章節 33: Royal Visit
(Sorry everyone that I didn't write anything for a week but I just finished my finals.)
The Neck, The Northern Realms
The Royal Procession was a long one and the wheelhouse that held the Queen and her children was ridiculously large and elaborate, they would have likely gotten to Moat Cailin in half the time if it had not continuously broken its wheels or other parts.
"For the life of me, I can't understand how the crannogmen can navigate in this swamp." said a short blond man with mismatch eyes, it was Tyrion Lannister.
"Maybe after eating and fucking frogs for thousands of years, you get a few of their advantages." responded a tall man with blond hair, green eyes and a white cape, it was his brother, Jaime Lannister.
"Don't jape like that in here, I don't want to become food for a lizard lion because you angered one of them." Tyrion said.
Jaime started to laugh and asked, "How are things in Lannisport?"
Tyrion started to frown, "Well, after I rebuilt Lannisport to his former glory, I started to enjoy the pleasures of life but father wasn't happy with having a drunk whoremonger as mayor of Lannisport so I was dismissed of my position for Daven."
Jaime sighed, knowing how Tyrion was excited with his position. He didn't agree with his father and sister about Tyrion.
"Why did you come North? You already came to these frozen lands once." Jaime asked
"Of course, I want to meet the Lord of Winterfell." Tyrion answered and asked, "On another matter, our beloved King decided to march a full sennight before sending a raven North for his arrival, do you think they will have time to prepare?"
"I don't know but I am eager to see the famous Moat Cailin. Do you think the honorable Ned Stark will accept the King's offer?" Jaime asked.
Tyrion shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I don't know. Any other man would have immediately accepted but the northeners don't care for the politics of the South and seeing what happened to him the last time he was in the capital, I doubt he will ever want to come back. Marriage alliances are also impossible as nearly all the Starks are betrothed. Robb Stark to the Manderly girl. Sansa Stark to the Dustin Heir. Torrhen Stark to the Karstark girl. Lyarra Stark to the Umber heir. Bran Stark to the Reed girl. Rickon Stark to the last daughter of Skaagos. Cregan Stark to the Flint's girl. The only ones who aren't betrothed are Arya Stark, Serena Stark, Jon Snow and Leon Sand. Maybe we can marry Joffrey to Arya Stark."
Jaime sighed but didn't respond knowing full well what his twin reaction will be if she ever heard that proposition. They continued their ride to Moat Cailin.
The King's company soon reached solid ground, and it didn't took long before they saw at a distance a large set of towers looming over them as well as a massive wall. The stronghold that was awaiting them shocked them completely.
"Is that Moat Cailin?" Ser Barristan whispered, stunned.
"This is not a fort. This is a bloody castle." King Robert added with the same shocked voice. "Your Grace, this castle looks bigger than Harrenhal!"
King Robert nodded. Such a giant fortress was impregnable. He was raised in Storm's End, grew up in The Eyrie and visited Casterly Rock a couple of times but it was the first time that he really knew that a castle could not be taken. Any attack on Moat Cailin would be fruitless.
~
Moat Cailin, The Northern Realms
Soon, the royal party reached the gates of Moat Cailin, Aryan stood next to his cousins, Robb, Jon, Lyarra, Cregan, Sansa, Bran and Rickon in line of age with Catelyn Stark standing next of them. Arya was in Bear Island and couldn't while Torrhen and Serena were at Wolf's Bay with their father.
A knight of the Kingsguard rode in first but his helm made it impossible to recognize him following him was Prince Joffrey. The sight of him was underwhelming for the Starks who somehow had been expecting more for someone who has been raised as a crown prince since his birth. He was dressed in the best quality clothes with red silk, velvet and furs in black.
He was smirking at them in what he probably thought was a charming way which nearly made Lyarra roll her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Sansa was struggling to avoid that same reaction as both of them were singled out by his gaze. Aryan realized that neither Robb, Jon or Cregan was happy about that by the sudden tenseness in their stance.
His eyes, however, were dismissive, he looked around the yard without any sense of respect and held disdain for everything around him. Aryan was starting to get annoyed but held his tongue.
Behind him rode an enormous man on a large warhorse, wearing a dog shaped helm, this, he realized was probably the Hound, the Prince's swornsword and protector, evident by how close to the prince's side he stayed. Following them was a ridiculously elaborate and fragile looking wheelhouse and then came the rest of the Kingsguard and of course the King himself. The sight of him was a surprise for those who thought the Rebellion or heard about the famous 'Demon of the Trident' he was as large as he was tall and he had an enormous beard who hid all his chins.
They all knelt though the moment he came up to them as was expected, with careful movements of his head Aryan could see the king waiting for a step to be brought out so he could more easily dismount from his horse. He walked over to stand in front of him and looked on him expectantly and told him to rise, which he did and said with a respectful nod "Welcome to Moat Cailin, Your Grace."
"Where is your uncle?" Robert asked
"I presume that you mean Uncle Ned. Unfortunately, your Grace, my uncle sailed for Essos a fortnight before your letter arrived."
Robert nodded and started to talk and introduce himself to the Stark family. He easily bonded with them with his charisma. Cersei Baratheon, or should that be Lannister he thought, came up to him. She was beautiful but the coldness on her face, the arrogance which she held herself not to mention the smile she had reminded Aryan of a snarling animal ready to kill its prey instantly. But the way that Aryan looked at her made her understand to her quiet fury that 'The Bloody Wolf' wasn't impressed.
He took her hand and said graciously before placing a small kiss on it, "My Queen." which was repeated by his family.
Cersei's eyes seemed to briefly glow with a hateful green fire the moment she turned to him but was soon gone behind a polite mask.
"Aryan, let us go to your uncle solar." Robert said and Aryan nodded before looking at Lyarra and Sansa who both nodded and the latter said politely to the Queen, "Your Grace, I am sure that you would appreciate a warm bed and room after your long journey. Permit me to show you and your children to their rooms."
And the Queen with an angry and dismissive look in her eye said "Yes, now!"
At the side the siblings of the Stark girls grated at the tone used and Bran looked ready to say something but Catelyn stopped him before he did. Sansa and Lyarra with smiled on their face led the Queen, her brothers and her children into the keep so they could rest after the journey.
Lyarra and Sansa refrained from making conversation as they could see the Queen was in no mood for it and her twin brother was glued to her side. The Hound walked straight behind their party and he had yet to say a single word either. So instead, they did their best to study the royal bastards.
Tommen was looking around with awe and excitement, eager to explore his surroundings and when he received a vicious glare from his brother he retreated to the side of his sister who did her best to hold Joffrey's glare. Princess Myrcella put a protective arm around her little brother and held him close to her despite being much younger than her older brother.
Sansa turned her attention to Prince Joffrey and saw the satisfaction in his eyes at intimidating his little brother and the annoyance at his sister standing up top him. Sansa wondered how regular an occurrence this was and wondered why the Queen had not reprimanded her eldest son as she had seen the whole thing and instead just gave her eldest a smile and ignored her youngest.
~
A couple of hours later, Lyarra had changed into her sparring clothes and with the rest of the Starks, except Aryan who was still in the solar with the King, was sparring in the yard. She smiled and started spear fighting with Sansa.
The two circled around each other, trading jabs and engaging in stick on stick fighting while working to improve their defensive weaves and spins. Sansa was pushed back as she started to train only for a couple of years in front of Lyarra who started to train when she was Rickon's age.
Nearby, Cregan, Jon and Robb were also sparring at a way higher level. Theon Dustin meanwhile was giving his younger future goodbrothers some lessons in swordsmandship and both Bran and Rickon held their light wooden training swords, copying his moves as best thet could given their respective age.
It wasn't noticed immediately that they had an audience, Prince Joffrey was watching them with his Hound at his side. He was arrogantly swinging his training sword around and Sansa could see even though she was a spear wielder his hold on the sword was very weak and his stance appaling. He was as old as her, he should have at least basic competency by now even if he had not been training as long as her brothers.
She could now see that he was not only a bully if his interactions with his siblings earlier were any indication but arrogant too, so arrogant he felt no need to practice and hone his skills as a warrior.
~
"So, Ned is going to Ibben for whale hunters?" Robert asked.
"Yes, I asked uncle Ned because I trust him more than anyone else. A single whale could feed thousands for multiple moons. They could help us tremendously in winter." Aryan responded.
Robert sighed and said, "I wanted him to become my Hand and to tie our families in marriage."
Aryan shook his shoulders and replied, "He won't be back before several moons and his only child not betrothed is Arya and if I make a betrothal behind her back without her consent, I will one day wake up with a knife in my throat" he finished with a laugh who was reciprocated by Robert who whispered with nostalgia, "an untamable she-wolf, just like her aunt."
He then said, "About Ned's son, the bastard, I agree to legitimize him but you will start paying taxes at the end of the year, not the end of the next year." Aryan nodded in agreement and asked "Who will you choose as your new Hand? And for the future Queen?"
Robert sighed and said, "I really needed your uncle. I will choose a temporary Hand to serve until your uncle comes. I will choose my uncle, Eldon Estemont, he is one of the few man that I trust and respect. As for Joffrey's bride, my wife wants a Lannister cousin, like we there isn't enough blonde haired shits in King's Landing."
Aryan replied, "Well, you have time your Grace, the prince is only two and ten's namesday."
Robert smiled and asked, "Where are the other Starks?"
Aryan replied, "Well uncle Benjen, aunt Dacey, Torrhen and Serena are at Wolf's Bay, while my pregnant wife is with my son Leon, he is the Stark in Winterfell in my absence."
Robert frowned and said, "But he is a..."
Aryan cut him off, "Names don't matter, blood does." realizing he cut off the King, he smiled and said "Apologies, your Grace."
Robert laughed and told him that he doesn't mind, Aryan proposed to Robert that they go see the training of the Starks children.
~
Joffrey has been prepared to be completely bored stiff as they came Nort, why his father felt the need to come up here to this cold and barren land was beyond him when he could have simply ordered Stark to come to them in King's Landing where he was comfortable. The whole trip here, his mother had endlessly regaled him and his siblings of how pathetic and backwards the North and its people were... How they prayed to trees and acted like animals, had no manners and no respect for anyone. How poor they were and how stupid.
He had believed every word of it, his mother was right about everything after all Joffrey thought with complete certainty. Then he had seen the girls of House Stark.
When he had seen them in the yard which he had decided to visit so he could show them what a real swordsman looked like he was to see the Stark's daughters in leather training clothes and with weapons in their hands fighting.
He had never seen a woman actually fight with a weapon before, never in his whole life and he honestly was surprised to see them fighting on equal terms with men.
~
After their training, Sansa decided to escort to two youngest royal children around under the careful watch of their uncle. Showing them the Godswood, the glass gardens and all the other sights around the castle.
Myrcella and Tommen were astonished as they walked around the small enclosed forest, they saw a pack of direwolves that roamed it, the size of the beasts was unbelievable, especially the black one with red eyes was enormous, Jaime kept his hand on his sword just in cas the creatures decided to make a run on his secret children. How the Stark girl and her friend could be so calm he couldn't understand until a light grey direwolf trotted up to the Stark girl and to his amazement, the wolf that was easily the size of a hound just stood there patiently.
"This is my wolf, Aly." Sansa told them proudly as the wolf sat there gently rubbed his hands against the wolf's fur. Jaime honestly had never been more jealous in that moment of the closeness the Starks had with their animals, as a boy he would have loved to have a lion as a pet and companion. He had dreamt of such things as a boy, charging around like the dashing knights of the past with a lion at his side. Eventually, they left the Godswood so they could prepare for the welcome feast tonight.
~
That night at the feast Cersei Lannister was annoyed, being dragged so far from the comfortable life she had at the Red Keep to this cold and pathetically backwards land so her fool of a husband could name the stupid and savage wildling Eddard Stark to be Hand over her father who was a much better choice in her mind.
Her foul mood only grew worse as, the barbarian Eddard Stark was not even present in the North, she heard her two youngest children excitedly going on about how amazing and beautiful the North was which she honestly put down to them being children and not knowing any better than letting their imagination run away with them in this cold and barren land.
Sitting near Catelyn Stark was another hurdle, she couldn't stand these upstart Tully and already hated the other Tully sister and was glad that she left the Red Keep, to think that her father wanted to once marry Lysa Arryn to her other half. She noticed that Lady Stark was ignored and put aside by the northeners and even the Starks themselves. She kept quiet the whole night.
She saw her husband stand up with a drink in his hand and get everyone's attention, "Where is Jon Snow?"
One of the Stark stood up, visibly the bastard, and walked to her husband and took a knee "I am here, your Grace."
Robert looked at him and said, "God you look like your father. Let it be known that from this day to your last day, you are Jon Stark, son of Eddard Stark, Lord of Moat Cailin."
The bastard looked shocked, and then Aryan Stark stood up and cheered, "To Jon Stark! The White Wolf of Winterfell!" which was followed by every Stark and every northeners. Except Lady Stark who had become purple in rage. She was ready to say something but a single look from 'The Bloody Wolf' made her reconsider and kept her quiet. The feast continued until late night.
~
Coming from the stables to his room, Theon Greyjoy was angry at his predicament, he vowed to take revenge, "One day, I will go back to the Iron Islands and return here to rape and pillage the North. What is dead may never die."
He didn't see the bird who was near, if he did he would have maybe seen the eyes of the bird who were white as milk before returning to normal.
In the solar of his uncle, Aryan's eyes returned back to normal and he smirked and whispered, "Fool."
~
A sennight later, the royal party decided to return back to the capital. After saying their goodbyes to the royals, Aryan, Lyarra, Robb, Jon, Cregan and Sansa decided to meet each other in the Lord of Moat Cailin's solar. After, everyone was seated Aryan started, "So, what do you think?"
Jon said "The prince's a cunt."
Everyone laughed and Aryan smiled and said "That he is."
Sansa then said, "War is certain with him on the throne." and everyone nodded.
"We can be sure that the prince's disdain towards us is coming from his whore mother." Lyarra said.
Aryan nodded and took out a letter and showed it to his cousins, seeing their questioning look Aryan said, "It is a letter from Lysa Arryn to Aunt Catelyn, I don't know what it is written as it is a secret language but I know what it is about. She wants to point fingers at the Lannisters for the death of her husband. That is what Petyr Baelish commanded her to do after all."
Cregan understood first "So, she wanted to use us to fight against the Lannisters. Typical southener."
Sansa took the letter and throw it in the fire, "We will not be used again. Let them all fight their war of succession while we plan our independency."
Aryan grinned and said "It looks like all of us are guilty of treason, conspiracy and rebellion. We should prepare ourselves." He downed his drink, smiled and looked at his cousins, "So, shall we?"
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