his young student again.

Sansa looked up from her food. "If she can have a dancing lesson, can't I say farewell to Myrcella?"

The young lady Stark will greatly miss her friend who she had been close to for these past months. Despite their little comeuppance, they were able to overlook their issue towards their shared interest and come to a decision.

It made Sansa feel relieved, but still nervous and yearning.

Especially when things slowly escalated between their curious, experimental union throughout the rest of the day before and almost into the night. Sansa would've stayed longer by the princess' side if it weren't for the fact she had to return for supper.

With this new thing between them, they wished to figure things out further in the future. Try a courtship -behind a number of people's backs- to see if anything remotely fits into place upon their reunion. If nothing works, no harm done. Even when they both confront Roxas about this as he may more or less freely court Sansa behind Joffrey's back.

And despite her dislike towards her betrothed, she had to see Joffrey as well out of courtesy. Yet she felt a sense of dread in her stomach when she thought about it.

Hopefully seeing Myrcella and giving a nice goodbye may alleviate this problem.

"I would gladly go with her, Lord Eddard," Septa Mordane offered. "There would be no question of her missing the ship."

As much as Sansa didn't want the Septa there to interrupt the coming meeting, it was sadly needed so her little secret with Myrella wouldn't be uncovered when Mordane eventually tries looking for her.

Ned thought things over as he chewed over his bread. Swallowing, he gave a response.

"You may," he said. "But not a moment more."

Sansa brightened with her smile. "Thank you, father."

As the small pleasantries, who were Ned's daughters, left the dining hall, something else took hold of the Warden of the North.

Pandemonium.

If there was one word that would best describe Ned Stark's life it would be Pandemonium.

It was strange that he longed for the days of the Rebellion because those days were blaringly simple.

It was the Quiet Wolf with his best friends fighting against the tyranny of the Mad King and trying to avenge and save his family.

That was simple. Just fighting battle after battle to survive to see tomorrow while forging unbreakable bonds with brothers on and off the battlefield.

King's Landing has proven itself time and again to be anything but that.

Ned couldn't have one day where he was able to wake up and just have some semblance of normalcy that doesn't involve a migraine developing.

Currently, the Quiet Wolf was about to undertake another one of the headache inducing small council meetings. One called by his own volition.

He recalled his older brother's words of how Ned was always a masochist, willing to take the punishment of others just so they wouldn't suffer too much. How he hated how right his brother was right about now.

In the Hand of the King, he sat in his solar with the other council members present with a grim visage.

His overall demeanor matched his looks and the others felt it, having not made any of their usual comments or remarks that grated his nerves.

Now wasn't the time for such foolishness.

Looking around, the Stark viewed who was present.

Barristan the Bold, leader of the Kingsguard, had his shoulder sagged in a degree of self-loathing. To have had his king perish under his watch at the hands from such a vile villain was the ultimate shame of a Kingsguard.

Ned and Lewyn tried their hardest in consoling the knight, telling him that Vanitas was an enemy beyond even the legendary Kingsguard of the Mad King's reign. Barristan would have only delayed the inevitable.

That did little in alleviating the man's mood but he nonetheless showed gratitude towards them for trying at the very least.

Varys had a troubled and greatly disturbed expression since Vanitas had taken Robert's life. There was a brief instance that the eunuch was in high spirits after the arrest and imprisonment of Baelish but that was quickly dashed by the actions of the dark Keyblade wielder.

Pycelle did little in hiding his fear, openly trembling a majority of the time whenever anyone saw him.

Littlefinger wasn't present at all, given he presently resided within the Black Cells until such time. He would've been placed onto the first ship heading towards the Vale for his crimes, but after recent events such plans will be held off until further notice.

While his reaction is mostly hidden, Varys is happy in a sense as his rival is put into a very embarrassing spot and much of his power has diminished. And the spot for Master of Coin will need to be figured out in due time for a proper holder.

Speaking of, Lewyn was the Master of Coin though not in any true sense of the word. He was just selected to fill in the spot that Littlefinger had been removed from and placed on the Small Council as a voice that Ned can openly trust.

"Before we begin, where is Lord Renly?" The Hand said with a confused manner, wondering where the youngest Baratheon brother was.

Varys gave him a sorrowful look. "I fear Lord Renly has left the city."

"Left the city?" Ned repeated, as if he wasn't sure if what he heard was uttered from the Master of Whispers.

"He took his leave through a postern gate an hour before dawn, accompanied by Ser Loras Tyrell and their retainers rather hastily. No doubt they're bound for Storm's End or Highgarden."

Ned rubbed the bridge of his nose.

He had hoped for their support, in more ways than one.

Renly was uncharacteristically somber these past days, his usual flamboyant self being absent. On top of that, the youngest Baratheon brother was on constant alert to a near sleepless degree with a sword strapped to his side at all times.

Asides from this, he had done all he could to help on his duties as Master of Law in order to keep the city from falling to chaos.

Loras had been well in helping the city upon Roxas' absence. A lot of hope and trust was placed on the Knight of Flowers. Now it seemed the Reach knight didn't keep his promise as intended.

Gods' knows what reasons these two had before deciding to leave the capital.

"No matter. We will make due without him. He will learn what will be spoken here in due time."

"Then what is there to speak of, my lord?" Asked Pycelle.

"I have brought you all here for one reason that decides the future of Westeros." Ned spoke sharply and in a tone that demanded attention. "One which had been delayed long enough due to recent events."

Nobody raised their voices, questioned the man or wished to speak as the aura he radiated screamed authority.

Several had what some would call "traitorous" thoughts as they regarded Stark as more of a true ruling King in comparison to his now deceased friend.

Then again, the bloodline of the Starks is the oldest of all in the entire history of Westeros.

The blood of ten thousand years of the Winter Kings runs through the veins of the Quiet Wolf in front of them all.

Before they were about to speak any further on this matter…

"My lords, my place is beside the young king and his sister now. Pray me leave to attend to them."

The Stark patriarch shook his head at this.

"Your place is here, Ser Barristan. You are long overdue to attend these meetings. Especially now with what must be discussed."

"You forget yourself, old friend. You're the head of the Kingsguard." Lewyn reminded him. "It was foolish for any to even consider not having you present for these meetings."

The aging Knight gave his old friend and comrade a look of gratitude before all eyes were on the Hand of the King once more.

Ned Stark reached into his clothing and pulled out a single parchment with a wax seal keeping it rolled up.

"I have in my hands the last will and testament of Robert Baratheon. And the signing and declaration of the contents inside was witnessed by Queen Cersei, whose signature lies alongside mine and her late husband."

Around him, the Small Council shifted about in their seats.

Ned handed the parchment over to Ser Barristan. "If you would be so kind?"

The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard examined it. "King Robert's seal, unbroken." Breaking the wax seal, he unfurled it and read the contents. "Lord Eddard Stark is to be named Protector of the Realm, to rule as regent until… Princess Myrcella comes of age?"

Obvious confusion reigned with the other council members as they looked towards Eddard Stark for answers, except for Lewyn who had known beforehand.

"Lord Stark," Varys spoke up, surprise evident on his face. "Are you saying that-"

"Princess Myrcella is to be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms." Ned declared. "Not Joffrey."

"How can this be?" Muttered Pycelle. "Tradition dictates-"

"King Robert no longer saw Joffrey as one worthy of being the next ruler of Westeros." Interrupted Ned.

As much as he'd like to voice the issue of Robert's "sons" being in fact bastards, he kept quiet at this time.

"This is rather troubling." Pycelle muttered and stuttered once more. "The realm-"

"Is already in danger, but we must be brave and run through Robert's decision." The Lord Of Winterfell stated in a tone that brokered no argument.

Pycelle looked to try to speak once more but Barristan beat him to it.

"And what of the Queen?" The Bold Knight inquired. "Has she given her blessing and support in this matter?"

"She did, in her own way." Ned said in a vague manner.

"That doesn't sound reassuring." Lewyn grumbled out.

"The Queen is never one to make things simple." Varys argued. "But I do concur, the Queen has given her support on this matter. She is fully behind King Robert's decision in having Myrcella be his true heir."

At this time, Myrcella is of age. But there would be enough time to deal with the succession and full training to be the proper ruler in due time.

Like all female rulers of the past, it'll be hard to work with the rest of the realm. No one would truly support it or something and people would eventually believe a repeat of the Dance of the Dragons would happen.

"Until the princess is ready, I ask this council to confirm me as Lord Protector as Robert Wished."

A knock on the door was heard before it was opened by Fat Tom, one of Ned's men. Stepping through was Janos Slynt.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Pardon, my lords, but the King demands your immediate presence of his Small Council in the Throne Room."

A look was shared amongst the present councilors. Joffrey may be king in name at this time, yet him not knowing of Robert's decision will change that.

"The king is dead, but we shall go nonetheless." Said Lord Stark. "Tom! Assemble an escort."

Leaving the Tower of the Hand, there was a peculiar sight all around.

There were hardly any Lannisters to be seen, but there were many gold cloaks. Ned hoped they were his, as to what Lewyn Martell had suggested.

Upon reaching the throne room, Ned could see Joffrey seated upon the Iron Throne. A smug, arrogant look was present on his visage whilst trying to get used to his new seat of power. And in front of him were the other members of the Kingsguard present in the capital, awaiting their Lord Commander to join them.

The royal steward finally took notice of the new arrivals and called out into the hall.

"All hail His Grace, Joffrey of the Houses Baratheon and Lannister, First of his name, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm."

It was a long walk to the far end, not because of the length, but of how small everything seemed to be. Not because of the space, but of how much room there was with the amount of Gold Cloaks lining along the walls. And a good number of Lannister men stood guard at each side of the Iron Throne with Sandor Clegane amongst them.

Before long, Barristan, Pycelle and Varys parted ways with Lewyn and Ned as they went to their appropriate spots in the room.

Ned gave the boy a hard stare, deeply unsettled by the unhinged look in the eyes of the false king.

Those eyes… They were too much like the Mad King's. Almost eerily so.

It brought him back to the first and last time he ever saw the last Targaryen King and could never get the look of insanity the man held out of his mind.

He knew what was happening but he held a stony, unreadable visage.

For the briefest of moments, he wondered if Joffrey would step down easily.

"I command the council to make all necessary arrangements for my coronation." Spoke the spoiled, blonde king. "The time for grievances for my father have come to an end. The time of troubles must come to an end as well. I wish to be properly ordained and crowned within the fortnight. Today, however, I shall accept oaths of fealty from my loyal councilors."

"We will do no such thing." Ned proclaimed aloud, making all eyes turn to him.

Robert's false son froze, gazing upon the Hand with a near manic glint.

"...Excuse me?" Joffrey soon voiced. "I beg your pardon, my lord, but I am my father's heir and rightful king of Westeros."

"You are not the King nor are you the son of the late Robert Baratheon." Ned's voice was ice cold, sending shivers down the spines of many present in the throne room.

"And what makes you say this? What evidence do you have to claim such accusations?"

"Because the truth of the matter is that you are, in fact, a bastard." The Stark declared, many in attendance gasping. "A bastard born of Cersei Lannister… and your "uncle" Jaime."

Shock was soon replaced by rage and fury etched upon Joffrey's face.

What many soon began to notice was something that was emanating from the screeching bastard. It was subtle, barely noticeable at first.

Yet now, it was beginning to be visible for all to see.

Wisps of pure darkness began wafting off the boy king that began spiking after every second.

"H-how DARE YOU!" The blonde all but shrieked in unadulterated rage. He soon looked towards the Lannister guards and those of the City Watch. "Seize the traitor!"

"You are not fit to sit on that throne." Ned said, Lewyn and the Stark Guards that had accompanied them drawing their swords. "Commander Slynt, take the false king into custody and escorted into his apartment."

Nodding, Slynt gave an order.

"Men of the Watch!"

Those of the City Watch withdrew their weapons and were ready for the next course of action.

Yet there was this troubled feeling inside Ned that something was greatly amiss.

So much so when he saw the bratty "king" as he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"KILL HIM! KILL ALL OF THE TRAITORS! I COMMAND IT!"

A plume of Darkness all but exploded out from the Bastard King, enveloping him entirely.

All gasped, many stumbling and trying to get away from Joffrey who was shrieking in fury as the Darkness intensified.

Ned clenched his teeth tightly, pulling out his own sword now.

"Men, formation!" Stark commanded, the Northmen quickly moving to stand with their liege lord. "Apprehend Joffrey at once, do not allow him to leave the throne room."

"I DON'T INTEND ON GOING ANYWHERE!" Joffrey's deranged voice was heard from within the pillar of Darkness that was only growing in size.

Chaos soon ensued within the throne room. People from all sides sought to defend themselves, either from fighting or running out.

This wasn't just the case as for some reason, most of those alongside Joffrey's side seemed not bothered at all for whatever reason.

Any and all questions pertaining to this would wait until later.

Cleaving through the dark tendrils, Ned whipped his head around in time to see Lewyn be impaled by several of them.

One went right through the Martell's chest and the expression the Quiet Wolf saw was all that he needed to see to know what had just happened.

"NO!" Ned cried out in vain, watching as Lewyn fell to the ground and didn't move from there.

He didn't have time to mourn as several tendrils made their move against him but his instincts kicked in and he quickly slashed through them all.

The Quiet Wolf bared his fangs, viciously fighting back against the seemingly endless stream of dark tendrils.

Yet it seemed he was the only one who was managing to hold back the Darkness as many were either quickly killed or consumed by it.

Eddard felt despair beginning to fill his entire being yet he squashed just as fast as it came.

Now wasn't the time to give in.

He needed to escape this freshly risen Hell and get to his daughters. Get back to the North with the rest of his family. Get word out to the Nobodies and send Roxas back to the capital.

Yet those thoughts came to an abrupt end when he felt pain erupt from his side.

He instinctively spun his sword about to cut through the tendril that managed to graze him but the damage was already done.

The Stark lord winced in pain, hand shooting to the side of his stomach. He didn't feel any form of wetness coming from his freshly made injury but there was still pain all the same.

Ned sought to fight further, but felt cold steel kissing his neck.

"Seems your coup will not go so well as intended, Stark."

Glancing back, gray eyes widened upon seeing-

"Baelish." He growled out.

The smug look on Littlefinger's face was all Ned saw before the pommel of some weapon struck the back of his head. Soon tumbling to the ground, he saw Janos Slynt standing beside Petyr as they both looked down on him.

"Damn… you…" Were his last words before unconsciousness claimed him.

-End Chapter-

AN:

Quite a while since working on this, three months in fact, and there is a good reason.

Obviously for one, writer's block is a complete bitch. Not to mention life hitting me hard one way or another, due to work on certain things I viewed/read since updating this which made me utterly depressed.

Then again I have been helping out free man writer on his stories on top of making stuff for Key of Dreams, a new story of mine.

Movies and shows coming out and loved a good lot of them. Others I've had mixed feelings about.

There's a lot of content I've put in this chapter and hopefully you readers have enjoyed this. Still a number of things to put down with what's to come and I honestly can't wait to work on them.

FMW: Yeah, we've been pretty busy on both ends. We've rebooted a story of mine on my end called Age Of Remnant, that we restructured and all with BulletStormX while having writer's block on several of our other stories while also starting the new story Key of Dreams. Contradictory statement right? No Way Home, Arcane and lots of other crap both good and bad hitting us on our ends but that's how life is sometimes. But really, I'm just glad we got this one out before the year's end. Thanks everyone for reading our stories and being so patient with them all.

Jeb: From us both, we wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year Folks!

Anyways, be sure to review this story guys! Would like the criticisms. Please and thank you!

R&R

"Geez, It's so easy."

Vanitas stood atop a broken, crumbling and smoldering tower.

He had gotten bored recently and decided to have some more fun with the locals.

"Typical of them to just rush right in." The black haired Keybearer remarked, gazing at the ocean of bodies sprawled about. The remnants of the House he basically wiped out. "Really should've gone off world and had fun with the rest of my colleagues."

With the rest of Organization XIII, he could've had something better to do before the eventual Keyblade War.

"Perhaps I should just leave Westeros and go to Essos." He said to himself. "I've been sensing a good amount of darkness there lately and-"

The dark Keybearer halted when he felt something off.

Not far off, but near.

"Well now, when I first arrived here, you are certainly not one I would have expected to encounter."

The hair on the back of Vanitas' neck stood up right and the being jumped, flipping in the air and landing with his Keyblade summoned and the teen in a battle stance.

"Put that away." the one who had snuck up on him said dismissively. "If I had wanted to attack you, I wouldn't have bothered revealing myself to you. You would have been dead where you stood."

'How'd he remain undetected this far in?' Thought Vanitas.

Either he was getting sloppy lately with this blind slaughterfest, awaiting for Roxas' arrival, or there was something more about this new arrival than the surface level.

Speaking of, the Keybearer regarded this fellow, sensing the amount of power he bore.

"...Aren't you an interesting one."

"I can say the same about you."

Vanitas eyed the man warily and kept himself ready for anything.

This individual that stood before him radiated a power similar to that of the old man, if not more so.

He was interesting, suffice to say.

As this man came closer, yellow eyes widened slightly underneath his obsidian black domed helmet.

He knows him or at least knew of him years ago. Back when he was first plaguing the Worlds once being freed from inside of Ventus' heart after for so long.

What was he doing here instead of his native World?

"You can put that Keyblade away." The man said. "Did you not hear my earlier statement?"

Vanitas narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why are you so far away from home?"

"Not by my own violation."

"Uh huh… You could return back there anytime you want."

"I could…"

"...You're here for someone, aren't you?"

The arrival smirked, being all the answer Vanitas needed.

"He's been around, and I've been searching for him."

"And who might he be?"

"Someone like us. Not of this World."

Vanitas pondered for several moments before coming to a realization.

"Oh… Now I see…" He chuckled out. "Stick around a little longer and he may show up here."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You know their kind. They're always drawn to trouble and wanting to save the day."

"Not like how I know him."

The Keybearer shrugged. "Whatever."

He began walking away from the scene as he sensed something along the horizon.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I got work I need to do."

"Oh?"

"Yes, oh." Vanitas said dryly. "If you want to join me, there's a large party coming this way. You could use them as a warm up for your reunion."

The man was silent for a brief moment. He chuckled as he withdrew his elongated sword from his side and let the metal glint in the moonlight.

"I might take you up for that."

The masked boy sinisterly smiled as the pair marched towards the lambs awaiting slaughter.