Chapter 53 (Patreon)
Content
[Olenna Tyrell POV]
War, men were such predictable creatures, fighting for power, money and women, but I had to be fair, some fought for other men, like Renly was fighting because of the soft whispers of my grandson, what a foolish little boy, and what's even more foolish is Mace, that thinks the poor lad will win the throne and make Margary his Queen, even if he won this war, which was hardly unlikely, he would most likely put Loras as his queen.
The thought of it really puts on a new perspective, but it wont get to that, Renly is all talk, but little show. Yet here we are too deep into the gutter to escape it now, we must see it through, every time Mace makes a decision by himself consequences of catastrophic magnitudes follow through, in this family only the roses have thorns, and men are no roses.
Mace was too dumb to see we had bigger problems, that it was best if we didnt get into this war so early on, but men rarely do see things outside their narrow point of view.
Ronard Mormont, he was a better candidate to ally ourselves with, after taking care of his wife, he would be free to marry Margery, accidents happen after all, and while he came from a small house the lad was terrifying in many aspects, economically and in war potential he was the best of his generation, by far.
Rumors say he has an army of over eighty thousand soldiers, he himself has conquered, and other most unbelievable rumours say, he has three Dragons. If everything they said was correct, he was the one we needed on our side.
“Frankly, things like this just reassure my point, men should not rule,” I sighed.
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[Jon Snow - POV]
War had started, my family was in danger, father was missing, so many things but I was held by blood and honor to the night watch, but if I had known this would happen, I would’ve stayed with them, I would have my sword ready to fight for Robb.
Father taught me honor comes before anything, before family, before love. The least a bastard like me could do was honor his teachings, and hope everything goes well.
“Lord Snow, move your ass, we need you!” My commander in charge shouted.
“Yes, sir!”
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[Ned Stark POV]
I was finally within friends and family, Hoster Tully and his son Edmure Tully recognized me, I didn’t even have to prove it was me, after a long talk about the how I manage to escape, and my journey, they left me to rest for a bit, to recover myself from all this.
They of course had sent a raven to inform my family of my current whereabouts, it would take a couple of days for us to hear back from them, but soon they would know I was safe and sound here.
Hoster was surprised to say the least when he heard Ronard had been the one to save me from the imminent death that awaited me, Honor, Gratitude, without Ronard I would be dead, but if I went back on my honor….
Things are never easy on war, I would have to end up betraying someone, and in both paths I would lose something.
“Lord Stark, supper is ready,” A maid said entering the room I was given.
“I’ll be there in a few,” I nodded.
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[Ronard Mormont POV]
After leaving my wife two weeks ago, with an army to protect her should anything arise that would threaten her safety, I started to make my way to Pentos, by now I could see the city from afar, if I had to take an estimate, I would say I was a few hours away from it. A few hours away from my men and ships.
With that in mind, I speed up our pace, so as to make sure we didn't waste any time. On this march, we weren't here for tourism anyway, the last time I was in this city I left with nothing but my self proclaimed title of kingship and now, I had come back with a new title, the King of the Dothraki tribes, the Great Khal, the Great Stallion… that last one was a tad weird coming from the mouth of a man…. Regardless, I was someone of greater importance. Braavos must consider me a threat regardless of what I do, but they were overconfident, after all, no one would dare to oppose them, they had more money than the seven kingdoms, and the entirety of Essos together, which was an statement of how powerful they were economically speaking.
After all, they had The Iron Bank on their side. And it is the wealthiest bank of the known world that is known because it often lends money to outsiders, such as the Lords of the Seven Kingdoms. The bank is also famous for its discretion and secrecy, no one knows where they are truly located, and or where they save their money, They are also feared, even the Lannisters fear opposing them for a common saying among the Braavosi is The Iron Bank will have its due. If someone happened to fail payment the Iron Bank would sponsor someone to take their enemies down.
But, unlike others, I would succeed in taking every penny they had, I had my Ravens investigating where the bank was truly located and where the money was stored, I expected to know the answer by the moment it was time to march against them.
“Let’s go, we have some ships to move,” I shouted in a happy tone.
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[Arya Stark POV]
Of life of death, I feared my father would not come back, I feared I would lose my family to those bastards ruling, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
A lady can do and be anything she pleases, A housewife or a trained killer, whatever you do, it makes it ladylike, don't let narrow minded individuals to tell you otherwise, for their minds are weak, and we don’t follow the weak.
The voice of Ronard, that time we spent together during his betrothal ceremony echoed in my head, he was right, I might not be able to do anything now, but I will soon, If I keep training and honing my water dancing skills, I will be able to help my family, to save my friends and to kill my enemies.
Too bad Sansa couldn't marry him, he was a decent guy, mother keeps saying he is our enemy, but I don’t believe it, like always mother must be wrong, he would never hurt us. Not without a reason.
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[Varys POV]
Lord Stark had finally gotten out of the lion's den, he was finally with his family, albeit politically, nonetheless he was immensely more safe that he could have been here.
I wonder, will he support the young bear or the old stag, I did put him on a inner conundrum when I revealed why I was helping him, I wanted to see his resolve, would his honor to Robert bound him to Stannis, or would his Gratitude to Ronard push him to forsake his misplaced honor.
Things would surely prove more difficult for the Lannister, whatever his choice was.
With Ronard on the Targaryen side, Aegon was sure to take up the throne eventually, and if Ronard did not compel, he had already put babies inside Daenerys, he wasn't needed anymore should he prove to be against the rightful ruler.
Though this was easier said than done, he was the most informed me in the world, possibly even more than me, so if I had to take a guess, it was most likely he already knew of my true intentions, if so I had to play safe or I would wake up dead, I had to throw him off his game.
Whether he was a friend or a foe to Aegon it was still to be seen.
“He keeps getting more and more dangerous,”
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[Daenerys POV]
Ronard had left almost two weeks ago, to gather our ships, so we could start our conquest, and eventually take what’s rightfully mine...rightfully ours.
At this point, surprises were a common occurrence with him, he united a tribe of savages under one banner, our banner, he brought creatures thought to extinct back to life, and had become one of the greatest warriors of this generation, all in the span of sixteen years.
He had accomplish so more, including winning my undying love, so this chance he had given me, to lead his army on his absence, this chance, I would prove him I was more than a decorative Queen, that I too could make our enemies tremble with our mere name, that I could protect him just as he protected me.
Qrow and Rhaegal were key parts of that, for when the time came, I would ride them into battle and burn our enemies, I would not let anyone hurt my family. Not again. For I was the Dragon Queen.