A/N: I had to split this into halves due to the site crash. Sorry. All feedback is appreciated. It really does help lift my spirits... and this chapter isn't getting a lot in the way of attention ...T_T
Warning, mature chapter ahead. Its rated M for a reason after all!
Finally got this chapter to show up properly! The site glitch took a lot of progress from me, but here we are, making a comeback despite losing most of this chapter to the crash. Looking forward to your feedback!
Many thanks to newboy (a reviewer) for offering a great many ideas regarding the Iron Islands!
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. Hope you enjoy all this hard work.
Away we go~!
"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream!
Merrily, merrily, merrrrilllllyyyy~!
How the Greyjoy screams!"
~?
Row Your Boat (Part I)
Naruto awoke feeling more rested than he had in years.
His last lingering memory consisted of falling asleep, dreaming with Rhaella, listening to her story and the plea for forgiveness that followed...
.
..
...and he'd forgiven her, eventually.
How could he not? Once he was calm and no longer flush with the raging heat of battle, he became logical about a great many things. She held no part in the Greyjoy invasion and had tried to warn him beforehand; likely would have if Aerys hadn't taken her ink and parchment from her. His refusal to sleep for several days had only further complicated matters.
In truth, it was a miracle the King hadn't already confined her to Maegor's Holdfast and simply thrown away the key. He suspected Jaime had a part to play in that; he was likely keeping the rotten dragon distracted to the best of his ability, but as things stood, it was only a matter of time before events spiraled out of control.
He had to get Rhaella -and Jaime!- out of that castle, out of that keep, out, out, out and soon.
And he could, if he was being entirely honest with himself; it would be easy.
Therein lie the problem.
Infiltrating the Red Keep would be child's play given his unique skillset; easier still if he brought Nymeria with him. Together, he was quite confident of their ability to slip into King's Landing undetected and reach Rhaella-but the second they spirited Jaimie and the Queen away away, Aerys would know the jig was up. And once he did?
War.
A war unlike any other; one the Lannisters and their allies weren't yet ready for. They would be seen as the villains. All of Westeros would turn against them.
And he would have to kill them all. Innocent and guilty alike. Butcher men and women and children like so much cattle. Kill so many that none would dare rise against him ever again.
He didn't want to be a butcher.
No, if House Lannister wanted to be seen as the heroes, the champions, the righteous cause, they had to wait and let things play out a little longer. Wait, prepare, and pounce the moment the Targaryens overstepped. And make no mistake, they would, sooner or later.
Until then, he would abstain, for now.
Still, it was tempting to try, if only to see the gobsmacked look on the king's pustule-ridden face. Closing his eyes, he leaned back into the pillow and allowed himself imagine the moment.
"Hey, bastard! I took your woman! Whatcha gonna do about it?!"
Thinking of that was better than sex.
Of course, there were other options at hand.
He could sneak into King's Landing and kill Aerys.
The thought alone was even more tempting than rescuing Rhaella.
His brow furrowed at the notion as he conjured up the scenario; he began entertaining thought exercises, the better to keep his mind sharp. Lets say, for a moment, that he assassinated the Mad King. His rule wouldn't collapse. He had heirs. With the king's death, Rhaegar would take the reigns of the kingdom. He knew very little about that man beyond the fact that he was well loved amongst the smallfolk of King's Landing...that, and he had an unnatural fixation with the North.
Lord Rickard had made mention of the Prince's visit to Winterfell and all it entailed.
Just thinking about it soured his stomach.
Rhaegar wanted Lyanna.
For what, he didn't know, but he wasn't gonna get her, not after what he'd said. Pay call on her, he said. Ha! He'd be paying for new teeth if he showed up at Casterly Rock and pulled a stunt like that. Lyanna was like to kick his head in long before anyone else did.
Still, he hadn't told her yet.
Better to spare his beloved that fear.
Suppose he killed Rhaegar, then. Offed him alongside with Aerys. Who did that leave?
Young Viserys? A boy who hadn't even seen seven summers. A regent would be appointed in his stead, and it would likely be Rhaella...if she remained. Not that she would. The second she got her shapely little ass out the Red Keep, he doubted she'd go back willingly. In any case, the boy was an unknown; one unlikely to forgive the death of his kin or the absence of his mother.
He could try leaving a disguised shadow clone behind, the better to guide him the way he wanted, but that too, would be impossible for obvious reasons.
He simply didn't know Viserys well enough to manipulate him.
And he'd seen what a hateful child could do.
Just ask Sasuke.
In the end, there were simply too many variables to remove Aerys at the moment. Better the mad, diseased dragon he knew -and the realm hated!- than the healthy upstart with an eye for Northern beauties. Rhaella may be held captive, but she was far safer now than she would've otherwise been. Drugging the Mad King's meals had kept his hands off her for years now, to the point of him almost entirely forgetting her existence altogether. Thanks to that, there would be no little dragon growing in her belly, which was also to the good.
Thanks to her revitalized youth -something her lunatic husband was too far gone to notice and the rest of the court too scared to comment on- she was more than capable of fending him off should he dare press the issue. Not that he would or could anymore for that matter, as Rhaella had informed him of the king's most recent malady. Apparently, Aerys had lost quite a few...bits these days.
An arm, a leg, an eye, and now his shriveled sausage. Oh, no! The travesty!
Truly, it could'ntve happened to a better guy.
Such a pity.
He and Rhaella might have been denied Ravens for now, but they still had their little chats in their dreams, and learning about that little tidbit had him laughing for hours. Alas, one couldn't feel warm in a dream, not the way he did here in the waking world.
Huh.
He was curiously warm, come to think of it.
Rather baffling, that last bit; Why was he so warm?
He'd initially surmised the blankets were to blame on that front, but no, he'd basically gone to bed in his breeches, so that didn't make a lick of sense.
Baffled, he rolled over and made to fluff his pillow.
Someone groaned.
Naruto froze.
Opened his eyes at last now, and forced himself to look up.
He was still very much in his bed, yet as he raised his head, he realized his pillow wasn't a pillow at all; but a person.
More aptly perhaps, their bosom.
Lyanna's, rather.
Lady Stark had latched onto him like a limpet in her sleep, looping both arms around his waist while he slept, the better to cuddle. Unfortunately -or fortunately depending on one's point of view-that left her head resting against his shoulder and his face all but buried in her glorious valleys. Which were rather comfortable all things considered, but he couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. She'd been sound asleep when he'd fallen into bed. When had she latched onto him?
It didn't end there, either.
Someone sighed sleepily behind him and his eyes bulged in a singular moment of spectacular confusion as he realized someone was pressed up behind him, squashing their own breasts against his broad back. A tan arm draped itself almost lazily around his chest and after a moment he recognized its owner.
Elia?
The Martell princess mumbled something into his shoulders and snuggled closer, nuzzling her nose into his spine. He tried to dislodge and found it quite impossible; she had him impossibly pinned. Sandwiched between a sleeping Lyanna and Elia, he could do naught but sigh.
They were the both of them, clad in naught but their nightgowns.
Neither of them were wearing any clothes underneath.
He could tell, given how tightly they were pressed in against him.
Atten-shun!
Naruto allowed himself a single incredulous moment of sheer disbelief, confusion, followed by resignation now as he lay back down. No way he was getting out of this unscathed. Forget about moving, he wasn't sure he could even roll over again without waking them. Unless...?
"Nymeria." he hissed her name under his breath. "You there?"
Someone moved in his peripheral vision.
"A girl is here."
Belatedly, he realized she was sat at the foot of the bed, legs crossed beneath her as she observed the three of them. For a fleeting moment he feared she might be jealous, or worse, downright murderous. In the end, he needn't have been been so concerned at all.
Her smile was inordinately smug.
"Any chance you could get me out of here?"
She shook her head. "A man has made his bed, and a man must sleep in it."
Traitor!
His sworn shadow didn't budge. "Lady Elia is concerned for your well-being. She is good and loyal and kind. You should reward her; do for her as you did for me."
"What," he rolled his eyes with a snort, "Bonk her brains out...?"
"Yes."
"You can't be serious."
"Master, a girl is quite serious."
Smirking, the Blackfyre leaned over the bed, kissed his cheek, hopped off the mattress and sauntered out the room. As she did, he glimpsed the Hound standing guard in the hall outside. Sandor turned his head, noticing Nymeria's approach, noticed him next, then saw the seemingly sordid scene within. His healed face twitched in a smirk.
"Lucky bugger."
It wasn't what it looked like, really!
"Oi, Clegane!" he hissed out an annoyed breath. "A little help?!"
"Not a bloody chance," came the immediate reply. "I like my bits where they are."
"Have fun~" Nymeria giggled once, waved a hand, and closed the door, sealing him inside. He heard a key turn in the lock and cursed softly.
Damn.
On the one hand, he was glad she was being more independent and thinking for herself; on the other, he really wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now.
Lyanna he could deal with to an extent, so long as her father didn't find out they were sleeping together before marriage, but Elia was temptation incarnate. He was already toeing a dangerous line with Nymeria, but there at least, he had Tywin's tacit approval. Bedding a sly serpent atop a wild wolf was just asking for trouble.
And that was to say nothing of Rhaella! The moment they met in the flesh, he knew things were going to happen. Loud things. Noisy things. Wild things.
It felt like he was suffocating; steering a sinking ship, rowing the proverbial boat, bailing out water as he went, all the while trying to make it to a distant shore he could barely see. At this point he was half-tempted to let the damn thing sink and swim for it...
.
..
...alright. Enough. He needed to get up and was tired of tiptoeing around this.
Reluctantly rolling over an' away from Lyanna, he faced Elia and poked her in the cheek.
To her credit, the Martell woke quickly; her bright eyes fluttered open, blinked once, beheld him, then crinkled as she smiled. A hand came up to stroke his cheek, caressing him tenderly.
"Good morning, my lion."
The words made his heart lurch; if only because he wasn't hers. Honestly, he didn't know what she saw in him.
"You need to stop doing this, Elia."
"Do I?" she stretched both arms above her head, luxuriating in the ways his gaze raked over her. "You seem to like it very much."
He grabbed one of said arms and held it between them as a crude barrier of sorts. "You're going to start something you aren't ready for."
"And what of you?" She leaned in, pushing her hand against his collarbone. "You may lay with Lyanna, but you're dreaming of a certain Dragon Queen...
Shock shook him. For a moment he balked, confusing briefly breaking through his carefully crafted facade. "How did you know...?
She smiled. "You said her name in your sleep a great many times. I was awake to hear it. Lyanna was not."
And that was all he'd share on the matter for now. They weren't ready to know the truth yet.
That was a matter for another day.
"It matters not to me." Elia shimmied closer, bringing with her the warm scent of Sunspear. "She may have your dreams, but we'll have your heart."
His brow furrowed. "We?"
Lyanna's arms, still draped loosely around him, tightened abruptly. Her chin came down on his shoulder from behind, and belatedly, he realized her face was red like roses; seven shades of scarlet, really. She mumbled a good morning into his neck and, almost unbidden, he felt a flush of warmth shoot through him. Not just from her body pressed against his, that was surely a part of it, but something else.
Ohhh. She was awake. How long had she been...?
In the end, the answer was taken from him.
Lyanna kissed his cheek.
In the same moment, Elia crooned and kissed him full on the lips.
His eyes widened and he leaned back, realization dawning. "What in blazes did I miss while I was asleep...?"
"A great many things." The princess of Sunpsear pinched his cheek. "Lady Lyanna and I have come to an...understanding. I don't mind being a mistress, so long as I can have you. Hells, I'll settle for being your paramour. Or your consort." she shrugged a shoulder almost as an afterthought. "Whichever term you prefer.
He said as much. "Why me?"
"Because I love you, silly oaf." she tossed her head, flinging dark hair over her shoulders once more. "There is no other man I want. It is either you or none at all. Without you I will die alone, unmourned, unloved by none other than my family. Is that what you want...?
"No, but-
He tried to crane his neck back, but Lyanna wasn't having it; she refused to let him look at her and kissed him again, lips tracing his jawline, followed his neck. He nearly broke her hold then and there; because he wanted to see her face, get a better read as to how she felt about all this-
"My name should be the only one you say in your sleep, Nathaniel." she sulked against him, pressing her face into his neck. "First Nymeria, now her...its not fair. Am I not enough for you?"
Her face was damp. He felt her tears.
Kurama's presence abruptly intruded in his mind from the Stone Gardens below and jabbed him. Hard. "Fix this! Now!"
Naruto blew out a breath. "Wait, that's not it-
"I'll let you have Elia." Lyanna whispered. "So please. Don't run away with her."
He put a stop to that right quick and whirled in her arms to take ahold of her visage, facing her fully. "I'm not running anywhere, I promise."
Her lips quivered. "Swear it."
"I swear." he pressed his forehead to hers. "Well, maybe to Old Valyria at one point, but if I do, that'll be by myself. You'll know months in advance."
Lyanna balked. "Why would you ever want to go there?"
...reasons."
She slapped his chest. "Nathaniel!"
He embraced her. "I'll tell you them someday, but for now, you'll have to trust me."
She leaned into him. "I do trust you. Just...
He tilted his head. "Just?"
She quivered in his arms. "Don't let Rhaegar take me."
Double damn. Her father must've mentioned the Prince, at some point. He'd hoped to spare her that pain.
Seemed the dragon was out of that bag.
...I won't." he placed a hand under her chin, lifted her gaze, and kissed her softly before pulling away. "If he lays a hand on you, the hand comes off."
She laughed weakly at his words and kissed him again, lips lingering for a moment. "I'll hold you to that."
That was one promise he would keep.
Elia embraced him from behind before he could ponder the matter further, nuzzling his neck affectionately. "Such bold words. You certainly don't lack for ambition...but I think that's enough talking, don't you? Let us focus on more pleasant things." he felt, rather than saw her look past him, her gaze searching. "Unless Lady Stark has reconsidered?"
Lyanna spun Naruto around before he could think to react.
Elia's gown hit him in the face a moment later; when he raised his hands to bat it aside the now-naked woman took ahold of his wrists and guided his palms up to her breasts, allowing him to cup them, hold them, knead them to the fullest extent. His hands were quick to betray him. Damn grasping fingers.
In a matter of moments, he had the Martell princess gasping happily. "Yes...that's the way...
As she toyed with her, he felt Lyanna's hands ghost across his hips, find his breeches and yank. He tried to look back, only to find her disrobed as well; her lips caught his in a scalding kiss that obliterated any hope of resistance. He leaned into it without a second thought, but the moment he did, he felt Elia's nimble fingers dancing across his scars, tempting him, teasing him. Not one to be outdone, Lyanna took ahold of his right hand, guiding it down past her hips with intent, urging him onward.
Elia's laughter rang in his ears, dark and heady, promising the greatest of pleasures. "Enthusiastic, isn't she? She certainly doesn't lack for passion...
So speaking, she slithered her way into his lap like her namesake and planted herself there, legs splayed on either side.
"Quietly, now." she crooned, licking her lips. "We wouldn't want to wake the servants."
Tilting her head back, grin on her face, she began to ride him into oblivion.
To be fair, by that point, he happily let Lyanna and Elia jump him.
They didn't leave the room for three hours.
(.0.0.0)
Now that he was rested, he had to confront Cersei.
It was inevitable, he knew.
No point putting it off.
In all fairness, his sister didn't try to hide; he found her down in the Stone Garden wearing a red dress, clutching something to her chest. When she turned to face him, he knew Tywin's words -and those of a certain foul Greyjoy he needed to visit- rang true. Because she was holding it.
A dragon egg.
"Another one?!" he couldn't quite contain his shout. "Where did Eurin even find that thing?! Where was it even hiding?!"
Cersei held tight to the blue-scaled object and clutched it to her bosom, wearing a sheepish expression. "All's fair in love and war...?"
Naruto palmed his face with an audible smack. "Cersei, no...
"Cersei, yes!"
He held out a hand. "Give it here. Now.
She backed up quickly. "Why? So you can hatch it...?"
An alarm bell rang in the back of his head. "So I can keep it safe. You know those things are dangerous...
His elder sister took another step backward. "No."
He stalked after her. "Wasn't asking."
"I said no!" she shouted at him, startling him with her sudden vehemence. "I have tried so hard, and gotten so far. I have done my best to be good to do what is right, even when it hurts me. But it's always you isn't it, Nathaniel? You're the one hurting me.
He slowed his stride, pausing. "What're you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb! " the venom in her voice appalled him. "I know what the three of you did!"
He winced.
"I look at you now, and my heart hurts." she grasped one hand to her bosom. My breast aches. When I see you with other woman, I want to strangle them, pluck out their eyes, and feed them to the crows." something dark and ugly flashed across her face, hastily stomped down as she whirled away from him to conceal her visage. "But I can't do that!"
Against his better judgement, he took the bait. "And why's that...?"
"Because I promised." she rounded on him tears in her eyes. "Because I swore. I swore and swore and swore. And now that I finally have something of my own, you want to take that away from me too why? Why do you hate me? Have I not been a good sister...? I tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter...and it hurts...
She was openly weeping now, shaking where he stood.
...why do you always hurt me, Nathaniel?"
He could feel Shukaku and Kurama's silent judgement as they watched from the shadows and hesitated. He didn't know how to react to this, let alone treat her at the moment. She was clutching the egg close to her breasts, yet his concern wasn't for that, but her own mental state.
"Cersei," he raised a hand slowly to placate her, and dared a step forward. "Just calm down.
"No!" she snapped back! "I'm tired of being calm! I want you to look at me! I WANT-
The egg abruptly burst in her grasp, hatching all at once, showering her in shards. She gasped, but it was already too late.
Something emerged; a little blue wyrm, squeaking angrily at the both of them.
"Honestly, the two of you! So noisy!"
Naruto froze, eyes bulging wide.
Was that...? It was!
It had two tails.
Matabai.
A/N: Aaaaaand scene. We'll be picking up AT THIS EXACT SPOT next chapter. We also get to confront Euron.
Alongside Naruto and Cersei having a good long talk. We'll see how that ends...
That was a fuuuun scene to write. Hope you joyed 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. Finally got this chapter to show up properly! The site glitch took a lot of progress from me, but here we are, making a comeback despite losing most of this chapter to the crash. Looking forward to your feedback!
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)
Cersei turned a pleading a look upon him.
She wanted to keep her, of course...
Something stirred in the depths.
Ships sailed toward the Iron Islands.
It would be a massacre.
But for whom?
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 your feedback/chatting with you when I get back from work!
Hope you have a great day filled with lots of luck,
~Nz.
R ~! =D