kiaiia

CHAPTER 21- Actions have Consequences

LORD EDDARD STARK POV

He walked through the rubble of the once strong and sturdy castle, and watched as some of the men dragged away the corpses of the Ironborn while the others cheers and celebrated.

The castle of Pyke still stood. But everything else valuable in this

Island was gone. The Port leading to this Island? Destroyed. The Port

Town holding the inhabitants of this Island? Burned to the ground. The Bailey that once stood outside the castle? Razed until nothing was left. And even the sturdy walls protecting the main castle were now being pulled down at the orders of his friend Robert.

A similar fate has been suffered by the rest of the the Ironborn houses. All their main towns and ports have been burned down. All their shipyards were put to the torch. Tywin even went as far as the salt the lands and collapse the mines of the islands he attacked.

And despite his slight distaste for all this destruction, he could also understand why this was being done.

The Ironborn went too far this time. And now they'll pay the price that'll cripple their economy for decades if not generations.

He found little sympathy in his heart for these Ironborn, but he still couldn't help but think of all the children who'll die in the upcoming Winter due to a lack of food or shelter. And that made his heart bleed and question why Balon would put his people through something like

this.

Was glory and riches more important to these people than a stable and peaceful realm? Did they not realise that their actions will have consequences? Or did they just not care.

He was dragged out of his thoughts as a knight walked up to him and said. "My lord. His grace asked me to bring you to him."

He nodded and gestured for the man to lead the way.

They entered the first tower and he saw while the corpses have already been removed, the blood, viscera, and… other things still remained.

The crossed three rock bridges and went through two other towers before they finally arrived at the Great Keep. The largest tower among the several others that put together made the famed castle of Pyke.

And just as the previous ones, the corpses had been removed from this tower as well, leaving behind only the blood stains that told him of the fierce battle that took place here.

The unnamed knight led him through a long corridor until they finally arrived at a large smoky Great Hall which contained the famed Seastone Chain. The black seat of the Ironborn rulers of old. And the throne that Balon Greyjoy used to rule over the Iron Islands in his 2 year tenure as the King.

It was not Balon who sat on that throne now but Robert Baratheon with an impassive face with a driftwood crown in his hand while a decrypt, middle-aged man lay on his knees in the middle of the Great Hall, held there by Ser Mandon Moore and Ser Preston Greenfield of the Kingsguard.

He looked around and noticed over a dozen lords and knights standing around in a semi-circle. Lord Stannis Baratheon, Lord Tywin Lannister, Ser Kevan Lannister, Lord Hoster Tully, Ser Bryndan Tully,

Lord Yohn Royce, and a few representatives of the armies of Reach, Crownlands and Stormlands.

He went and stood on the side as Robert spoke to Balon.

"-not so easy to win a rebellion. Though I admit you did a better job of it than most of your forefathers. Or should I say… your brothers did a good job, while you hid here in the safety of your castle." Then Robert let out a dark chuckle. "The King who hid. That's what they'll call you."

"Someone needed to rule these Islands while my brothers went out to win their glory." Balon said, his words coming out with some struggle. The voice of a man who knew he'd lost and was now at the mercy of his victors. But there was still a hint of defiance in his eyes as he glared at Robert. "But what about you, Demon of the Trident. I did not see you in this battle. Where were you when your men fought my own. Were you at the frontline? Or did you hide behind your army like a coward?"

Robert stared at Balon for a long moment, a dark look on his blank face before he leaned back on the chair and grimaced.

"Not a comfortable throne, this one. Almost as uncomfortable as the Iron Throne." Robert announced before his eyes fell upon Balon Greyjoy. "We've both rebelled against our Kings. The difference between you and me Balon, is that I did it to overthrow a Tyrant, while you did it so that your men will be able to rape and reave their way across Westeros."

"I did not rebel against you." Balon said and Robert raised an eyebrow before gesturing for him to go along. "No Greyjoy ever swore an oath to a Baratheon. You may have my head but you cannot name me a rebel."

Robert stared at Balon impassively for a long moment before he let out a scoff. "Is that your defence. That you did not swore an oath to me. Do you really think that it'll save you now."

"I do not do this to save myself." Balon snarled, struggling against his captors. "And you're wrong."

"Wrong about what?" Robert asked, looking almost bored by Balon's defiance, something that enraged Balon even more.

"You're wrong about the differences between you and me." Balon spoke "The only difference between you and me, is that you won and I lost. That's all that matters in the end. If your blasted nephew had been an hour late, then it would've been you mourning your children as my brother took your queen as his salt-wife. It would be you who lost."

He could see the enraged expression on Lord Tywin's face at the reminder of what almost happened. But Robert's face didn't show any emotions. In fact, his face almost looked like it was carved from stone as he stared at Balon for a long moment before he nodded to himself, as if coming to a decision.

"Bring him in!" Robert bellowed and he was in silence as two

Stormlander knights brought in a young man into the Great Hall.

The young man had lost his right arm, his face was swollen black with beating, his hair was bedraggled, his clothes unwashed and his legs weak as he was all but dragged to the front of the throne and put on his knees alongside Balon Greyjoy.

He frowned as he struggled to remember who this young man was. Though Balon's next words put a name to the face.

"Maron." Balon let out a choked gasp at the sight of what he now realised was Balon's second son.

Maron either didn't heard his father or he had decided to ignore him as he continued to stare listlessly at the ground in front of him. The loss of his arm probably having robbed him of any and all defiance that he once might've held.

"That's your son." Robert said as he got up from is chair, his Warhammer in his hand as he walked down the dice and came to stand in front of the two Greyjoys. "The other one is already feeding the fishes in the Trident."

"Curse you for this Baratheon! Curse you. And curse your family!"

"Curse me?" Robert asked with a dark chuckle. "And I thought that you knew that you were the loser and I am the victor. It seems like you don't really understand what that means. Here, let me help you understand."

His eyes widened in horror as he realised what Robert was about to do. But before he could say or do anything, Robert had already done it.

Robert raised his Warhammer in a wide arc and then brought it down on the head of Maron Greyjoy.

The Warhammer broke through Maron's skull and lodged itself in his brain. His skull broke to the point where his face looked like a horrifying rendition of a child's drawing of a human face. They eyes, the nose and the mouth were still there, but the proportions were all wrong.

One of his eyes popped out its socket and hung down his face and the corpse of Maron Greyjoy gasped for a moment, his mouth moving up and down, as if his body didn't realise it was dead and still wanted to take one last breath.

Then Robert took out his hammer from Maron's skull, some of his brain matter still sticking to the hammer, and Maron fell to the ground, dead.

Blood started to pour on the cold hard stone floor and he heard one of the knights puke to the side at the gory sight. But all of his

attention was on Balon Greyjoy right now.

The man looked like his soul had left his body. A hysterical wail escaped his lips as he reached for his son. The Kingsguard held him to his place though, and he finally shed his Kingly persona as he openly wailed and cried for his 2nd son.

It was a terrible thing to behold. To watch a father cry for his son. And as much as he disliked Ironborn King, he disliked Robert even more in the moment for putting the man through something so cruel.

It was like watching a child pull the legs off of an insect. A needless cruelty that they all could've done without.

Balon cried at the corpse of his son for what seemed like forever until his crying turned into sobs and his sobs eventually petered out until only tears were left in his eyes.

Then he looked up at Robert. A rictus of fury and hate carved into his face as he glared at his friend.

"kill me. Kill me. Kill ME!!!" Balon screamed. "Kill me now

Baratheon. Or I swear! I'll hunt you down to the end of the world. I kill you! I'll kill your children! I rape your wife. I'll destroy everything you ever held dear. And I'll-"

Balon's words were cut short as Robert swung his hammer once again and smashed his head hard enough that his entire skull popped like a watermelon. Blood, viscera, and brain flying everywhere in the Great Hall as the Ironborn King was finally put down once and for all.

The two Kingsguard, now covered in blood and gore, finally let go of the Ironborn King and allowed his corpse to fall forward, coming to rest beside the corpse of his son. And suddenly, he was not in the hall of Pyke but in the Great Hall of the Red Keep, as Tywin Lannister presented two tiny corpses to Robert, covered in Lannister Red.

Bile gathered in the back of his throat as stared at the two corpses, blood slowly pooling beneath them. Reminding him of yet another memory from the past. Blood pooled on the bed and the words softly whispered to him 'Promise me Ne. Promise me.'

So great was his shock that he almost missed the next few words spoken by Robert until he heard some words finally brought him back to the present.

"-are the children?" Robert asked.

"They're at my ship your grace." Stannis replied. "I brought them back after Lord Harlaw-"

"Bring them to my tent." Robert said, cutting off his brother. "I'll deal with them there."

And then he wiped the head of his Warhammer over Balon's clothes, a final insult to the Ironborn King before he strode out of the Hall. The Kingguard running behind him in order to catch up.

There was silence in the hall for a moment in the departure of the King before Tywin Lannister finally spoke up. "This was well done."

"Aye" Lord Hoster said. "I bit gruesome. But it'll serve as a good example for the next person with traitorous thoughts in his heart."

He stared at his fellow lords in horror. His horror increasing when he saw the other lords nod in agreement.

Only Lord Yohn Royce seemed to disagree with them, if the solemn look on his face was any indication to go by.

"This was not well done." He found himself speaking as the other lords turned to stare at him. "It was not justice."

"You believe the King should've spared the Greyjoys?" Lord Hoster asked a look of anger on his face. "After all the Greyjoys have done to the Riverlands?"

"No. But they should've been executed. Not… not this."

Tywin scoffed at his words. "As always, you're too soft on your enemies Lord Stark. Pray that you compassion doesn't come you bite you on the face in the future."

Then Lord Tywin turned and walked out of the hall. Kevan

Lannister following on his wake. With the other lords doing the same a moment later.

Within a few moments, the entire Great Hall was empty except for Lord Yohn Royce who came to stand beside and continued to stare at the corpses of the Ironborn king and his heir.

"What do you think Lord Yohn?" He asked after a moment. "Do you think that what Robert did was right?"

Lord Yohn remained silent for a long moment before he replied. "I do not know. What his grace did was not honourable. But war is not honourable. And honour is often the first casualty in a war."

With those words, Lord You Royce turned and walked out of the Great Hall, leaving him alone with the two corpses to contemplate those words.

—————

"You cannot be serious about this Robert!" He shouted and

Robert glared at him.

"I can and I am. The Greyjoy line ends today. And that's final."

"They're kids!! Are you going to dishonour yourself with the blood of children once again?"

"They're not children." Robert said, looking at him in annoyance.

"The girl is Five and Ten years old. And the boy is Two and Ten.

They're old enough to know between right and wrong."

"And old enough for you to smash their heads in. Is that what you want to say?"

"Aye! Old enough for me to smash their heads in. There! Are you satisfied now!"

"No!" He shouted but before he could say anything else, the flap of the large tent opened and Ser Preston Greenfield peeked inside to check if everything was alright.

"Fuck off." Robert said, glaring at his Kingsguard and Preston quickly ducked out of the tent, leaving them alone to bicker with one another.

"You cannot mean to-"

"Shut up Ned"

"Robert. I won't let you kill-"

"Oh for gods sake. Shut your trap for once in your life and listen!" Robert shouted and his tirade came to a halt as he looked his friend. Truly looked at him.

Robert seemed tired. Not just physically or mentally tired. But a tiredness that went deep into his soul. As if he wanted to fall asleep and never wake up.

Robert plopped down on a chair and took out two cups before pouring Arbour gold into both the cups.

"Drink." Robert said as he passed one of the cup to him.

"I am not interest in-"

"Drink! Your King commands it."

He scowled at his childhood friend before he sighed and gulped the cup down before he glared at Robert once again.

"There. Are you calm now?" Robert asked, and his glare increased

in intensity.

"Do I look calm to you?"

Robert sighed at his question. "No. I suppose not." He said before he finished his cup as well.

They sat in silence. And waited for Robert to say his peace. But seconds passed and Robert continued to stare at his cup until his patience finally broke.

"Do you have anything to say or are you just buying time?" He asked and Robert glared at him.

"Fuck off Ned. I'm thinking." Robert said before he exhaled all fight seemed to have left him as he fell further back on his chair, his eyes still locked on the cup with a hollow gaze.

A long moment passed in between them before Robert took a breath and spoke up. "I almost lost my family."

He nodded at his friend's words. He was still in campaign while the Battle of Kings Landing took place so he didn't knew the exact details of it. But he'd heard about what happened in the aftermath.

About how the Ironborn had reached the insides of the Red Keep.

And how they would've breached Maegor's Holdfast and killed the Royal Family if the reinforcements were just a little late.

At the time when he heard of this, he was glad that Jon Arryn as well as everyone else of value had survived. But he'd forgotten to take into account just how this news would impact his friend.

In hindsight, that was foolish of him. If he he ever heard that Wildlings had breached Winterfell, and would've killed his family if not for reinforcements, then he couldn't even imagine how he would feel.

What a shallow friend he made. To not even give a single thought to his friend. Robert's rage and the gruesome deaths of the Balon and Maron Greyjoy made more sense now.

But… he still couldn't allow Robert to kill the children.

He sighed and took a chair beside Robert before he took the pitcher and poured the wine into two more cups.

"They're safe now Robert. Your family is safe now." He said as both of them emptied their cups at once.

"So you say Ned, but are they?" Robert asked giving him a side glance. "What would happen to my family the next time someone decided to Rebel against the Iron Throne. What would happen if Viserys Targaryen returns to the Westeros with an army on his back."

"Then I'll be there to support you. As will everyone else who is loyal." He said with conviction.

Robert chuckled at his words. "Aye. Never change Ned. You're a fool. But you're also the best of us. Never change."

He stared at Robert. "Does that mean that you'll spare the kids?"

Robert sighed at his words. "I can't Ned. Even if I want to spare them, I can't. I need to make an example out of them. So that others will realise the price of rebelling against House Baratheon."

"Those are the words of Tywin Lannister."

"Aye. But Tywin knows how to keep his vassals in line." Robert said. "Do you think his lords would be as respectful of him as they're now if Tywin had spared the Tarbacks and the Reynes."

"Perhaps not. But he would also not be a subject of dislike by everyone else." He said before he put a hand on Robert's shoulder. "Think Robert. Do you think that any single one of his lords would ever stand by his side if House Lannister ever fell into decline?"

"They will. If they fear Tywin more than they fear their enemy."

"Is that all that you think of now. Fear. That if you terrify you vassals then they'll stay in line. Is that it?"

"What else do you want me to do Ned?"

"Be yourself." He said "Be the man who defeated his enemies and then raised them up with the hand of friendship. Be the man you've always been. Not the man that others want you to be."

Robert looked stricken by his words and for the briefest of moment, it seemed as if he had reached his friend and dragged him out of the bottomless pit of self loathing.

But then Robert's eyes dimmed once again and he shook his head. "I can't Ned. I need to do this. I need to see this through or there's no point to any of this."

So that's what it'll come down to in the end.

He rose from his chair and looked down at his friend who seemed intent on avoiding his gaze.

"Robert. Look at me."

Robert did and he stared coolly at his long time friend.

"Do you remember that time 7 years ago. When we reached the

Iron Throne, and you were presented with those cloaks by the Lannisters."

Robert nodded. "Hard to forget something like that."

He nodded. "Do you remember how wroth I was with the death of those children?"

"They were Dragonspawn Ned… you need to-"

"Do you remember, what I said to you before I departed?"

Robert licked his lips but nodded. "Aye. I do."

"I forgave you back then Robert, for I had lost my sister, and you had lost your reason for living. We grieved together over her death. And I forgave."

Robert remained silent at his words so he continued.

"These are kids you want to kill right now Robert. I joined you because it was my obligation. And because I wanted to protect these lands from the Ironborn. I did not came here to be party in the murder of children."

"They're not children Ned."

"I forgave you once Robert. But this time, there will no forgiveness on my part. Kill these children, and you'll destroy any semblance of friendship we ever had. Do this, and you'll lose the right to ever call me a friend, let alone a brother."

Robert stared at him and he stared back at his friend, resolute in his decision.

They continued to stare at each other until the flap of the tent opened and Stannis entered the room with two kids and a few guards. "Your grace." Stannis said and only then did they break their stare down in order to glance at the commander of the Iron Fleet and the two children standing beside him.

True to Robert's words, the kids were truly kids. The girl was old enough to have been married off. And the boy was old enough to be a squire.

But that didn't mean that he'll condone to their deaths. Or allow Robert to kill them without facing his displeasure.

The tent fell into silence once again as Robert stared at the two kids.

The older girl looked defiant despite being in the middle of enemies. No, she was ready to face her death and was doing her best to hide the fear she was feeling, while trying to shield her little brother from them.

The younger boy was not as brave as his sister and there was a look of palpable fear on his face as he tried not to stare at anyone for too long.

Robert stood from his chair and picked up his Warhammer before he walked over to the kids.

The tension in the room increased as Robert raised his

Warhammer…

And gently brought it down over the shoulder of the girl.

A silent moment passed before Robert sighed. "Very well, you honourable fool. I'll spare the kids."

The girl let out a relieve sigh at those words as Robert turned to face him. "But I can't just let them go without a suitable punishment either. So tell me, what kind of punishment would you suggest for these two."

He looked at the two children and thought of a few punishments until he settled on one that wasn't truly a punishment but should do the job well enough.

"You can send the kids to serve as wards for other lords until they came of age." He said. "Living under the roof of one of the Westerosi lords might instil some honour in them. And once they're of age, they can come and rule these Iron Islands."

"Wardship huh." Robert said as he stared at he two kids before he nodded. "Very well. You can have the boy."

He blinked at that and then pointed at himself. "Me?"

"Yes. This entire damn thing is your idea. So you might as well see it through." Robert said "You'll take the boy with you. See if you can turn in him into an honourable man. And when the time comes, he can come back and rule these blasted Islands however he wants."

He thought on it for a moment before he nodded. "I'm honoured with this task and see it through the best of my abilities."

Then Robert turned to the girl and sighed. "Now what to do with you?"

The girl stared back at Robert unflinchingly. "I want to stay with my brother."

"And I wanted to marry Lyanna, and the not the bitch I'm currently saddled with." Robert replied. "Does this look like a world where we get what we want? No. You own't go with your brother."

"Then where do you want to send me?" The girl asked.

Instead of replying, Robert turned to look at him instead. "Well, what do you suggest Ned?"

He thought over all the options they had.

He won't send the girl to Tywin Lannister. He doubted that Tywin would lower himself to harm a ward. But he still didn't felt safe sending the girl to Tywin's halls.

He could send the girl to Lord Hoster Tully, but despite being his father-in-law, he never trusted that man. And despite what his family words might say, he doubted that Lord Hoster cared about either family or honour. No, the girl won't go to that man if he had any say in

it.

He could send the girl to Lord Yohn Royce. But despite how honourable the man was, and despite how well he led the Vale army, Lord Yohn Royce was not the lord of a Great House. And sending the daughter of a Great House to the Lord of a Lesser House of another Kingdom was an insult.

He didn't even thought of sending the girl to the Tyrells. As they're just as ambitious, grasping and honourless as his father-in-law Hoster

Tully.

He did not even think of sending the girl to Dorne. That was just a disaster waiting to happen.

The only option he could think at the end was Storms End. The origin of House Baratheon. And a place where the girl would be under the protection of a Great Lord.

The only problem here was that Renly was a young man. And sending the young woman from an enemy house to a lord that young… it left him uncomfortable.

So what to do…

It was then that he looked at the stoic face of Lord Stannis

Baratheon and realized that he had yet another option in front of him.

Sure Lord Stannis wasn't a great lord, but he was the brother of the King, which in some instances was an even greater seat.

And Lord Stannis was not a young man so he didn't need to worry about sending the young woman to his House either.

So after thinking on it for yet another moment, he nodded and looked at Robert.

"Well, here is what I think…"

CHAPTER 22- Arriving at Dragonstone

ASHA GREYJOY POV

Butterflies erupted in her belly as she got up to face another day in the Flagship of the Royal Fleet.

Today was the day.

The day when their long journey would finally end, and they'll reach Dragonstone.

The thought alone made her queasy. Her mind coming up with nightmarish scenarios about what her life would be like in this new and unknown island.

Would she be forced to remain inside the castle like a prisoner? Would she be allowed to train with her axe and dirk? Would she be forced to wear dress like a snobbish Greenlander lady? Would the knights and lords in this place try to take advantage of her? Would she be allowed to step foot on a ship ever again?

Feeling ill in the tiny 'guest room' provided to her by Lord Stannis, she got up from her bed and walked to the main deck where the cold morning breeze greeted her like an old friend. And the squawking of the seagulls flying above calmed some of her fears.

She stood to deck and watched the sun rising over the blue horizon for what must've been a quarter hour before she felt someone approach her from behind.

Her body tensed up until that person came and stood beside her and started to enjoy the spectacular view of the dawn as well.

"Nervous?" Ser Davos asked conversationally and she scoffed, trying to hide her fear beneath a hard exterior, as she'd always done back at home.

"Oh I'm quaking in my boots." She said mockingly. "What foul tragedy awaits me at your shores. Would I be sacrificed to your Seven Gods, forced to dance for your lord's amusement, or perhaps this son of his would take me for his salt wife and put a bastard in my belly? How would I ever lived with the shame?"

Ser Davos looked amused at her tirade. "Well, if you have the ability to find humour in your situation, then I believe that you'll do just fine in your new home."

"It's not my new home." She snapped, before she realised just what she did and frowned. "Just a place where I'll be held temporarily before I'll be send back to the Iron Islands."

"Perhaps lass. But I would suggest that you try to make this island into your home. Or the next three years are going to be long and boring for you."

"They're going to be long and boring whether I see this place as my home or not." She said before she thought of something to turned to the Onion knight. "Tell me, Ser Davos. How long have you served you dour and stern Lord Stannis."

"Some 7 odd years by now lass. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. How well do you know his family?"

Davos turned to regard her more closely now. "You want to know about his Lady wife and children."

"I do. Is there any harm in learning about the people I'll be spending the next few years with?"

Davos looked thoughtful for a moment before he shrugged. "Aye, I suppose I could see your point. Though why not ask Lord Stannis about this."

"So that he could give me that barely hidden disgusted look once again? No thanks. I believe I've had my share of such looks from the rest of your crew."

Davos winced at her words. "The crew is… well, they've had a few bad encounters with Ironborn in the past. I suppose you make a convenient target to hate. And as for Lord Stannis. He has lost a lot of respect and prestige from the other lords for not being able to catch the Iron Fleet. So I guess he has a reason for disliking Ironborn as well."

"Don't lie to me Ser Davos. The reason your lord hates me is because I'm a woman who can fight, curse and sail just like any other man in your ship. Better, even. And it is something he cannot understand."

Davos looked thoughtful at her words before he shrugged. "I suppose he is a bit put off by something he can't understand."

"And you, why are you not put off be me?"

Davos chuckled at her words. "I've lived most of my life in Fleabottom lass. Smuggling under the noses of these high lords to make a living for myself and my family. Trust me. There are worse things out there in the world than a woman who knows how to fight." She hummed in agreement at his words. "You still haven't told me about Lord Stannis' wife and his children."

"Aye, I suppose I haven't. I would usually not tell this stuff to anyone. But since you're going to go and live with them, I suppose there is no harm to it. So what do you want to know."

"Well, what kind of life should I expect in Dragonstone?" She asked "Will I be allowed to train with the knights and squires. Or will they lock me up inside a room where I'll remain safe and secure, with a septa for company."

Davos looked thoughtful for a moment before he replied. "I'll not lie to you lass. Lady Selyse is a traditional woman. She is also, hm… how should I put it… well, let's just say that if she doesn't like you, then she'll turn your next three years into hell."

"So she's a spiteful bitch?" She asked and Davos winced.

"I would not say such things where the rest of the crew can hear you. Or they might tell Lord Stannis, and that won't end well for you."

"You think I fear your lord. What do you think he'll do? Look at me with those stern eyes that seem to frighten everyone else? It has been two moons since we embarked from my home, and he hasn't talked with me once."

Davos grimaced at her words. "Lord Stannis… is a private man. And he doesn't really know how to deal with you."

"I figured as much." She said before she stared at the sun rising in the distance. "So my next 3 years are going to hell. Is that what you're telling me?"

Davos remained silent for a long moment this time before he looked at her and sighed. "Not necessarily."

"Not necessarily?"

Davos looked around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping on them before he stepped closer and spoke in a quiet whisper. "What I'm about to tell you lass, you must not tell anyone else."

"Ooo… a secret from the mouth of the onion knight himself."

Davos looked unamused at her jest before he spoke up. "There is another woman in Dragonstone. One that Lady Selyse is very good friends with. And one who might hold even more influence among the people there than Lady Selyse."

She looked at Davos for a moment before she chuckled. "Heh… I admit, I didn't think Lord Stannis the type of man to have a mistress. But I suppose that you learn something new everyday."

"No." Davos said with a shake of his head. "This woman is not Lord Stannis' mistress. If anything… no, never mind. What you need to know, is that this woman is a Red Priestess from Essos. She came to Dragonstone about two to three years ago, when Lord Stannis' daughter daughter Greyscale. This woman healed the Greyscale and has been living in the castle ever since."

"She healed Greyscale. I thought that I supposed to be impossible."

"So did I lass. So did I. But this woman healed little Shireen within a week. And… asked to serve Lord Stephen in exchange for her services."

"Stephen. The same guy who killed my uncle Euron?"

Davos winced at her words. "Try not to hold it against him lass. It was war. And he did what he did for his own survival."

"I've heard of him. Your crew mates might not talk to me, but they talk to each other. And they way they talk about Stephen, you might think that he's a 10 feet giant behemoth who looks as comely as a Targaryen and as strong as a dozen men. But when I ask them about him, they shut up as tight as a clam. Come to think of it, you haven't told me anything about him either. Why is that?"

"Well… talking about Lord Stephen is… complicated, I suppose."

"Complicated how? Does he really wields a shining sword as they say. Or defeats armies with a fart?"

"Well, he did destroy the Iron Fleet with Wildfire, which is called Pigshit by some in Kings Landing, so there is that." Davos said with mild amusement. Though she had a feeling that he was merely using humour to try and side step this conversation.

"If you don't want to talk about him then just say so." She told him and Davos sighed.

"It's… not that simple."

"Well then, make it simple. What do you think about Stephen Baratheon?"

"What do I think about Lord Stephen? Well… the young lord is an enigma to me. I've only met him a few times in my entire life. And the thing that stood out most to me was that the lad seemed wiser than his years. Even when he was a young child, he was able to converse with adults like they were his equal. He's also very charismatic. And well liked by every guard and servant in the castle. I believe that the love and respect he commands has only increased ever since he broke the Iron Fleet and defeated the Iron borns."

"That still doesn't tell me what kind of man he is." She said and Davos chuckled.

"I suppose not. But that's just how it is. I suppose you'll have to meet him and make up your mind about him yourself." He said before he regarded her seriously. "And try not to hold the death of your uncle against him."

She scoffed at his words. "Euron was a creepy fucker, even compared to other creepy Ironborn. Trust me, the world is a better place with him gone."

Davos looked surprised by her words and nodded. "As you say lad. Now, I need to go and do some work. Come and talk with me if you anything."

She nodded and watched as he turned and left. And remained at the deck for the better part of an hour before she went back to her room where she ate her morning meal and was able to practice throwing her dirk until they eventually reached Dragonstone by noon.

—————

Dragostone Island didn't look like much at first glance. Its most visible landmark being the large volcanic mountain that rose from the middle of the island and stretched up to the clouds in the sky.

She wondered what the island might have looked like when the dragons were still around. Would she have seen one of the large fuckers flying around the mountain. Would one of them have flown over their ship with a small whale trapped in its talons.

Alas, dragons had died out over one and a half centuries ago. And all she could see flying around now were the seagulls and other such birds.

Then their ships went closer and closer, and she got a first hand view of the Port town of Dragonstone.

It wasn't as large or as impressive as Lannisport, or Oldtown.

But it was still twice as large as Lordsport, with four times as many ships docked at the harbour. And considering how Lordsport was the largest port town in the Iron Islands, that said something about Dragonstone.

"You didn't tell me that Dragonstone was such a bustling trade port." She told Davos who was standing at the prow of the ship beside her and Lord Stannis. The dour man having finally emerged from his solar now that they were about to reach the Island.

Davos sighed at her words. "It wasn't. Not until a few years ago at least. But then things started to change. Dragonstone went from being barren island to one filled with dozens of farmlands that span over multiple acres and grow valuable fruits, dry fruits, and spices."

"How can a barren island just go from being barren to suddenly having so many farmlands?" She asked, wondering if she would be able to enrich Pyke by copying their methods.

"I don't know myself either. Though from what I've heard, it had something to do with the black volcanic soil found at Dragonmont." Davos said and she internally sighed. There went her plan to enrich Pyke.

"And who brought these fascinating changes to Dragonstone?"

Davos looked uncomfortable at her words for some reason and just shrugged. "You'll live here for the next 3 years lass. You'll have all the time you need in your hands to find out."

Seeing that he wasn't about to answer her enquiry, she turned to Stannis. "Your onion knight doesn't seem keen on telling me much. What about you? Are you going to tell me how you turned your Island into this growing trade port?"

Stannis turned his head to glance her way for a moment before he went back to ignoring her.

Well, figures.

She spent the next few minutes pestering Davos and Stannis for answers- Davos more often than Stannis, until they finally docked at the harbour.

From here, she could see that a number of workers were currently in the process of enlarging the port. Adding permanent stone platforms for the landing of cargo. As well as adding cranes and pulleys to the existing ones so that the cargo could be brought to and from the trade ships at a quicker pace.

She could also see new buildings being built in the far distance. As well as what seemed like a sewer line being dug away from the port town.

A lot of gold was being invested in improving this port. And considering how barren the island was until just a few years ago, she wondered where all this gold was coming from.

Though the one that bugged her the most about this entire situation was that the workers at the port looked distinctly Ironborn in origin. Though from this distance, she couldn't be sure about it.

"Come." Stannis said, breaking her out of her thoughts and she noticed that the crew had already dropped the boats to the sea and were currently one the process of boarding them.

Well… time to meet her new 'family'.

She climbed down the rope ladder and landed on the boat. And soon enough, they were rowing toward the sandy beach of Dragonstone, where a large party was waiting to welcome them.

"Why didn't we just land at the port?" She asked Davos.

"Well, there are over a hundred ships in the Royal Fleet. And up until a few years ago, the port used to be small enough that only 2 ships could dock on it. Unloading men at that pace would take days. Better to just stay at the harbour and row to the beach on boats. That way, we won't block and delay the trade ships either."

She nodded and remained silent as the boat finally landed at the beach, her stomach doing flip flops as they finally landed at what was going to be her foster home for the next 3 years.

She stood beside Stannis and walked to the welcoming party waiting for them. At the front of that group was a decently pretty looking woman and beside her was an extremely beautiful woman in red dress.

That must be the Red Priestess Davos told her about. Though how on Earth did he forgot to mention that she was this beautiful.

As if sensing her gaze, the Red woman turned to look at her and gave her an amused smile.

She quickly looked away from her and turned to scan the rest of the welcoming party.

She could also see a maid holding a young girl that she guessed was Shireen. But she couldn't see a person with the description of Stephen Baratheon anywhere. Did he not come to greet his own father?

"Welcome home husband." Lady Selyse said and Stannis grunted in acknowledgement before he looked around with a frown.

"Where is Stephen?" Stannis asked.

Lady Selyse pursed her lips at his question. "Stephen went to

Braavos for a trade deal with a few of their magisters. He was supposed to be back by this morning but something must have delayed him."

Stannis grunted in acknowledgement before he took his daughter from the maid, his stern facade changing into a less-stern facade for a brief moment as he held his daughter.

"How have you been Shireen?" Stannis asked gruffly. And she almost laughed at his attempt at kindness when talking to a child.

Shireen didn't seem to mind his stern exterior though and smiled brightly at her father. "I've been good daddy."

Stannis looked like he wanted to ask something else but in the end, he just nodded and said "Good" before handing the girl back to her maid.

It was then that she was pushed forward by Davos until she came under the notice of Lady Selyse who gave her a distrustful look.

"And who is this young woman my lord?" Lady Selyse asked, her tone making the words 'young woman' sound like a curse.

"That's Asha Greyjoy. His grace Robert Baratheon has burdened me with fostering her at Dragonstone for the next 3 years. Will that be a problem?" Lord Stannis asked.

Lady Selyse looked her over properly, her nose scrunching up ever so slightly upon taking notice of her men-like clothes.

"I question your brother's wisdom of hosting a Greyjoy at our halls but I suppose we'll find a way to accommodate the girl."

"The girl is right here and doesn't appreciate being talked to in such a manner." She snapped and the look of disgust became even more apparent in Selyse's eyes.

"Look at her. No respect at all for her betters." Selyse said derisively. "Well, what can you expect from these savages. A good caning from a septa should put her in her-"

"No caning. In fact, you're not to harm the girl in any way. Physical or otherwise." Stannis said, cutting off Selyse tirade. And despite her general dislike of the man, she was grateful to him for standing up for her.

Selyse' face scrunched up once again but she nodded. "Very well husband. Shall we go back to the castle. I've prepared a feast for you and our leal men."

Stannis gave a curt nod and within moments, dozens of horses were brought forth for their party.

She quickly took one of the horses. Feeling grateful that she'd learned how to ride a pony while in Harlaw as she didn't want Lady Bitch to find another reason to look down on her.

It didn't work completely.

Selyse gave her another derisive look upon noticing that she was riding like men instead of riding side saddle as ladies tend to do before they started riding toward the castle at a slow pace. Her anxiety increasing the closer they went to the castle.

She started looking around for something to capture her attention and it wasn't long before she sighted one of the farms that Davos had told her about.

And she could see that Davos had, if anything, undersold just how large the farm would be.

The farm went on and on for as far as her eyes could see. And must've held at least a hundred acre of lands within it if not more.

A canal full of water passed through the centre of the farm, with smaller canals lining up to the side at uniform places.

It wasn't the farms, the canals, or the plants growing in those farms that caught her attention. But the people working on those farms.

Earlier, she had been merely suspicious about the nature of the people working in those ports. But now that she could take a closer look at these people, she was sure that they were none other than Ironborn. Not all of them but she could definitely point out a few.

And these were not just any Ironborn either, but the Ironborn that went with the Iron Fleet to fight in the war.

Hell, she was sure that she could even recognise a few of them. She didn't knew them by their names, but she was sure that those men served under her cousin Ragnar Harlaw, who was presumed to have died in the Battle of Kings Landing.

She quickly rode to the front of the column until she was riding beside Lord Stannis and Lady Selyse.

"Lord Stannis, why are there Ironborn working in your farms?" She asked, a bit more curtly than she intended.

Lord Stannis turned to look at her with a frown. "What do you mean girl?"

"Those men working there." She said pointing at the men she recognised. "They're Ironborn. I'm sure of it. Why are they working in your farms?"

Lord Stannis stopped his horse, stopping the column behind him as well as he paused to look at the men she was pointing at.

After staring for a while, he turned to look at his wife. "My lady. Do you want to explain why there are Ironborn working in my lands?"

Lady Selyse looked nervous under her husband's scrutinising gaze. "Uh… the thing is… my lord… they-"

"If I may explain on Lady Selyse behalf?" A silky smooth voice cut in between them and she saw the Red Priestess slowly riding toward them at a sedate pace. The woman turned to her and smiled. "I'm Melisandre, by the way. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Asha Greyjoy."

Lady Selyse looked thankful at the save and allowed the Red

Priestess to bear the full attention of her husband.

"Well, do you want to explain why there are Ironborn in my lands?"

Lord Stannis asked, glaring sternly at Melisandre.

Melisandre, for her part, seemed completely unaffected by a glare that would've sent lesser men shaking in their boots.

"Those are the prisoners captured during the Battle of Kings Landing."

"Prisoners?" Stannis asked and then turned to look at the Ironborn once again. "Then why have they not been executed or sent to the Wall?"

"Lord Arryn did want to give them the choice of the noose or the Wall my Lord. My Lord Stephen convinced him that it'll be better for them to make use of these prisoners, rather than killing them or sending them to the wall."

"Make use of them? They're not cattle that you can use and discard!" She shouted, more than a bit alarmed at her words. "I thought you Greenlanders didn't do slavery! What is this if not-"

"Silence!" Stannis barked at her, making her jump on her horse at his voice before he turned to look at Melisandre. "The girl is right. Explain what you meant by 'making use of them'."

Melisandre remained calm in the face of Lord Stannis displeasure as she said. "It was proposed by Lord Stephen, that instead of killing these men. Or sending them to the Wall, where sending such a large number of them might be dangerous. He suggested that they put these prisoners to labour for the next 10 years, after which, they'll be given back their freedom and allowed to go back to their homes if they still desire it."

"And lord Arryn was amenable to this idea?" Lord Stannis asked and Melisandre nodded.

"He was. So after sending the leaders, the criminals, and the worst instigators to either the Wall or the block, Lord Stephen brought the remaining prisoners to Dragonstone, where they'll spend the next 10 years doing manual labor."

Lord Stannis didn't look very happy to hear that. "How many prisoners have been brought to Dragonstone?"

"About Three Thousand."

"Three Thousand!" Lord Stannis looked shocked at those words.

"And how many of them have already escaped."

Melisandre smiled at his words. "None so far my lord."

"You want me to believe that out of 3000 men. Not a single one has tried to escape so far?"

"No my lord. Some of them did try to escape on the way to Dragonstone. 17 of them to be more exact. They were caught and executed by Lord Stephen himself. Afterward, they arrived at Dragonstone. And upon seeing that they were not going to be mistreated in any way and were being given the basic amenities, none has tried to escape till now."

"None?" Lord Stannis asked suspiciously.

"None my lord." Melisandre said with confidence before she turned to look at her. "And as for your previous allegation of slavery. I assure you, that Lord Stephen is giving them a pay every moon. It is only 1/3rd of what an ordinary worker is paid, since they're still prisoners of the realm. But since they're being given free food, and shelter, they can spend that wealth however they want."

"I see." She said and even Lord Stannis looked relieved at that news.

After all, allegation of being a slaver was not a small thing, since slavery was banned in Westeros and punishable by death.

"This still seem highly risky." Lord Stannis said, looking uncomfortable at the idea of having 3000 Ironborn in his lands.

"The worst of them have already been sent to the wall or executed." Melisandre said "Lord Stephen personally selected these 3000 men to come here and work for him. And any risk of having so many Ironborn work in our lands is mitigated by the reward that they bring."

"And what reward would that be?" Lord Stannis asked.

"Their knowledge of shipbuilding." Melisandre said. "A lot of these Ironborn have already been put to work in expanding the Port. And once the work there has been done, Lord Stepeh plans to construct a new shipyard at the harbour. One that'll mimic the properties of the Arsenal of Braavos. It is for that reason that he went to Braavos."

Lord Stannis still looked skeptical about this entire idea but nodded at the end. "I'll talk with Stephen about this before I make a decision on whether this entire thing. For now, let's go back to the castle."

She and Melisandre nodded, and their column started moving once again.

This time, she rode beside Melisandre who had a warm smile on her face as she looked at her.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, feeling uncomfortable at being stared at in such a manner.

"You. I saw you come to Dragonstone in my visions. My lord is most interested in meeting you."

"By my lord, I guess you mean Stephen Baratheon?" She asked, ignoring the 'vision' part of her words.

"Yes. He is my lord. And you'll see when he arrives back." Melisandre said before she rode ahead. Leaving her behind to grumble about crazy priestess as she followed. Silently wondering what kind of madhouse she'd arrived in.  

CHAPTER 23- A Feast and a Kiss

ASHA GREYJOY POV

"And this is your room." Melisandre said as she opened the door and presented the room to her.

She looked at the room. It was larger than the one that she had at either Pyke or Ten Towers. Dragonstone wasn't the largest castle in

Westeros by any measure, but it used to be the castle of the Targaryens, and it showed.

The room also had a hearth, a bed, a table and chair, a chamber pot at the corner, a wardrobe, and a few other amenities.

It was to be her golden cage.

"It'll do." She said and Melisandre gave her a nod.

"The room beside yours is my own. And the one beside it belongs to Prince Stephen. If you want anything else then you can contact either me or him. You'll also be given an allowance of 10 gold dragons. Use it wisely."

"10 gold dragons." She uttered in disbelief before she managed to retain her composure.

10 gold dragons was a lot of money. In Harlaw, her uncle gave her 2 gold dragons every moon. And in Pyke, her father gave her 1 gold dragon. Ironic how her father, who was the King, was poorer and more miserly than her uncle.

But still… if she saved all her allowance, then within a year, she'll have enough gold to buy a rusty old cog and escape this place.

'And go where?' A part of her asked and she inwardly sighed upon the realisation that she really had nowhere else to go.

Westeros would be barred for her. And she knew very little about Essos to be successful there. In fact, she would be lucky if her crew didn't sell her to the slavers the first chance they got. That is, if she even got a crew in the first place.

In the Iron Islands, she was a princess. People back there knew and respected her. And thus, she had a small chance of being able to gather enough people to men a ship.

The same could not be said here. She was unknown to these people. And those who knew her looked down upon her heritage. Plus, she was a woman, 'a lady', the weaker sex, and people here

would be rather skeptical of following her.

No, escaping this place would not be easy. It'll require a lot of careful planning. But for now… she'll just have to find a way to tolerate these people.

"It'll do." She told Melisandre who had an amused look on her face. As if she was able to read her mind and guess what she thinking. It made her rather uncomfortable…

And was it just her or did that shadow moved just now? No… must've been her imagination.

"I'll have the servants send your luggage to this room." Melisandre said as she turned to leave before she paused. "Oh, and don't sleep for too long. A feast is being held this evening. And as a ward of Lord Stannis, you'll be expected to attend."

With those words, Melisandre finally left and she was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The woman made her tense for some reason. But now that she was gone, she could finally lay down on the bed and relax.

—————

"No." She said, looking at the frilly, colourful, ladylike dress and the female servant sighed.

"My lady. You cannot remain here through the night. This feast is held for your welcome as much as it is for Lord Stannis."

"First of all, I'm not a lady. Second. Still not wearing it."

The servant sighed. "You're being difficult Lady Asha."

"Thank you. That's the most sweetest thing you've said to me this night."

"My lady." The servant said, slowly and putting more force in each word this time. "If you do not wear this dress, then I'll have no choice but to tell lady Selyse about this. Do you want her to come here and discipline you?"

A part of roared with indignance at the thought of that screwed old bit coming here to 'discipline' her. She was Asha Greyjoy damnit. No one 'disciplined' her.

But a part of her also realised that she was now the Ward of Lord Stannis. And as Stannis' wife, the woman had all the rights she needed to punish her for any behaviour she deemed 'inappropriate'. And like hell she'll give give Selyse the chance to punish her.

"Fine. Give that thing here." She asked and the servant let out a relieved sigh before handing the dress to her.

The dress was large, fluffed out, with not armour padding, and would probably make it hard to move around.

By the drowned gods. Why can't these ladies wear something more practical? Oh, because they love to play the damsel in distress so that their 'knights' can come and save them. Fucking damn it.

"Do you want me to help you wear it my lady?" The servant asked and she frowned.

"I know how to wear my own clothes."

"That particular dress is very hard to wear my lady. Are you sure."

"Yes, I'm sure. Now get out."

The servant gave her a skeptical look but nodded. "I'll be outside for when you need my help. Just give me a call." With that the servant left her room and let out an internal scream.

Gods, even the servants here were pompous assholes. Thinking that she'll fail before she'd even begun.

…

Half an hour later, she had to call the servant. Mostly because in trying to wear the dress on her own, she had fallen to the side and ripped the dress in half.

The servant looked rather unamused at her folly and didn't fail to inform her that the dress was a rather expensive import from Essos.

Regardless, the servant went and brought another dress for her. And that she wore with the servant's help without much complain.

And then… she was off to join the welcoming feast, held in Lord Stannis and her honour.

She hoped that it won't turn out to be as much of a disaster as wearing the dress had turned out to be.

—————

The feast was a disaster.

The dress was even more uncomfortable to wear than she'd thought. Worse, it constricted her movements, and she had to walk funny in order to make sure that she doesn't fall face first in front of these greenlanders and embarrass herself.

The servant, despite their initial differences, had been rather kind to her and had combed her hair and put some make up on her face to make her better presentable for the feast.

Despite all that, Lady Selyse and her ladies-in-waiting had looked at her like she was kind of amusing animal. A donkey, stomping around while wearing a female dress. She certainly felt that way.

Some of them had even laughed at her. And it was all she could do to hold back her tears and not run back to her new chambers. Like hell she'll give these bitches the satisfaction.

The ladies-in-waiting (who even were these women?) then proceeded to ask her various questions. Some curious, others humiliating.

Like… why the fuck would anyone think that the Ironborn mated with seals and dolphins?

She was eventually saved by the arrival of Melisandre who had given her one look and declared her adequate.

She had spent the rest of the evening following Melisandre around like a lost duck, and realised just how much influence and power the Red Priestess held in this castle.

Guards and servants moved aside and bowed to the women any time they saw her. And not just the shallow, reluctant kind of bow that they gave her. But one that was filled with respect and reverence.

The Red Priestess talked with various people who'd arrived to attend the feast. Lords, ladies, ship captains, guild masters, envoys from the Free Cities, and even a Magister who'd come here to meet Prince Stephen for some reason.

It was a humbling experience for her and gave her a new role model to chase after.

Before this, she never really had a female role model for herself. The only one who even came close was Nymeria Martell. But now she knew that she wanted to be just as respected as the Red Priestess. She wanted to talk with lords and ladies like equals. She wanted to be able to hold her conversations with as much ease as Melisandre.

She'll probably never be as good as the Red Priestess. But she didn't need to be. She just needed to be good enough. After all, at the end of the day, she still wanted to have a crew of her own, captain the ship of her dreams, and sail the open seas to go wherever she wanted.

Eventually, Lord Stannis arrived as well, and the feast finally started.

She was seated in the main table beside Lord Stannis and Lady Selyse. Beside Lord Stannis was the magister who'd come here to make a trade deal of some sort. And beside her was the Red Priestess who seemed like she 'belonged' in the main table.

The food itself was unlike anything she'd ever seen before in her

life.

A good portion of the dishes were made of sea food. But it was not anything like what she'd eaten back in the Iron Islands.

The dishes were filled with spices of all kinds. And while the other guests seemed to enjoy the feast quite a bit, to her taste buds, the dishes seemed a little too spicy.

The dishes that were not sea food were also unique in their own ways. Pizza, hamburgers, noodles, and half a dozen other things that she'd never heard or seen before.

They all tasted well enough, and it wasn't long before her hunger returned with vengeance and she started eating all the food she wanted.

It wasn't until Lady Selyse gave her a disgusted look that she realised that she was doing something wrong. Though she felt a little confused about what the old bint expected from her now.

Melisandre came to her rescue once again, explaining that the way she was eating her food was inelegant. Then she was given a short course on how to eating 'elegantly'. And it was all she could do to keep a frown from forming on her face.

Using fork and knife to eat a simple dish? Why the fuck does she have to do that when she can simply take the dish with her hands and stuff it in her mouth.

Lady Melisandre had no explanation aside from 'that's just how it's done'.

As always, these stupid greenlanders found a way to complicate something as simple as eating.

But if she was to live and thrive among them, then she must learn their stupid eccentricities. And started following Lady Melisandre's lead in eating her food.

She was still learning how to cut the meat properly when the door of the feast hall swung open. And all the chatter in the hall came to an abrupt stop as she beheld what she guessed was the most handsome young man in all of existence.

The young man wore a black tunic with the symbol of house Baratheon on both sides. That, along with his black hair, blue eyes as well as the faint resemblance to Stannis told her just who he was.

Stephen Baratheon.

Why the hell did no one inform her that he would be this good looking?

Stephen gave a bright and cheerful smile to everyone in the hall and shouted. "Hello everyone!!"

The resulting cheer was unlike anything she'd ever heard.

It was as if the entire crowd went mad.

Women banged their spoon at their tables. Men stomped their feet and hollered his name in welcome. The guards stomped their spear on the ground and even the servants slowed down in order to cheer for him.

It was as if she was watching a hero return from a dangerous battle.

Wasn't he just gone off to Braavos for some trade deal?

"It was his first voyage." Melisandre helpfully supplied from the side, a note of pride in her voice, her eyes never leaving the young man. "He sailed from Dragonstone to Gulltown, to White Harbour. From there, he went east and visited Braavos before going to Lorath. Then he returned back to Braavos and sailed south to visit Pentos before he finally made a return to Dragonstone."

That… was mildly impressive. Especially if it was his first voyage. And even more so if he went to make trade deals in those cities instead of a one-time trade like most sailors do.

But… wasn't all this hollering and cheering a bit too much?

These people were acting like he'd just returned form defeating

Uncle Euron and the Iron Fleet.

As if reading her thoughts, Melisandre spoke up once again. "He's just that well loved and respected by the people of this castle."

She gave a skeptical look to Melisandre but the shook her head and watched as Stephen made his way through the feast hall.

He shook hands with guild masters, kissed female servants on the cheeks, patted the shoulders of common guards, complimented the older women, clasped arms with knights, flirted with the younger ladies, and… okay, she was starting to see why everyone liked him so well.

Not only did Stephen not care about social standing and class and treated everyone with care and respect.

But he was also extremely charismatic. Knowing exactly the right thing to do and say to lift up someone's mood.

Before she knew it, he was at the Dias and… hugging Lord Stannis.

She never thought she'd lived to see the day when someone would hug Lord Stannis. Willingly at that.

To her credit, Lord Stannis looked rather uncomfortable with the hug. As if it was a unique concept to him that he still had trouble understanding.

But eventually, Lord Stannis did return the hug with an awkward one of his own, before the father and son separated.

With that done, Stephen hugged his mother, ticked his little sister, and greeted the magister before finally… he was in front of her.

Her breath hitched as she realised that he looked even more handsome this up close than he did from the distance.

Yes, he was definitely the most handsome young man she'd ever seen in her entire life. The other good looking boys and men she'd seen in the Iron Islands didn't even compare.

His deep blue eyes, his soft red lips, his sharp chiseled jaw, his soft and Silky hair… And then she was brought out of her thoughts as he took her hand and laid a gentle kiss on her knuckles, her entire body shivering at the brief touch.

"You must be Lady Asha Greyjoy." He said as he turned her hand and traced the callous of her palm with his fingers. He gave her a knowing, mischievous look that held a bit of challenge to it. "It seems to me that you know your way around weapons. Wanna spar in the yard sometime?"

She licked her lips, wondering why her mouth felt so dry all of a sudden. Or why her body felt so warm, and her head so dizzy.

But before she could give a reply, his mother chimed in. "Absolutely not! She is a lady and must learn all about the proper etiquettes of one. She'll not leave until she'd learned all that the Septa needs to teach her. And she'll definitely not go anywhere near the sparring yard."

Her hopes wilted at the sharp words of Lady Selyse but Stephen merely smiled and spoke in a mock whisper. "Don't worry about my mom. She's just cranky because she missed dad. She's be just fine by next morning. And if the gods are kind, then she might even be pregnant with my future sibling."

Lady Selyse sputtered at his words, her cheeks going red as she side glanced at her husband before her eyes focused on her son once again.

"Stephen! That's no way to talk about your mother."

Stephen for his part, merely smiled at his mother before he took a seat in between them and took little Shireen in his lap. The little girl having already eaten her fill of tasty deserts.

The feast lasted for a bit longer, and she made small talk with

Stephen until eventually, the bards started to play their songs.

It took a moment for her to realise that the songs were about

Stephen and his victory against the Iron Fleet at the Blackwater Bay.

Anger flared in her heart as the bard described her people as savage barbarians and how Stephen saved the realm by slaughtering the Ironborn with his shining sword.

At first, she thought that he was mocking her with those songs. But the uncomfortable look on his face and the apologetic look he gave her told her that that wasn't his intention.

Still, her mood was ruined after hearing that song, and she quickly excused herself from the main table with a complaint about stomach pain and ran back to her room where it was safe and warm.

She couldn't have spend more than five minutes on her bed when there was a knock on her door.

"Go away!" She shouted.

"Asha, it's me, Stephen. Open the door."

"Leave me alone!"

"Asha, stop being childish. I just want to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you. Go away."

"Asha, if this is about the song, then I'm sorry. I didn't knew that the bard would play that song."

"I don't care." She shouted back. "Let me sleep."

"Very well then. If you're not going to open the door then I'm going to break through. At the count of 5."

"What? No! I'm… I'm naked. I'm changing my dress."

"That's even better! I'm coming in at 3."

"3…"

"Wait. Don't break the door!"

"2…"

"Hold on. I'm coming, you asshole."

"1…"

She opened the door and saw Stephen standing on the side, leaning against the wall with an amused smile on his face. Her heart beat a little faster once again at that.

"You were never going to break the door, were you?" She asked and his grin widened.

"No. But I really do want to talk to you."

"About what?" She asked and Stephen's amused smile fell from his face, a serious expression taking its place.

"About your uncle Euron. About the Iron Fleet. And about your future in Dragonstone." He said before looking at her room. "May I come in."

"Are you going to break in if I say no."

"Are you going to say no?" He asked, some of the earlier amusement returning to his voice and she sighed.

"Just come in."

He did and she closed the door behind her so that they could talk with some privacy.

"You know, people are going to talk if they saw me coming out of your closed room." Stephen said as he went and sat on her bed.

"They're already talking behind my back." She said as she sat on the bed beside him. "At least this way, they'll have something that's actually real to talk about."

Stephen let out a hum at her words before his expression became serious and he looked in her eyes.

"I do not regret killing Euron Greyjoy." He said, jostling her out of her thoughts. "If I had not stopped him, then he would've killed the Royal Family and burned Kings Landing to the ground."

"My uncle would never-" She paused as she realised just which uncle she was talking about and sighed. "Okay, yeah. Euron would definitely do something like that. And no, I never held his death against you in the first place."

In fact, she was actually glad that Euron was finally dead. The man might've been her uncle but he always creeped her out with the way he looked at her.

She knew that it was not right to celebrate the death of a relative. But she was glad that he was gone.

"Well… that's good to hear. But what about your father and brother?"

"What about my father and brother?" She asked, though she knew what he meant. She just didn't want to have this talk right now. Or ever for that matter.

"If I had not defeated the Ironborn when I did, then they would've killed the Royal Family. Doing that would've weakened Robert's grasp on the throne, something that could've torn Westeros to pieces." Stephen said. "Unlikely as it was. My action destroyed what little chances the Ironborn had of winning this war. And because of that, your father and brother were executed by the King. Do you hate me for that."

She thought on it for a moment before she sighed. "My father… Me and my father were never close. He only ever had eyes for my two older brothers. So I don't really feel much about his death. My brother though." Her eyes prickled and she tried her best to hold back her tears. "I loved my brothers. Assholes that they were. I would mourn their deaths. But I do not hold it against you. Not when you were merely doing your best to protect your extended family."

Stephen let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that. "Well… I'm glad to hear that. It would've been stressful living in this castle if you wanted my hand."

"Your head is safe." She told him before she realised what she wanted to ask him. "But, I wanted to know. Did you really kill my uncle? I mean, Uncle Euron was one of the best fighters the Iron Islands hand. And no disrespect to you. But you're not even a man yet."

"There are some ladies who would beg to differ." Stephen said cockily before he shrugged. "As for my ability to kill a man? You can judge that for yourself in the training yard tomorrow morning. If you're not scared."

"As if." She snorted before she frowned at him. "But… wasn't your mother against me fighting in the yard?"

"Don't worry about my mother. I'll talk to her and ask her to give you some more freedom. You're here as a ward. Not a prisoner."

She rolled her eyes at his words. "Don't fool yourself. Your King might call me a ward. But I'm a prisoner in all but name."

"Hmm… if that's what you think, then I'll just have to prove you wrong."

"And how would you do that?"

"Well…" He said, leaning back on the bed "I heard that you wanted to captain a ship."

She gave him a skeptical look. "You would allow me to captain a ship?"

"If you're good enough to do so. Then yes, I don't see why such a thing couldn't be arranged." He said before he thought of something. "Though, you'll have to act as part of my Fleet. And you will have to return to Dragonstone every now and spend some time here. I can protect you from my mother. But not from the King."

"I know. I'm not daft." She said before she glared at him. "And what do you want in return."

"In return?"

"Yes. You're giving me a ship and all this freedom. I'm not stupid enough to think that you'll give me all this for free. There are no free lunches in this world." She said "So tell me. What is it that you want from me? Do you want me virginity? Is that it?"

"You're a virgin?" Stephen asked, looking surprised and she glared at him.

"Of course I'm a virgin. I'm only Five and Ten. What kind of girl do you take me for?"

"You'll be surprised by how many girls lose their virginity before your age." He said, something dark entering his voice for a moment before he shook his head and gave her a rueful smile. "And no."

"No?" She asked as she crossed her hands and gave him a skeptical look.

"No." He said before he shifted closer to her on the bed until they were sitting side by side. "Don't mistake me. I do want you." He said, looking into her eyes. "And I do want that virginity of yours. But when I'm not desperate enough to take advantage of your situation. No. When I take your virginity, I want it to be because you choose to gave it to me. Not because I bought it with a ship."

Her mouth went dry once again and her cheeks blushed.

…no one had ever said anything like that to her.

And she wasn't sure if she wanted to kiss him or punch him for the audacity to talk to her like that.

Yes, she was a prisoner. And yes, her house was in dire straits.

But she was still the daughter of a great house, damn it.

She really wasn't sure how to react to his words.

A good thing then, as Stephen took the choice from her hands.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him until her body was pressed up against him and their faces were inches apart from one another.

"Take this as a promise, that I really do want you." He said and her eyes widened as he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her own.

Just because she was a virgin didn't mean that she'd never kissed anyone. But the kiss she got from Stephen was leagues above any other kiss she'd ever received in her entire life.

Her mind erupted into pleasure as his lips played with her own.

His tongue darting out to prod her lips before she hesitantly opened her lips and allowed his tongue to entered her mouth and plunder her depths.

Her eyes remained closed, her knees went weak, and her core become wet as Stephen utterly dominated that kiss.

Before she knew it, she felt the bed press against her back. With Stephen's arm still wrapped around her waist as he laid atop of her continued the kiss.

She didn't knew how long the kiss lasted. Just that she almost fainted from it. And only remembered to breathe once again when Stephen ended the kiss.

He had a mischievous smile on his face as he laid atop her and enjoyed her embarrassed and somewhat dazed expression.

"Asshole." She said gasping for breath, and still in slight disbelief at just how good that kiss had been.

A part of her rebelled at the thought of being so utterly dominated by a boy that was probably younger than her. But another part of her… actually enjoyed the experience. Quite a bit at that.

"I've been called worse." He said before he leaned forward.

She prepared herself for yet another toe curling kiss. But instead of going for her lips, he kissed her forehead instead, though for some reason the brief kiss to her forehead seemed even more intimate to her than the kiss on her lips.

He leaned back to look at her once again and she wanted to hide her face due to just how much she was blushing.

By the drowned god, she was acting like a blushing maid. Just what has happened to her?

"Go to sleep early." Stephen said as he cupped her cheek and caressed her face tenderly. "I'll wait for you in the sparring yard tomorrow morning. And you can see just how I was good I am."

With those words and a wink, he removed his arm from around her waist. And before she knew it, he had unlocked the door and walked out of her room.

She stayed in the bed for what seemed like hours though it couldn't have been more than a few minutes before she raised her hands and touched her lips with her fingers.

Did that… really happened? Did she just got a confession from a boy. No, a Man.

She let out an embarrassed squeak as she remembered just how inexperienced she had acted when she was in his arms.

'I'll do better next time.' She promised to herself. 'Next time when we kiss, it'll be me who'll knock his socks off. And not the other way around. Definitely not.'

She didn't even think how strange it was that she was already thinking about kissing him.

She closed the door, changed out of the frilly dress and promptly went to her bed, trying her best to sleep off her embarrassment.

Though despite her best attempts, sleep didn't came easily to her. And her dreams were filled with a black haired, blue eyed youth.

CHAPTER 24- Progress as Gamer Melisandre

STEPHEN BARATHEON POV

A giant car sized spider ran at him. A negligent wave of his hand took care of it before he sat back down on his seat and went back to watching the show.

For in the distance, Mel was fighting against more of such creatures. A wall of fire kept most of them at back. The wall becoming larger anytime one of them came closer to her.

And then dozens of Shadows Spears rose up from the ground and pierced through the spiders like they were made of paper. Once, then twice, and then again and again in multiple succession until the giant spiders' HP went to 0 and they keeled over. Dead.

The giant spiders left behind silver coins, Health or Mana Potions, a bundle of silk, a vial of poison, or even a Skill Book as loot on rare occasions. But Mel ignored them for now.

It was their tradition, to pick up all the loot together at the end of the fight. The fight itself looked effortless from this distance, but he knew that Mel must be running out of Mana Points by now.

Then the ground shook and he saw trees topple in the distance before another giant spider emerged from within the forest. This one large enough that it made the other spiders look dwarves.

She was large enough to be the size of a two almost three storey house. And he ad almost crapped his pants the first time he saw her.

He shouldn't have feared her. Even back then, his stats were more than enough to deal with her easily. Grind coming to his rescue as always. Nowadays, the Lvl 45 Spider Queen wasn't even a bother.

Its eyes locked onto Mel and his woman hesitated for the briefest of moments before she conjured a large ball of fire within her hands and threw it at the face of the Spider Queen.

Unlike the other spiders who took the attacks directly to their faces, unconcerned by the damage it did to them, the Spider Queen moved to the side. Her truly massive skittering legs making her faster than her size would suggest.

After dodging the fireball, it spat out a dozen globs of poison toward Mel. Each one the size of a basketball. And each one with such a lethal poison that a single drop would kill a dozen elephant.

If he had not already made Mel highly resistant to that poison then he would be actually worried right now.

Mel ran to the side, intent on dodging the barrage of poison heading her way. Most of them missed, but one of them hit her square waist and Mel fell to the ground with a scream. Her HP falling below half from that one attack even with her High Resistance.

"Dead." He said with a disappointed sigh as he got up from the wooden stump and flew over to her side.

"That is why Physical activity is important. If you were not such a slob in the training field then you'd have enough agility to dodge that attack" He told her as he took out a Health Potion from his Inventory and threw it at her.

Mel groaned in reply as she drank the Health Potion, the purple poison already having lost its effect on her.

The Spider Queen put halted their talks by spitting another poison glob barrage at them and he created a giant mana shield to halt her attack.

"Do you want to have another go at it?" He asked and Mel shook her head, much to his disappointment.

"Very well then." He said and threw a mana blade at the Spider Queen.

The Spider Queen tried to dodge this mana blade as well but it was too fast for her perception and cut her cleanly in half before cutting a large swath through almost half the forest before it dissipated.

He helped Mel up from the ground, enjoying the view of her lower boobs being visible to him through her torn dress.

"Enjoying the view my lord?" Mel asked.

"I would've enjoyed it more had you won." He told her and watched as she lowered her head in disappointment. "Now tell me. What did you do wrong in this fight?"

"I… I could've created a shadow shield to protect myself against he globs of poison."

"Yes. And I understand that your Shadow constructs are mana expensive. But that's why I gave you all those Mana Potions." He said before cupping her face. "You cannot be lax in your fights Mel. I may be capable of protecting you in these lower level IDs but I won't be able to do the same if you ever come up to the Higher Level IDs with me."

Mel bit her lips but nodded. "I understand my lord. And I'm sorry for having disappointed you."

"And I'm sorry for making you feel bad." He said with genuine sincerity. "Now, what else did you do wrong?"

For the next few minutes, they went back and forth and discussed what she could've done better in this fight before they went around the forest and started collecting the various loot left behind by the dead spiders as well as the Spider Queen.

"19 bottles of 3rd level Health Potion, 16 bottles of 3rd level Mana Potion, 8 bundles of spider silk, 2 bottles of spider poison, 9 spider fangs, 5 spider eyes, and 1 skill book." He announced after they'd done gathering the loot. "Plus 32 silver moon, and 264 silver stag coins."

"A bit more than 2 Gold Dragons." Mel said with slight disappointment. "Nothing but chump change."

"Perhaps for us." He said with a shrug as he put the silver coins in his "But for a normal denizen of this planet, that's the equivalent of 2 years of income."

"Hmm… I can see how a small folk would consider this a huge sum. But it doesn't really help us in any way."

"Perhaps not yet. But the farther you go in the ID, the more you earn. With the number being almost doubled in each level." He said "So eventually, you'll be able to earn hundreds if not thousands of gold dragons in each ID run."

Not that he would allow either him or Mel to use that gold.

Using a little bit of gold or silver from the ID would not change anything. But if they started using thousands of gold dragons that they farmed from the Dungeon, then they'll cause an inflation in Westeros, with the value of gold dragons decreasing rapidly.

"Well, let's go back now." He said and took Mel's hand before he used ID Escape and they appeared back in her room.

It was dark in her room but he could see the first rays of dawn coming from the horizon.

"I'm tired. Going to take a nap." Mel announced before she dropped to her bed. And within a few seconds, she was sound asleep.

Fighting inside a giant spider infested for hours would tire anyone out.

He covered her with a blanket before he went to his own room through the secret door that connected their rooms.

He personally didn't need a lot of sleep. His Vitality being high enough that he could make do with only an hour of sleep a day. And could go on for weeks without even a little bit of sleep.

Despite that, he still took a full 8 hours of sleep every few days, since not getting that amount of sleep made him feel strange.

Not today though. Today, he had a lot of work to do. Mostly because by noon, he'll be departing to Kings Landing to check up on his various businesses and properties.

—————

He entered the workshop and the nauseous smell of dozens of chemicals, organic fumes, and other substance hit him like a solid wall.

He almost staggered at the smell before he continued, making his way past a few acolytes until he eventually reached his query.

"Lucerys. You need to air out some of these fumes." He told the main scientist working in the lab. "It is not healthy for either you or anyone else to work in such conditions. Even with the air filter masks I recently made for you."

Lucreys, whose face was mostly hidden due to the large air filter mask he was wearing gave a nod before he ordered everyone to leave the room after the latest batch of test were finished.

Within moments, they were outside and one of the acolytes started working on the hand rotated exhaust fan to clear the lab.

Lucerys removed his air filter mask at this point, his face looking pale and his eyes having large eyebags as the young man gave him a huge smile.

"Your grace. You should've told us that you'll be coming. I'm sure we could have created a demonstration for you."

"If I announced that I was coming then I wouldn't have learned that you were working under such abysmal condition." He told his head scientist. Or what counted as scientist in this medieval world of theirs. "We'll have to add a new safety rule for the lab. Have one of your acolyte use the hand rotated exhaust fan and clear the air every hour or so."

"Hmm… the fumes stopped bothering me due to the air filter mask. But I can see where you're coming from. It'll be done your grace." Lucerys said thoughtfully before an excited grin took over his face. "I guess you want to see just how much progress we've made." "I do."

"Excellent!" Lucerys said before he barked out a few others at his acolytes to bring him the 'latest sample'. "We're still a bit far away from making what you asked of us. But we're getting closer. I can feel it in my bones."

He nodded, intent on judging the results with his own eyes. Though he doubted that Lucerys would lie to him about this. The man was even more excited about this venture than he was. Not even caring about the large sum of gold he'd promised the man and his acolytes if he succeeded.

Within minutes, the acolyte that had sent by Lucerys emerged out of the lab with a set of paper.

Lucerys took one of the paper from the top and showed it to him proudly.

The paper was yellow in colour and a bit translucent in its thinness. It was also a bit uneven, and had chips of wood and other stuff ingrained in it here and there.

He tried to rip the paper and the paper tore in half. Far easily than if it had been Lenin paper, even breaking in a few places.

Then he took the next few samples and put them through similar testing process. Even writing in a few of them.

By the end, he'd come up with his conclusion.

"It is definitely better than the paper you presented to me a moon ago. Far better in fact. I'm proud of you Lucerys. And your hard working acolytes. A bonus reward for you this moon."

Lucerys beamed at his praise, and the other acolytes cheered upon hearing the bonus reward part.

He wanted to say that they'll have to put in a lot more work before the wood pulp paper will actually become good enough to sell. But no point in dousing their enthusiasm right now.

The fact that they'd come this far within a few short moons was already very impressive.

He'd personally thought that it'll take years of research before the wood pulp paper is ready for production and sale. But it seemed like his dream might come true before this year ended.

Hiring Lucerys was indeed one of the best decisions of his life. The young knight was otherwise wasted in Driftmark.

He stayed for a few more minutes with Lucerys and his acolytes. Giving praise for their hard work and telling them about his expectations for the future before he moved on to meet the next person on his list.

—————

"Hello glum chum." He said as he took a seat in the tavern. The other people in the tavern blissfully unaware of his presence due to the giant hood that covered his face.

By this point, word of his victory against the Ironborn had spread throughout the realm. And the people of Dragonstone now saw him as something of a messiah/celebrity.

Meaning that people flocked to him for blessings whenever he's out here in the port town. So he needed to hide his face since he didn't want to get surrounded by a mob, or disrupt the business of the tavern owner.

"What…" Asha gave him a bleary eyed look and sighed. "You're here to make fun of me as well."

"You know I would not do that Asha." He said as he put a supporting hand on her shoulder, giving her a slight massage as he did so, using his Shaper power to relax her tensed muscles and the girl relaxed at his touch.

"I really need to ask you to give me a proper massage one of these days." Asha said as she sobered up a bit.

"Oh trust me, I have no problem with having a naked girl on my bed and giving her a massage that she'll remember for the rest of her life." He told her. "I might even add a happy ending to it, if you beg me hard enough."

"Keep dreaming." She said with a roll of her eyes before she slumped on the bench once again.

"That bad huh?"

Asha nodded. "A moon. That's how long I've been trying. But I've only managed to hire 23 people by now. That's not even half the crew I require for the ship you promised me."

"You do realise that if you stop being greedy and take one of the smaller Carracks, then you'll have no problem with a crew that size, right?"

"Yes, but I want to go anywhere I want in this world. Sail the harshest seas. And go through the toughest storms." She said, some of the old fire returning to her eyes before it dimmed down once again. "And I can't exactly do that with a small carrack."

"Perhaps. But you're not getting a larger crew Asha. I mean, look at how difficult it has been for you to hire these few sailors. And you've wasted and entire moon doing so. If you wait for too long, then these people leave you as well." He told her.

"None of this would be a problem if you just let me hire some of the Ironborn in this island." Asha said, almost petulantly before she gave him a pleading look. "Stephen. Please-"

"No." He told her, his face serious for once. "I can't let you take these people Asha."

"Why not? Why do I get to roam around freely while they're forced to do manual labor for a pittance. Are they not just as much Ironborn as I am."

"You are a princess… were a princess. They are not." He told her.

"What difference does that make?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"The difference is that you, Asha, are here as a ward. While they're here as prisoners. So while I can give you freedom in what you can and can't do. I can't, and won't do the same for these people. And nothing you say will change my mind."

Asha stared at him for a moment before she slumped. "Figures."

"Asha. Just take the smaller carrack. Get started. Once people see what a capable ship captain you are, they'll flock to work for you."

"But then I'll have to ask you for yet another ship." She said with a pout. "I don't want to do that when I already feel so indebted to you."

"Then don't." He told her. "I'll tell you about some of the most profitable sea routes in the Narrow Sea. Use them to get rich, and then buy a new, larger ship for yourself."

Asha looked thoughtful for a moment before she gave a nod.

"That's not a bad idea. Thanks Stephen. For everything" She said before she leaned forward to place a kiss on his lips.

Only for him to back down from her. "Not while you're drunk." Asha frowned at his words. "What's wrong with that?"

"Everything. First, you're drunk so you don't have a sound judgement. And I don't want you to regret anything you did with me. Second. I won't take advantage of you like this. And third." He gave her a disgusted look. "Your breath smells."

Asha gave him an incredulous look before she huffed. "Oh fuck you and your high standards, asshole."

"Not when you're drunk." He told her.

Asha gave him a blank look before both of them burst into chuckles.

Once they calmed down, Asha took his hand into her own. "No seriously. Thank you for everything Stephen. Without you… well, I don't even want to imagine how your mother would've treated me without you."

"Well, she wouldn't have kissed you into a stupor for once."

"You did not kiss me into a stupor." Asha protested as she crossed her arms and mock glared at him. "I was just… a bit dazed." "That's what you call being in a stupor."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"No" "Yes" "No" "Yes" "No"

He leaned forward and kissed her on her lips.

High level Kissing skill and Shaper power went to work and by the time he stepped back, Asha was in a stupor once again.

She came down from the high he'd given her and stared at him.

"What happened to you not taking advantage of me while I'm drunk?"

"Are you drunk right now?"

Asha looked confused at his words and thought deeply about it before she gave him a frown. "I think?"

He chuckled at her words before his face became serious. "I'll leaving Dragonstone for a few days. Perhaps a week or more. I wanted to inform you before I left."

Asha frowned at that. "Where are you going?"

"Kings Landing. I have a few properties there that I need to check up on. Will you be alright here?"

"Can I come with you?"

"No." He told her. "And I would prefer if you do not go to Kings Landing in your sails. It is… not a nice place. And many people in that city still hate the Ironborn."

"I make no promises." Asha said but raised her hands in surrounded upon noticing his unamused look. "Okay. I'll try to stay away from that place. Happy?"

"Yes. And go to Mel if you want anything. She'll arrange it for you."

"Go to the sexy lady in red. Got it."

"Very well. Now let me escort you back to the castle before you stumble into a gutter."