A/N: EDIT: Not much feedback this time around. That really hurts. I'm sorry I couldn't make this chapter longer, I tried, and I wanted to, but I genuinely ran out of time... T_T
...sorry for the short chapter. Work is kicking my but; been burning the candle at both ends, and I wound up taking a break Monday and Tuesday for my own sanity. That said, can anyone see this chapter? Site has been glitching out HARD. All those 503 errors the last few days threw me off schedule.
Now? Between all this crap with the site and the drama with my job, now I just want to curl up in a corner and cry. Still, here I am. Looking forward to your feedback~!
As always, I wanted this chapter to feel like a proper Game of Thrones episode!
Hopefully I succeeded~!
Alright, I've kept you waiting long enough, methinks. Enough of this old man's rambling; you're here for a story. Hope you're prepared for the chaos to come. Once more, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or a one. Nope. They're simply tributes to legends far greater than I. Lastly, a reminder to one and all. Naruto's Westerosi name remains Nathaniel. Joanna -and now Rhaella!- prefer to call him Naruto, yet they're the only ones who truly do.
Timeline is obviously a little skewed here, but hey, that makes things...fun.
References and verbatim from Game of Thrones below. Away we go~!
"This is but a taste of the chaos to come...
~?
Let Us Meet (Interlude)
Everyone had to meet sooner or later.
Naruto reluctantly chose the former; if only because it was the best option.
To delay further would be folly, he knew; Cersei had no prevarications about Ellia or Oberyn, having met both before with him and Jaime back when they were both young. Lyanna did not, had not, knew neither of them, and was likewise very curious about their newest arrival and what her presence here in the keep meant.
He certainly hadn't been avoiding her. No matter what one might say. Nope, not at all.
Casterly Rock might be a large castle, but it was also his home. Safety, solitude, sanctuary, all those fancy words, but at the end of the day he felt secure here Despite his "issue" with Cersei, he knew he could trust that his sister wouldn't betray him. Likewise, Lyanna and Ellia, however highborn they might be, were his guests. He would treat them as such, respect them, but he wouldn't allow them to come to blows.
Nor would he allow Cersei to dictate his pace.
Time to put his foot down as it were, and keep it down. He wasn't so foolish as to believe everyone would become fast friends from the first mind you; this wasn't a fairy tale, this was life, and the road of life was brimming with all sorts of pitfalls and potholes. Few ever truly got along with one another immediately. But they needed to meet. Oberyn didn't concern him overmuch, he didn't seem the sort to stir up trouble on a whim. No, it was Lyanna meeting Ellia that concerned him. He wasn't looking forward to it.
So he opened with something he knew they would both adore.
Dragons.
Truth be told, he rather relished the squeals of surprise when the women saw Shukaku.
Well, Lyanna and Cersei squealed. Ellia had already met him of course; having been present for his hatching. She merely crooked a dark brow his way and sat by Kurama, who in turn delighted in having his head scratched to his heart's content.
There was no place more secure place for a meeting than the Stone Garden after all; no one would -or could!- follow them down here without his express permission. The scarce few that had tried were swiftly silenced and cast into the sea. Because, wouldn't you know, his Garden was also a useful place to dispose of bodies. Whatever Kurama -and now Shukaku, he supposed- didn't eat, the tide would carry right out to sea, never to be seen again. Really, it was a win-win...
"Oi!" Shukaku's indignant chirp brought him back to reality. "Watch the scales, ladies! I'll bite!"
Naruto hid a snicker behind his hand. "He certainly will...
Shukaku flared his wings with an angry roar that emerged as a rather whiny, pathetic chirrup. "Did you just laugh at me?! I'll eat you alive!"
Kurama raised his long neck beside Ellia and snorted, expelling a plume of smoke from his nostrils. "Care to repeat that, runt?"
Shukaku met his glare for all of moment, then wilted like a drooping flower, "No fair, you're bigger...
"Poor thing." Cersei stroked his back, sensing his despondency. "Seems he's the runt of the litter...
Lyanna hummed her agreement as her direwolf pup gave Shukaku a curious sniff, which in turn had him bridling all over again.
"Enough." Ellia clicked her tongue, admonishing them both "He is a noble and proud beast; you're crowding him." smiling sweetly, she crooked a finger his way, beckoning. "Why don't you come over here, dear one?" so speaking, she held up a bit of meat before her face. "You must be hungry."
Shukaku's head snapped up. "Now you're speaking my language, woman!"
Naruto bit his fist so damn hard to stifle a laugh as the brown-and-blue dragon scuttled Ellia's way on unsteady legs. Once he reached her, she reached down to pick him up-gently now don't get yourself bitten-and set him upon her shoulder. She didn't flinch, even when he dug his claws into her for balance, and began stroking his head. Remarkably, the surly Shukaku allowed it in exchange for being fed.
"See?" Ellia preened at Cersei and Lyanna wholly at her ease . "You need only show him the proper respect."
The latter scowled. "How did you...?"
"I trained vipers as a girl." she offered another bit of meat to Shukaku, kept her fingers out of biting range as he scarfed it down, and began to stroke his scales once more. "A dragon is more dangerous, yes, but you need only show them the proper respect."
Said reborn biju huffed indignantly. "That's right you best respect-oh. Ohhh, yessss that's the spooooot...
Kurama scoffed. "Whipped."
"Buzz off!, fox!" Shukaku snapped his tiny jaws at him. "She gives good headpats."
Cersei tilted her head. "Its almost like they're talking to one another...
Naruto snorted into a sleeve, to no avail. Some things never changed,
"So many lizards." Here at last, Oberyn said his piece as he turned a bemused look upon Shukaku. "They'll be calling you the Father of Dragons at this rate."
Kurama and Shukaku chirped their laughter, much to his chagrin; heat rushed up the back of his neck. "Please, don't call me that."
Shukaku snapped his agreement. "Yeah, he ain't our old man! Say that again and I'll bite you like I did the brat!"
Despite their rocky start, Shukaku had tolerated Tyrion. He would've gone for the throat otherwise. Sometimes he wondered if the little bugger would have breathe wind bullets like his old form. Wouldn't that be a laugh? It almost made him smile...right up until he remembered the other Biju. Kurama had been a miracle, Shukaku sheer luck...
But both eggs had been sent his way by Melisandre. One directly, and the other indirectly to be sure, but the fact remained. Bloody red woman. If the other seven were out there, did she intend to find and funnel them his way as well? Ach, he hoped not! That was more company than he knew what to do with. One dragon was hard enough to hide, two was company, three was a crowd, but nine?! He couldn't even fathom the concept of that dragons -even if they were really tailed beasts- under his command.
It was madness; no, more than that, it was impossible.
Surely that wouldn't happen, right?
Right?
Didn't dragons grow faster with company? His research said yes, but that they also grew faster with freedom. He'd given Kurama both, but maybe having Shukaku around would push him to grow fast. He hoped so. Sure, the Greyjoys could be handled without dragons, but a greater war loomed and they were running out of time...
Shaking his head, he returned his focus to the matter at hand; with a less than subtle nudge from Cersei, Lyanna had turned to look upon Ellia at long last and now they were speaking. Belatedly, he caught the tail end of a conversation he'd missed..
-I've never met someone from Dorne before. Is it really as hot as they say?"
Ellia tossed her head, flicking some dark hair out her eye. "Hotter. Better to be here than there"
Something must've shone through her face; because Cersei took her hand in her own. "You're pale. What's wrong?"
"The son of that wicked lizard sought my hand in marriage. My hand!" She shuddered, horribly repulsed. "I had to flee, lest he return and arry me away in the dead of night. We'd always planned to leave, but his presence in Dorne merely expedited our departure. The rest, you already know."
Oberyn laughed a little. "You worry too much, sister. I still say it would've been a good match. Mother and Father were quite cross with her for rebuking the dragon."
Her face went gray at the mere mention of the city. "My place is not there. It cannot be there. I will never BE there.
Ellia's gaze met his as she spoke. She wanted to tell him something. He wasn't sure what.
"But it would've been a good match," Oberyn teased her still.
Lyanna thumped his side and Cersei glared.
"What do you think, Nathaniel?"
Urk,
He winced as Lyanna stared at him intently. As did Cersei. Ellia, too.
.
..
...why did he get the feeling they'd set a trap for him just now?
And that he'd blundered blindly right into it?
Still, they were awaiting his answer and he gave the best one off the top of his head. "I think you should follow your heart?"
For some reason that seemed to please all three of them. He wasn't wholly sure why. Wasn't he expected to choose between them...?
"Bloody Lannister," Oberyn muttered under his breath. "How is that that you have three ladies longing for your loins?"
Naruto nearly choked on his spit, but the princeling of Dorne fared far worse.
Errors were made; the ladies rounded on him.
"Now wait just a moment, you!"
"How dare you say that!"
"I saw him first-
Naruto found himself releasing a breath as they fell into a squabble.
Yet no blades were drawn. No knives came out.
Had he been worried for nothing?
A small yawn escaped him.
Gods, he was so tired...
(.0.0.0.)
"Are you quite done laughing?"
Rhaella didn't look away from the balcony; she knew who was approaching her, just as she knew he wouldn't make a fuss over the state of her room. She'd had the servant girls clean it most thoroughly; there was no sign of her hysterically giddy outburst. She could still feel all that youthful energy humming through her even now, begging for release...
And yet. This one knew something. She should not be surprised.
She huffed. Bloody Lannisters always poking their noses where they shouldn't. "I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean...
"As you say, your grace."
She craned her neck towards them. "Ser Jamie. What brings you here?"
he stared at her for a moment, perhaps, struck by her youthfulness, before recovering.
"Did you hear?" he leaned against the wall. "The king's lost an eye. It just...fell right out his skull this morning; plopped onto the floor like a rotten grape. Such a pity...
Rhaella squinted at Jaime. "You're enjoying his suffering, aren't you?"
"As are you."
She tore her gaze away from his and looked back to King's Landing and Flea Bottom below. "I know not what you mean."
He sat on the railing of the balcony beside her, beaming. "Let us be honest with ourselves, Your Grace...the realm will celebrate his death."
Rhaella bit her tongue for a moment, then sighed. "I wish to sleep. Will you stay here and watch over me, awhile?"
Nathaniel's brother bowed. "As your grace commands."
(.0.0.0.)
A finger firmly tapped his forehead.
Naruto ignored it with intent.
They kept tapping away.
He kept his eyes shut.
Ignore.
Tap!
Once he was certain the girls wouldn't murder each other -or him!- he'd snuck away and retired to his chambers for a mid-morning nap. He He had questions for Rhaella about the Greyjoy incursion, and intended to grill her about in his dreams; the better to ascertain whether or not Aerys had a hand in this. It seemed a sound course of action.
Tap! Tap!
It was not to be.
Tap! Tap! Tap! TAP!
Naruto blew out a breath and creaked an eye open. "...what is it?"
Much to his surprise, he found Nymeria looming over him. The faceless girl-a woman grown now, he reminded himself- stared back him with intent; she'd removed all of her "faces" revealing herself to him in her true entirety pale hair, scarred face and all. She kept staring for quite some time, and he let her, unwilling to spook her.
At length, she found her voice, when it emerged, it was little more than a whisper. "A girl wishes to speak."
Naruto tilted his head where he lay, quizzical. "Isn't that what we're doing right now?
Her brow furrowed furiously. Okay. Don't push it. "Not here."
She crept to the door and he followed her...
...into the dark.
A/N: Nymeria gets her chance next chapter...but will a girl take it?
For those who have forgotten what our not-so-little-anymore Faceless Girl looks like, here's a reminder straight from her intro waaaay back in an earlier chapter:
"Silver-blond tresses tumbled down her back and grey-violet eyes blinked back at him, set within a lean face marred by an ugly scar cutting leftwise across the length of her brow, before curving down into the bridge of her nose. It was a miracle she hadn't lost an eye. He knew what she was, a Targaryen bastard, a Blackfyre...
Hope that helps. Rest assured, the long-awaited catfight is coming, I simply did not have time to write it here in this chapter. I might try to force out another one early if you would like...?
As for how Oberyn knew about Cersei? He's Oberyn. If anyone would figure it out, it'd be him.
There, that's the setup, now for the good bits.
We'll cut it here for now, work is calling my name as always. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it.
Should this remain a story? Would you like weekly updates? I've got five slots left. Or should it remain monthly? By all means, speak up.
So...in the immortal words of Atlas...
...Review...Would Ya Kindly? And of course, Enjoy the previews. Potential ones...
Previews are -mostly!- the same this time. Didn't want to spoil the upcoming chapters.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
SPOILERS LAY AHEAD!
YE BE WARNED~!
(PREVIEWS)
In hindsight, he supposed it was too much to hope the ladies wouldn't have a catfight...
The Stark forces arrived just in time.
Some of the Northmen grumbled at the idea of helping Westerners; that much was to be expected.
Still, they were Northerners, they kept their word, and the Greyjoys were an old enemy.
For a Wolf, the Kraken seemed as good a foe as any.
The Greyjoy fleet sailed into Lannisport that very night under cover of darkness.
They were well prepared for them the foolish Kraken.
Naruto knocked an arrow to his black blow.
Pushed chakra into it...!
And let it fly.
Balon Greyjoy looked up, baffled by the noise.
Why, it almost sounded like a...oh, gods.
Death rained from above.
EDIT: Hey, you made it! I do hope this chapter lived up to your expectations. By all means, feel free to let me know what you think!
Looking forward to reading your feedback/chatting with you when I get back from work!
Hope you have a great day!
R ~! =D