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Chapter 73: A new problem.
🕑 Added 2024-11-28 04:35:14 +0000 UTCAuthor's Note: Hey guys, sorry for the delay, but the chapter is here! It's a slow chapter, mainly focusing on how the last one ended and how Robb reflects on the repercussions of his actions. After that, we learn that someone has been scheming all along, and a new danger (which he had SOME idea of, but not completely) makes itself known thanks to this character. The next chapter will feature the trial for Petyr and the end of the Vale arc. I'll try to finish settling everything in the Vale and start the march to Seagard for the Iron Islands arc.
Game of Thrones: A Stark Shard.
Chapter 73: A new problem.
The Eyrie
Robb Stark.
When I woke up, I was startled and felt the weight on my chest. Last night had really happened, and I felt conflicted about it. While we hadn't gone the whole way through, we spent most of an hour enjoying each other.
I knew that, realistically, I had done nothing wrong. I was a king of two, almost three parts of Westeros. I lived in something that could be comparable to the Middle Ages. Still, even then, I feared how last night's actions would affect my relationship with Dacey. She and I understood that this could not last forever; honestly, I was grateful for that. She was a fantastic friend, and I would move the earth to keep her safe, like any of my companions. Still, I didn't see any future with her more than now, and she knew that there was no way for us to stay together when I became king.
Even if most of my people did not know of my plans, many more politically savvy people understood that my hand in marriage was one of my strengths, and keeping that spot open allowed me to form strong alliances when needed. There was only one person in this world who truly knew of my plan: Tyrion. Lord Manderly, on the other hand, did not hear it for me. Still, he was smart enough to infer that my supporting Daenerys was done to unite our hands and strengths to finish this war.
I was already thinning my troops way too much. I did not have enough men to do everything I needed, and there was no way I could gain them in the short term. Even if the lords of the Vale decided to follow me all the way from the beginning, they had enough problems in their lands for them to provide a significant number of soldiers.
No, I needed Dany, her men, and the dragons if I wished to avoid bloodshed and defeat the others with minimal losses. My power was potent, but I could not win that battle alone.
One thing I had no intention of doing was losing a Dragon to the night king. That was a plot point I always hated from the series, and having three dragons in the final battle was the best option. Along with the absolute force of nature that they would be when they grew up, they would be the cornerstone of my future dynasty.
"It's time to wake up," I murmured to Dacey, who was still sleeping with her head on my chest. I rubbed her hair for a bit and let out a sigh. While it would not last, there was no reason why I should not enjoy it while it lasted.
"Mmmm," she whined on top of me. "Good morning, your grace." She smiled flirtatiously. I see you are eager for more."
"No," I shook my head with a shiver, "We have a long day ahead of us, Dacey. Let's get ready."
Dacey pouted but followed my orders. She stood up and picked up her clothes, which had been thrown on the floor after last night. "I know what you are thinking, Robb." She whispered while changing.
"What do you mean, Dacey?" I tilted my head, observing her while she put on her clothes.
Dacey smirked when she noticed me ogling at her body, which was indeed a work of art. I had always preferred a more delicate form, but now I finally understood why death by snu-snu was so desired in my past life. She was like watching an Amazonian from DC. Ever since she started following me as part of my guard, I ensured that she obtained the same advantages as Jon and me with my powers, and I had crushed insects in all of my main guards' food.
She stood tall, taller than me, with all my "enhancements." She was easily 6'2 and had broad shoulders, but that didn't diminish her beauty. While she was not "Beautiful" by usual standards in Westeros, I, who had been born on earth in my past life, could see her appeal; her muscles flexed with the slightest movements, which was a sight to remember. She did not have a big chest, but her legs… Damn, she could choke me easily if she so wished.
I didn't provide my whole army with the same advantages because those insects were costly to create. I had better uses for my energy than to enhance minimally people who would probably die either way in an everyday battle.
No, the only ones who received the limited enhancement were Jon, Smalljon, the Karstarks, Dacey, and my great-uncle. I wasn't sure Theon would follow me when I started my invasion of the Iron Islands, so I avoided helping him that way for now. If he followed me through, he was the first in line for the next batch.
"I know that you are having trouble with how to proceed with our relationship," She said with a neutral tone, "Don't worry, I understand your position, and I do not fault you for that; I know that there is no way for us to be together, you are a King while I am only your guard,"
"Dacey, is not that"? I tried to intervene even if she was right, but she just shook her head.
"I know what it is like, Robb, but I don't care," She simply said while finishing putting on her clothes and smirking at seeing my eyes finally look at her face instead of her body.
"I do not care," she continued while approaching me. I know what I like, and I will have it as long as possible."
I gulped at the firmness in her eyes, and for the first time in my life, I felt like the prey instead of the hunter.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" I asked softly while closing the last inches between us.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she said with a throaty whisper. Now, shut up and kiss me before we leave. Don't worry your little head about all of this; just enjoy me while you can."
Two hours later.
Things took more time than I expected, and seeing the smirking faces of my guards did not help at all. The only thing I could do to hide my blush was to do something I've never tried with my bugs. I remember that Taylor used to immerse herself in the sensory input from her bugs, thus detaching any human emotions and focusing on the logical and tactical parts of her abilities.
While our powers were not exactly the same, their origin was, and if she could do it, so could I. I haven't tried that before because I felt that being machine-like was counterproductive to my goals, and I did not wish to use that if I could help it.
But for now, I was willing to try just to ignore my teasing companions, so I focused on every single insect I had individually instead of using them in hordes, and that way, I could feel my mind expand and my focus on "Myself" detach itself.
I could still see, talk, and do whatever I wanted. But my focus was distributed to millions of single organisms, and I could do so without feeling the embarrassment of being found out.
From what I could see, everyone, from Jon to the blackfish, had noticed Dacey's plans and had been waiting for her to act since it appeared I was dense enough not to notice the signs. However, they did not fault me, seeing that I was a healthy young man with a lot on his plate, so all of them were happy that I had a way to de-stress myself now.
"Good morning to you all," I said neutrally.
Jon looked at me with a raised eyebrow and said, "What's going on with you? Did something eat your tongue yesterday?"
Instead of reddening as I should have, I just smiled with complete tranquility: "No, I'm all good. I'm just trying something new with my power."
"Oh?" SmallJon asked interestingly, "I know you can control and create different insects, but what else can you do? We have never talked about this in length."
I turned to him, "That's the gist of it." I nodded in his direction. There's not much else that I can do, but right now, I'm trying to control all of them individually instead of groups like I did before. I'm diving deep into their consciousness for every single insect in my control at the same time."
"And what advantages does that have?" the blackfish inquired.
I just shrugged, "I would not call it an advantage, but there is a particular thing that happens whenever I do so."
"Tell us then, don't keep us waiting." Jon rolled his eyes.
"It appears that when I do so, I become more logical, and I can detach my feelings from my thought process." I said neutrally, "Maybe it will be useful in high-stress situations. I can't feel fear, embarrassment, guilt, or anything like that when I am like this."
"That's interesting," Jon said seriously. I can see some uses for that, especially if you need to do something you don't normally agree with."
"Aye," Brynden nodded, "Fighting without fear or concern for the future would do wonders on a battlefield. I could imagine many of the best tacticians worldwide being jealous of that ability."
"I just have a question," said Jon neutrally before he smirked, "Is the reason you are doing it now because you are embarrassed with what we have to say after last night?"
"Of course," I nodded unashamedly, "This way, I won't succumb to embarrassment, and you won't enjoy teasing me if I don't react."
The table burst out laughing, with Jon clutching his stomach and letting out some tears of laughter, "You, my brother, are a dumbass."
"And proud of it," I smirked, letting my focus fall back to my body and joining in the laughter.
"I admit it could be useful but also dangerous, so I won't use it if I can help it," I said somberly.
"Like what?" SmallJon asked seriously. We need to know about it so that we can understand better."
I fell silent at that, wondering if I should be honest about it, but after a moment, I sighed. These people were my most trusted aides, and they deserved to know.
"Imagine a situation where we are in a bad spot; if I were in that state, I would be capable of using you even if you were going to die because of it. As long as my life could continue, it would not matter who I had to sacrifice as long as I survived, not my father, mother, family, or friends; no one would be more important than my own survival," I said thoughtfully, "Some of you may think that I should do it either way, that my life is more important than any of you, but that is wrong for me. I don't wish to become like that. I lose my humanity in that state and will do whatever it takes, whether it is horrible or not."
The table went into a tense silence until Brynden broke it with a grunt, "I trust you, lad. Be careful with it, but use it if you see no other way. Maybe we could start some plans that way, and you could pass them on to your generals so that we can make some changes before implementing them to avoid the unnecessary cost of life that could happen."
"We will see," I shrugged, "For now, let's hope that we don't need it."
"Aye," Jon nodded somberly, "You are one of the best men I know, brother; I know you will be careful with it."
"I'll try," I smiled wryly.
"Now that this is over, where is Dacey, by the way?" He smirked.
"You are an ass, brother," I deadpanned at him, "Can we just let it be?"
"No way in hell will I let it be. I was already planning on penning a letter to Winterfell with the good news," he grinned. Could you imagine how your mother would react?"
I could feel my blood stopping, and with my insects, I had an outside view of me falling like never before, "You wouldn't dare," I whispered to him.
"No, I wouldn't," He smiled, "Just seeing your reaction made it worth it."
"Let's stop talking about this," I shook my head. There are more important things to talk about. The master is coming this way, by the way, and the servants are finished preparing the food."
"That's such a useful power you have, lad," The blackfish grunted.
The hall door opened, and the maester walked in timidly, carrying my cousin, looking around confusedly.
"Good morning to you, maester," I said in his direction with a smile, "How is little Robert? Has he been behaving?"
"Everything is going well, Your Grace." He smiled and started fretting to my cousin, who was moving from his spot, "He has been nervous, but nothing I cannot manage, Your Grace."
"Good," I replied softly, "You can come here, Robert, I promise I don't bite,"
When the maester took his arms away, little Robert ran toward me and started trying to get on my lap.
"Did you sleep well?" I asked him.
"Um," He nodded, "Will Mother eat with us?" He asked childishly.
"I'm afraid not, cousin," I shook my head. She had been a bad ruler, and she was going to stay in her room for a while. I will let you see her with our great-uncle after eating."
Robert bobbed his head, and the servants entered carrying plates of food, nothing fancy but filling nonetheless.
"Did you send the ravens as requested, maester?" I asked.
"Yes, Your Grace, the closest ones should already have received it, while the ones farther away will get them by the end of the day."
"Good, that's good," I patted him on the shoulder, "When you get back some ravens, I need you to send them to Harrenhal, Duskendale, and Winterfell."
"If you want, your grace, you could write the messages after we are done here. We still have some ravens left," Coleman nodded profusely. Lord Arryn used to need a lot of letters sent, so we have a good number of ravens at our disposal."
"Great news," I smiled, "Let's finish eating, and I will accompany you while little Robert goes with Brynden to see his mother for a bit."
As soon as I said that, Dacey entered the hall with a large smile on her face. Instead of getting embarrassed by the whistles and jeers from the rest of my group, she just smirked silently and started eating with gusto.
She could not hide the giddiness in her steps nor the small smiles that appeared on her face from time to time, and I could barely hide the ones that were on my face when our eyes met.
It was a ridiculous situation, and my companions noticed the byplay with smirks on their faces.
Deciding to ignore them, I focused on my food and even helped my cousin finish with his in my lap, trying my best to act as unconcerned as possible. After a while, we were done with everything.
"Uncle, would you like to take little Robert to see his mother for a while?" I asked softly. As long as she does not try anything funny, it would be all right for them to spend some time together."
Brynden nodded, "I hope this is a good idea, lad. But at least it will calm that woman down. I don't know where my brother went wrong with her, but she is not right."
"The paranoia she has been living with for the past few months and Littlefinger's manipulation did not help her at all, I fear," I sighed, looking at my cousin with some pity. I knew that it was going to be hard for them in the short term, but I genuinely believed that it was for the best to keep them apart for some time.
"Aye," he sighed. "I hope that Littlefinger dies screaming for all the damage he has done to our family."
"We will need to wait until the rest of the lord arrives for that." I reminded him, "But if you wish to visit him, I will not say a thing as long as he is all right for his trial."
"Heh," Brynden snorted, "I can do anything to him as long as he is alive, then?"
I nodded, and he smirked, "I'll take you up on that, lad."
"Come with me, maester Coleman," I addressed the fretting maester still sitting on the table while looking at us.
"Yes, your grace." He nodded, stood up, and started walking in front of me.
Jon followed me as my main guard for the day, while Smalljon returned to the sky cells, and Dacey went to do whatever she wanted since they rested after a night shift.
"Will you write something home, Jon?" I asked him while we walked, "I'm sure our siblings miss us dearly."
Jon walked beside me, but his steps slowed when he heard my question.
"Do you think so, Robb?" he asked with a wavering voice, which surprised me. He was usually stoic like his father and confident in everything he did, but it appeared that the acceptance of the rest of our family was something really important to him. Even if his relationship with his mother was not that close, the rest of my siblings adored him, just like me.
"I know so, brother. I also miss them a lot; sometimes, I have problems remembering their faces." I admitted shamefully, "I know that realistically, not much time has passed since we left Winterfell, but after all we have done, it feels way longer."
"Aye, I feel the same," Jon said, looking at the floor. "We've been through a lot, have we not? But it is worth it; we are closer to your goal of defeating the white walkers once and for all."
"Thanks for the confidence," I smirked at him, "Look ahead, we are already there,"
The maester entered his solar and went directly to where the ravens were ready.
"When you both finish writing your message, give them to me, and I will make sure they arrive at their destination as fast as possible. I will use the fastest raven for the one to Winterfell; as for the other ones, we will use the usual ones."
"Thanks a lot for your cooperation, maester Coleman," I nodded at him gratefully, "I know that there are some maesters that would be uncomfortable helping the ones who usurped their liege lord even if it was for a good reason."
"It is my pleasure to help, your grace." He said with a friendly smile, "I didn't understand why Lady Lysa was so adamant about staying neutral, but after hearing the rumors about what she did and seeing how Petyr had her under his thumb, I finally understood. Even if I could do nothing before, I am finally in the position to help your cause."
"Why would you want to help Robb, maester?" Jon asked, looking at Coleman dead in the eyes.
"You may not know this about me, my lord, but I am a Tollett, and the First Men blood flows through my veins, the same as you both," He smiled softly, "If I were to choose, I would rather have his grace leading Westeros than any other person in the world… After learning some things about the order of the maesters when I was in the citadel, I vowed to help whoever would fight against them."
My gaze sharpened at the maester, and I noticed him looking around nervously, "What are you talking about, Colemon?"
"I know you already noticed, your grace." He replied seriously, "I can see the distrust in your eyes, and knowing what I know, I can understand why you would feel that way against a maester you know nothing about."
"In fact," he continued looking around, "I noticed the insects in the room behaving strangely after you arrived. Is it possible that you can see through them?" he asked shrewdly.
Looking amazed, I laughed, "You are more perceptive than I believed, maester. You could have fooled me if you did not say a thing."
"But that's not why I wish, your grace," he smirked, forgetting the act of a frail man, his nervousness nowhere in sight. "It was a needed precaution after what I learned in the citadel."
Nodding thoughtfully, I waved my hand, "And what did you learn, maester? I know some things, but I have no eyes, and my information is incomplete."
While I was grilling the maester for information, Jon started writing his letter to Winterfell. He was so focused on his work that I left him alone.
"There was a lot, your grace, like the fact that the citadel was solely responsible for the death of the dragons, having poisoned them until they died, interfering with the pregnancies from the Targaryens and multiple other important people of the realm. Including your grandmother, your grace."
That last part brought my thoughts to a halt, and I could feel the fury rising like nowhere before, "What did you say?" I asked in a deadly whisper.
The maester looked surprised at my ignorance and panicked, "You did not know your grace? Your grandmother's death was orchestrated by the citadel. After she was gone, he started influencing your grandfather's thoughts to advance the citadel plans."
This was something I did not expect at all. I knew that they were a danger to my future dynasty, but I had no concrete evidence besides the knowledge from my past life. They were only theories instead of facts. This changed everything, and I would not allow them to continue under any circumstances.
"How sure are you of this, Colemon?" I asked seriously, "Is there any proof you can provide?"
The maester shook his head wryly, "I had to keep this cowardly act just to keep my life, your grace; I could not in any conceivable way obtain hard proof about it without risking my life further. But I know where they keep it."
I leaned in my seat, "Where, maester? Where do they have that proof?"
"The archmaesters of the citadel have a hidden chamber at the highest point of the library. They have all kinds of notes and diaries about what they have done throughout history. Since the order started, they have focused on controlling the world, starting with controlling education and limiting what people can learn. There are many more, and they are a real danger to whoever is in charge of the country.
I tapped my fingers on the table, thinking about how this knowledge would affect my plans. It was a shame that I did not have the time right now to do anything against them, but I was not going to forget about their transgressions any time soon.
"Right now, I need to focus on consolidating my power base," I sighed. But I promise that they will get their due. I wish to have a more in-depth conversation later so we can be on the same page going forward."
The maester nodded, and I grabbed a parchment and started writing multiple messages. The first was to Duskendale, ordering my troops to stay there and focusing on ensuring that no one in the Crownlands gets any ideas. The next one was to Harrenhal, where I would leave half of my forces, but the other half would go to Seagard and wait for me to arrive. I didn't know how much time I would stay here in the Vale, but I believed that if they started marching in two weeks to Seagard, I would have enough time to arrive at nearly the same time.
The last letter was to Winterfell; the beginning of it was mainly about my feelings about them. I missed them a lot, and I wished everything was over so that I could go back and hug them hard, asking for updates on my family and the norm. Still, after that, I started writing the critical part of the letter.
With my last order to my father, he had started his task of stealing all the ships he could from the Ironborn attacking and hiding them in places only northerners would know. In the letter, I asked my father to speak with Lord Manderly to send his best half of his best sailors and keep the rest on high alert so they could defend the coast from the pirates of the three sisters.
With them arriving wherever Father had hidden the ships, he was going to man them to the brim, leaving just enough space for my men to fill the gap in the forces. With him sending the ships to Seagard, we were going to invade the Iron Islands once and for all.
