Chapter 21
The sun shone bright in a clear blue sky above Themyscira, with a cool breeze coming in from the sea blowing through the large window of the room he shared with Hippolyta. It seemed, to Ned, that the weather there was always perfect. Never too hot, nor too cold. It was certainly an enchanting land, almost as enchanting as the Amazons who lived on it.
One particularly lovely Amazon had planted her massive, muscular behind on Ned’s lap, burying every inch of his shaft deep within her core. Her name was Nubia. Hippolyta had appointed her as Ned’s personal guard, telling him she was one of her finest warriors. Themyscira’s queen had barely left the room before Nubia had leapt onto Ned, eagerly demanding he take her.
Ned had never been one to deny a woman in need.
She rode him hard and fast, a thin layer of sweat forming on her flawless skin as she exerted herself. Ned was content to lay back against the pillows and enjoy the show. Like all other Amazons Ned had seen, Nubia was an exceedingly beautiful woman, with a regal face, big dark-brown eyes and a huge mass of frizzy black hair that fell in a curtain down her back.
Nubia had skin as dark as Chataya’s, with curves to exceed the brothel madame. Just like Hippolyta and every other Amazon Ned had seen naked, Nubia had abundant curves and well-toned muscles. Her body was made for battle and love-making. Not necessarily in that order. Her massive, dark breasts bounced happily before his eyes, both capped with small coal-black nipples that had formed hardened points in her arousal.
Ned took one of her soft, perfect globes of flesh in his hand, making the warrior moan happily above him. She was truly a work of art. Ned wondered how the Lusty Wolf ever left Themyscira with beauties like Nubia throwing themselves at him.
The sounds of rhythmic slapping of Nubia’s muscular arse on Ned’s thighs bounced off the polished stone walls of Hipployta’s room. The echos almost drowned out Nubia’s deep, wanton moans as Ned felt her cunt squeezing his cock with every thrust of her wide hips. Her hands were pushing down on his chest, holding herself up as she rode him. She would rise halfway up the length of Ned’s manhood, then slam herself the whole way down, embracing Ned in her impossibly tight and warm wetness.
Nubia wouldn’t settle for anything less than the entire length of his cock. She was an Amazon warrior, proud and skilled. She’d told him she hadn’t meet a foe she needed to yield to… Yet… Ned was all too happy to let her test her stamina against his. She wasn’t the first to do so, she likely wouldn’t be the last.
In her eyes Ned saw wanton desire and defiance. None had ever been able to fuck her like he had, or bring her to as many explosive climaxes. Nubia wanted to prove she was the best. She was certainly trying hard as she fucked herself on Ned’s throbbing cock.
His hand rose from her exquisitely bouncing breast and snaked around her neck, choking her slightly as she rode him. The Amazon’s eyes spread wide for a moment in surprise, then were filled with an animal lust that might have frightened Ned if he hadn’t seen it in Hippolyta’s eyes the night before.
Nubia began riding Ned with renewed vigour, whining happily as he made her shiver atop him. The heat of their union was near unbearable. The frantic pace of their coupling made the bed rock back and forth beneath them, thudding dully against the wall. Ned thanked the gods that Hippolyta had replaced her old broken bed with a much more sturdy alternative.
The hand of Ned’s that wasn’t wrapped around Nubia’s throat was gripping her hip tightly, urging her back and forth as her pleasure caused her to lose her rhythm. Ned felt her clenching around him as he had multiple times before, he knew her end was near.
Nubia’s mouth hung open in a high-pitched wail, pressing her face against Ned as she climaxed for a sixth time. He could feel every muscle of her cunt clenching around his member, massaging it, lavishing it with her warmth, begging him to give her what she was owed.
Feeling he had proved himself her superior, Ned let go and filled the dark-skinned Amazon with enough of his seed to father an army of children, deposited deep within her core.
They lay together for a time, breathing heavily as ripples of their pleasure coursed through them. Nubia remained in her position lying fully on top of Ned, her massive breasts pressed comfortingly against his chest as she sighed happily. “From the year I fucked my first woman, they told me tales of Brandon Stark… Of his stamina… His size… His prowess… I cursed the gods for allowing me to be born so long after such a man had left Themyscira.”
“Have I met with your expectations?” Ned chuckled, looking down at her.
Nubia turned up and met his gaze with a big, cheshire grin on her face before leaning up to kiss him. “You’ve exceeded my expectations… but there is always room for improvement.” She laughed before she leapt up from the bed, her curves bouncing happily. “Come, the Queen has instructed me to take you to the waters.”
“Waters?” Ned asked as he rose.
“Come,” Was the only answer she gave him. “I will show you.” Neither bothered to dress as she lead him by the hand out of the room. Walking down the corridor, an equally naked duo of Arthur and another Amazon joined them, it seemed Arthur had received a similar treatment to Ned.
“Whatever would Lyanna say.” Ned chuckled when he saw Arthur, nodding to his companion.
“You know Lya,” Arthur smiled, “She’d want to join in.” Together they were lead through the capital of Themyscira. It was the middle of the day so the streets were full of beautiful women, many of whom bowed to Ned as they passed. All of them stole a glance or three at his cock as it swung freely.
Eventually Nubia and, Arthur’s guard Alexa brought them to a massive white marble temple. Inside lay an empty wide and deep pool of clear blue water, with marble steps leading down into the bottom and a great polished mirror at the other end of the pool.
“You are to be blessed with the gifts of the Amazons.” Nubia finally said, after leading them to the steps.
“Once you are fully submerged, count to ten, then rise from the pool.” Alexa explained. Ned and Arthur looked to each other for a moment.
“You two are the first outsiders since Brandon to be given this gift.” Nubia added. Ned and Arthur accepted their offer and began to enter the pool. They instantly noticed the water began to glow around them when they entered.
“Do not be afraid.” Alexa encouraged them.
The two men continued on. It felt like the most pleasant bath Ned had ever had. The water was the exact temperature he wished it to be. The aches he had long felt in his body floated away.
“The godswood pools aren’t a scratch on this.” Arthur chuckled as their feet reached the floor of the pool, with the water going up to their chests.
“I’m tempted to agree with you.” Ned was surprised to be admitting it.
Together they took a deep breath and fully submerged themselves in the water. The feeling was so perfect Ned didn’t want to leave. He counted to ten all to quickly for his liking, then grudgingly rose from beneath the water, Arthur did the same.
At first Ned thought the water had blurred his vision, but after he rubbed his eyes, Ned still saw the same thing. Arthur Dayne had always been a handsome man, any who denied it were clearly blind or lying. Even so, the man had had approached his forty-fifth nameday that year.
Yet looking standing before him, Ned could not say Arthur was any older than thirty. From Arthur’s similar reaction, Ned imagined the water had an equal effect on his own face as well. It was true, Ned had felt better than he had in years, even feeling stronger than ever before, but he had to see it for himself.
Ned rushed out of the pool to the mirror and saw a younger man where an older one had stood previously. Arthur quickly did the same.
“…What is this?” Ned asked in wonderment.
“The gifts of the Amazons.” Nubia proudly stated.
“Is this permanent?” Arthur asked, running his fingers over where the creases had been on his face.
“The newfound strength is permanent but you will still age, if a little slower than you used to.” Alexa said. “You will need to return to the waters to become younger again.”
“Take your time.” Ned heard Nubia’s warm voice. “It will likely take some getting used to.”
She was certainly right. It was later in the afternoon when Arthur and Ned left the temple, still adjusting to how their bodies felt now.
“I feel stronger than ever.” Arthur said, looking down at his arms as he flexed his muscles.
“Me too.” Ned agreed. “Perhaps we should test ourselves in the training arena?”
“It’ll be good to get some practice in before we go home.” Arthur smiled.
Go home. It shocked Ned that he’d almost forgotten about it. Themyscira and it’s women had been so enchanting…
It took them some time to walk to the great marble arena that was the Amazon’s training ground. Two great statues of Amazon warriors in armour with spears and shields stood on either side of the entrance. Ned and Arthur walked under their shadows as they entered the arena.
There were several groups of Amazons sparring, with sword, spear and fist, their sisters gathered around them shouting encouragement. The biggest group was around a raised platform in the centre, where Ned recognised Diana fist fighting a dark-skinned Amazon with short black hair.
The loudest of Diana’s supporters in the crowd were her two sisters, Hippolyta had introduced them as Donna and Cassie. One favoured Diana in looks while the other more closely resembled Hippolyta.
A lot of the fighters were naked, Diana and her opponent were no exception. Ned had seen her body and the way she fought before, but being on the receiving end of her fury meant he hadn’t been given a proper chance to admire her. She was certainly worthy of admiration, with a body surpassing even her mother.
Ned and Arthur watched for a time, appreciating their skill in combat before Diana threw her opponent into the sand and raised her hands with a howl of victory, sweating in the warm sun.
“Diana is the victor!” An Amazon standing at the side shouted, much to the joy of the spectators.
“Are there none who can stand against my sister!?” The dark-haired sister -Donna- shouted proudly.
“Ned’ll be happy to try.” Arthur called out, raising Ned’s hand, much to his annoyance. Every Amazon in the arena suddenly turned to face them as Ned glared at Arthur. “He’s already beaten her once…”
“He cheated!” Diana shouted instantly. “But I’ll be happy to put him in his place in front of all my sisters.”
“I have no wish to fight you…” Ned said, raising his hands.
“Then you are a coward.” Cassie laughed.
“Do you really wish to fight me?” Ned asked Diana.
“I’ll always be happy to knock a man into the dirt, even after he’s received the gifts of Themyscira.” She smirked down at him.
“On your own head be it…”
All the Amazons in the arena were gathered around the raised platform, their separate sparring matches forgotten. Ned and Diana stood on opposite ends of the circle, with no weapons and no clothing to shield them. The bell had been rung, their fight had just begun.
Letting out a battlecry, Diana launched herself at him, aiming a strong kick to his stomach, no-doubt an attempt to knock him out of the raised circle. Ned leapt to the side to avoid her foot, then blocked a punch Diana sent towards his face. He dodged the next blow and put some space between them, remembering to keep his feet light.
“Do you plan to run from me the entire fight?” Diana jeered as her sisters cheered her on. The first time they fought, Ned had thought her to be one of the fastest and strongest opponents he had ever faced, that was still true.
“I’m unsure,” Ned responded to her taunts. “Do you plan to land a blow at some point?” That brought a scowl to her face. With a yell, she surged forwards, ducking low and aiming her fist at Ned’s stomach, at the last moment he caught her fist in his hand, much to her shock. Still gripping her hand, he spun around, using the momentum of her own attack against her, sending the princess stumbling backwards after he turned around, almost falling off the raised platform.
But Diana was an experienced warrior, she regained her footing quickly and aimed a kick to the side of his left leg with her shin. That one certainly connected as Ned nearly felt the leg give out from one blow. The spin had put him out of position, left him vulnerable.
He wouldn’t do it again.
Now was the time for Ned to aim a few blows at his opponent, she dodged away from his first series of strikes, a probe to test her reaction speed. Ned kept up the pace and hit her with the second series, this one tighter and quicker than the first. This time a blow landed, but she was able to block it in time. Forcing her back, Ned hit Diana with the third series. This time Ned grabbed her guard and yanked it away before his fist connected with her chin.
A deathly silence fell on the audience when the blow landed, sending Diana stumbling back. Ned saw a pure fury in Diana’s gaze when she locked at him. He wondered if perhaps he’d made a mistake.
The two of them traded blows from fists, elbows, knees and legs. Some were blocked, others were not. On both sides. They both sweated out their fight in the afternoon sun. The longer the fight drew on, the less Diana’s sisters seemed to be sure of her victory.
Ned used his metal arm more for defence than attack as he did not want to truly hurt Diana, given her repeated attacks on his cock, Ned did not imagine she felt the same way. Even as they fought each other, Ned could not help but marvel at Diana’s beauty and skill. She was a true warrior.
After a mistimed punch, Ned managed to get Diana in a lock and threw her over his hip. She managed to grab him as she fell and they both hit the sand together. They rolled together for a few moments before she was on top of him and Ned was on his back.
A great cheer sounded throughout the watching crowd. It was at that time when they both remembered they were wearing nothing at all…
Ned and Diana both stilled for a moment, panting as they locked eyes, their blood running hot. Before Ned knew what was happening, Diana’s lips crashed down to claim his own. Ned could hear the cheers of the Amazons dying away slowly until there was only Diana’s moaning as she ground her hips on top of his and their tongues dancing together.
“Gods, Diana!” Ned heard one of the Amazons exclaim. “Must you always end up fucking your opponents?”
Neither of them cared as they rolled together in the sand. In moments Diana was on her back and Ned was above her, around her, inside her. He was taking her hard and fast, out in the open and in front of her sisters. The Princess screamed and wrapped her legs around his waist as he ploughed her rotten.
Ned was dominating Diana as he’d dominated her mother the night before. He pinned her down by her wrists, forcing her hands into the earthy sand as his throbbing shaft surged into her almost painfully tight, silky depths again and again. Ned grunted as he looked into her eyes, wide and glassy in pleasure. He spat into her her mouth and she moaned wantonly.
It was some of the most intense fucking Ned had ever experienced. Diana’s skin was flushed with desire and shiny from the physical exertion, the earthy sand sticking to her skin as the echoes of Ned’s balls clapped against her arse cheeks.
She seemed to be in a world of her own, her head tilted back, a near constant string of moans tumbling from her lips. Her massive lightly bronzed breasts, bounced back and forth in time with Ned’s thrusts. Small dark, achingly hard nipples just begging for Ned’s attention.
“Gods… Hera!” Had been the first coherent words Diana had uttered in some time, her thighs quaking as Ned continued his assault on her cunt. He set a fast, hard, tireless pace, working every inch of her cunt harder than it had ever been worked before. Ned pierced her with every inch of his throbbing meat, again and again.
One climax after another was torn from her body. Again and again her cunt squeezed him like a vice as she bathed him in the evidence of her extreme pleasure. Ned pressed hard on Diana’s wrists, pinning both of her arms above her head. She was open and vulnerable to his ministrations. Another hard slam from his hips ripped another rapturous moan from the Princess’s lips as his shaft plundered her depths.
“It seems your mother is much better at taking my cock than you are.” Ned grunted into her ear. Just as he expected, that remark lit a fire behind Diana’s eyes, bringing them into burning focus on him.
“That old goat doesn’t know the first thing about taking a cock!”
“Then show me how you’re her better.” Ned grunted, releasing her wrists from his grip and placing his hands on either side of her head.
Diana wasted no time, wrapping her arms around his head and pulling him into an impassioned embrace. Ned began fucking Diana with renewed strength, her own hips rising up to meet him, their bodies colliding in the most lecherous and sublime ways.
Diana held his face to hers, nose to nose as their tongues lashed each other. One of Ned’s hands fell to cup one of the immense melons that were currently bouncing on her chest. Playing with her nipple and as their tongues intertwined and their hips slapped together brought Diana to another explosive climax. Her hoarse moans adding to the wet sounds their bodies made as they collided, becoming a divine melody of lust and debauchery with her body as the instrument.
“Goooooods! Fuck! Take me!” Diana wailed, pleasure wrecking her body in an explosive eruption.
Every inch of the Amazon Princess was quivering, begging him to use her to sate his desires. Every caress of her cunt against his cock was urging him to seed her, to claim her, to make her his.
Ned’s mind strayed out of thought and time as he rutted her like a beast. He could have spent moments or days ploughing her and he would not have been able to tell the difference. He and Diana were all that there was, and her perfect, molten cunt.
Ned felt a great sense of satisfaction breaking the Princess of the Amazons as he did, the same way he broke her mother the night before. Her arms were wrapped tightly around him in a death-grip, as if he might disappear the moment she let go. Every breath for Diana’s lips was a labour, a high pitched whine or a deep and throaty pant.
First her eyes rolled back, closing in pleasure, then her moans began to weaken, not from a lack of pleasure, but from a lack of strength to voice it. After her voice when her legs, unhooking from around Ned’s waist and falling to the ground where they quivered weakly. Finally Diana’s arms loosened around his neck as the fell into a pleasure induced coma.
Ned did not care.
It made little difference to him if she was awake or not, so he continued to rail her with all his might. Eventually Ned tired of their position and desired to see her bountiful arse bouncing on his cock, so he turned her unconscious body over onto her front with his cock still inside her. The sensations of feeling her cunt rotating on his cock were indescribable in their capacity to pleasure him.
Pulling her body up by her divinely wide hips, Ned mounted her like a dog and resumed his domination of her body. The cushioning of the massive, pillowy cheeks of her muscular arse bounced against his pelvis wonderfully, with lewdly loud slaps echoing from their debauched union.
Ned’s eyes roamed her muscular back, a thin layer of the earthy sand sticking to her skin with her sweat. Diana was still unconsciously moaning face-down into the dirt as Ned plowed her, taking his pleasure from her body by force.
Eventually deciding Diana should be awake for her defiling, he brought his hand down on the fleshy globes of her arse again and again, until the bronzed skin had turned red under the force of the blows.
“This is what you wanted.” Ned growled into her ear when she woke, pulling her dark hair back to her face was out of the sand.
“Y-y-yessssss…” She moaned almost incoherently.
“Said it louder.”
“Yes! Yes! This is what I wanted!”
“When you heard me taking you mother last night, you wished I was fucking you instead, didn’t you?!” Ned punctuated his question with a hard smack on her behind that made the Princess howl.
“YES! YES! I WANTED YOU TO BE FUCKING ME INSTEAD! CLAIM ME! MAKE ME YOURS! I’M YOUR WHORE!”
With that, Ned finally unleashed a tidal wave of his seed directly into Diana’s womb. He held her there for what felt like an age, his cock pulsing as he spent rope after rope of his seed inside her. The sensation of being filled clearly triggered another explosive climax from Diana, who’s operatic tones could likely be heard all over the island.
When Ned was finally done, he looked up from his broken lover to find that the crowd had devolved into an orgy around them. Arthur was having the time of his life being ridden by two Amazons, one on his face, the other on his cock. A small cough brought Ned’s attention to an Amazon standing beside him. She had shoulder-length blonde hair, dazzling blue eyes and the largest breasts that he had ever seen.
“I am Karen.” She said, her monumental chest puffed up for his gaze. “…Could I be next?” In her eyes was a challenge, daring him to take her.
Ned only chuckled and withdrew from Diana, still hard…
———
The moon was high in the sky as they feasted in the main square of Themyscira, a great circle of long tables had been formed around a massive bonfire at the centre. It seemed every inch of the table was covered in platters of delicious food and cups of wine. There was drinking and laughter and music and song aplenty.
Ned sat on a throne next to Hippolyta, she had told him they were celebrating the anniversary of some great victory. Ned could see Arthur in the distance, leaning close to Alexa, making her blush and giggle. It was tempting for Ned to try the same with Hippolyta, he was however stuck to his throne as earlier on, Diana had crawled under the table and was sucking his cock with all her might.
Since their altercation in the arena earlier in the day, she had become much more agreeable with Ned’s presence, even seeking him out.
“You really are Brandon’s daughter, aren’t you?” Hippolyta laughed when she saw Diana was sucking Ned’s cock next to her.
“I’m sure she gets her cock-sucking skills from you.” Ned laughed. It was certainly a first for him, having a conversation with a woman as her daughter pleasured his cock.
“No doubt she still has much to learn, Diana couldn’t hope to match my experience.” Hippolyta responded.
“I wouldn’t be so sure…” Ned grunted as Diana drew him deep into her throat. She knew her mother was disparaging her talents.
“I will not have it!” Hippolyta suddenly stood, ripped off her dress, pulled Ned’s chair out from the table and joined her daughter on his cock. By that point, Ned was passed shocked at anything the Amazons did. None of them even seemed to mind that their Queen and their Princesses were fellating their King together. They weren’t the only ones having sex during the feast, a few dozen feet away, Ned could see Nubia and Korra going at it on the table, knocking platters and cups aside in their fervour.
It was quickly apparent that Diana and Hippolyta worked much better together than they ever did apart. Their mouths worked in tandem as they worshiped him together. Ned let out a groan as his hands went to their heads, motioning them up and down the sides of his throbbing member.
“Stark,” Ned heard a voice on the other side of the table. He looked up to see Hippolyta’s other daughters, Donna and Cassie standing before him.
“Do you know where…” Cassie’s question hung in the air as her eyes drifted down to her older sister and mother on his cock.
“I can explain.” Ned managed to choke out.
“Without us?” Donna sounded insulted.
Before he knew it, he had Hippolyta, Diana, Donna and Cassie all attending his cock together. A Queen and her three daughters. Two with dark hair and two with blonde hair. Ned was sure he could die a happy man with those four attending him at once. Hippolyta and Diana and both chosen a ball to attend, as Donna and Cassie lavished his shaft. The quartet worshiped him for some time, moaning wantonly as their mouths worked away.
Ned was nearing his end when he felt something… familiar. Then he heard a mighty roar that shook the foundations of the island.Snowsong. Ned leapt up from the table, all pleasure forgotten.
She’s out there and she needs me.
They all do.
Others were standing, they too heard Snowsong’s cries. It took Ned a moment to determine the direction they were coming from. After another pained whine, Ned began to run, Arthur following behind him. Another roar was met with an Amazon’s battle cry and the sound of a tree being uprooted.
Eventually they got to the tree line outside the city near the harbour. Ned saw a group of Amazons attacking his dragon, trying to lash ropes to her to keep her from flying away, a scene of devastation around them.
“A mighty beast has landed on our shores!” One of the Amazons shouted when she saw Ned. “I will gift you it’s head!”
“I COMMAND YOU TO STOP!” Ned thundered, the temperature dropping from pleasantly warm, to colder than the North in a snowstorm in a matter of moments. Their breath quickly becoming clouds in the cold.
The Amazons all froze, even the one hanging from one of Snowsong’s horns. His mighty dragon slowly turned to face him when she heard his voice. Moments later Snowsong was bandying towards him on tired and unsteady legs.
She must have been flying to me this whole time, Ned realised.
Her head fell to the ground in front of Ned when she reached him, a deep hum emanating from her throat to signify her happiness.
“I missed you, girl.” Ned whispered as he threw himself against Snowsong’s maw. Ned knew Arthur was talking to the other Amazons, but he did not care to listen. He was with his dragon again. From the look of her, Snowsong’s wounds were superficial, at worst she seemed exhausted from flying all the way with no food or rest. Feeling his dragon’s scales against him again, Ned could hardly believe he had let them be apart for so long. It shamed him, to have abandoned his family for any time at all.
“Is this beast yours?” Ned heard Hippolyta ask him after a time spent stroking his dragon.
“Yes.” Ned turned to the Queen, but still keeping a hand against Snowsong, as if she might disappear if he were to let go. “Her name is Snowsong. You will have her wounds seen to, then Arthur and I will return home.”
“But you’ve only just arrived.” Hippolyta was clearly surprised.
“I know, and you’ve been very kind. But Arthur and I have people who need us back home. We must go to them.”
Hippolyta nodded at that. “Then you must go to them.” She said. “But not alone. The Amazons of Themyscira will join you.”
**********************
Robb
It was a cold night in Riverrun’s godswood, Robb silently cursed the tradition of the Trial of Winter requiring that he take it wearing only a loincloth. Especially when a thick blanket of snow had been conjured to cover the ground.
In a few moments i’ll never feel the cold again, he consoled himself as he stood before the crowd gathered in front of Riverrun’s weirwood. His mothers were in attendance along with his siblings and his lords.
Rhaenys was idly stroking circles on her rounding stomach, a small smirk resting on her features as she appreciated just how tight his loincloth was. Looking at her, Robb prayed it would grow no tighter. His wife was a vision of beauty as she always was. Clearly pregnancy and Queendom suited her.
The enigmatic Tetra Gilcrest held a bronze goblet high in the moonlight as she recited the ancient spells in the Old Tongue, as incense hung low in the air and a circle of Children of the Forest chanted and beat heavy drums. In spite of the fact that she resided in Winterfell, Robb knew little of Yennefer’s mother other than that she was considered the most powerful magic user in the North and his uncle Beric’s oldest lover. She had arrived with reinforcements from the North along with a portion of Jon’s army including his wives and Beric.
Robb remembered the first time he’d ever seen Yennefer being scolded in Riverrun’s main yard when Tetra arrived, for failing to protect her Stark. It was almost as shocking as finding out that she was Yennefer’s mother and Beric was her father. Looking back on the event, Robb recognised that he should probably have realised the relation between the three of the much sooner, given how similar Tetra and Yennefer were.
With Tetra’s arrival and the subsequent revelation that Yennefer was some kind of cousin to him, came news: The Twins had been set afire, killing old Lord Walder and the vast majority of his sons. Ser Stevron and Emmon Frey had been remarkably unmoved by the news of the deaths of most of their male family members, souring Robb’s opinion of them even more. Tetra had claimed that it was Tywin Lannister sending his dragonriders to burn the castle in recompense for helping his enemies.
Robb knew better.
It sickened him what his great-aunt Lara had done in his name, but he saw the wisdom in her words. “The Late Lord Frey could never be trusted. Nor could his sons. Better for them to die sooner rather than later and blame it on our enemy.” But then he would find his squire Olyvar weeping for his fallen family and Robb would feel the guilt again.
“Do you swear to uphold the traditions and practices of house Stark?” Tetra’s crisp voice drew Robb from his thoughts.
“I swear.” Robb answered, hoping his wandering thoughts hadn’t distracted him too much.
Tetra took a step towards him, the silk of her long black dress shifting as her legs moved. “Do you swear to protect and defend the North till your dying breath?”
“I swear.” Robb answered again.
Tetra took another step. “And do you swear to rule the North and it’s people with a firm hand, strong arm, fair mind and a kind heart?”
“I swear!”
The drums silenced as Tetra took her last step to Robb and handed him the goblet, the thick dark-red liquid bubbling inside it.
“Then drink, Robb son of Eddard…” She said. “Sleep and rise again as the Stark of Starks!”
This was a ceremony all his fathers going back to the son of Brandon the Builder had undergone. The enormity of the legacy Robb was now a part of came crashing down on him in that moment. His last thoughts were of his father as he raised the cup to his lips and drank.
It was the single most bitter, disgusting drink he had ever tasted in his life, and Jon had once dared him to drink off-milk mixed with vinegar and lime juice.
Robb forced himself to drink every drop, the liquid burning it’s way down his throat. The world began to spin and he was dimly aware of being laid back into a mound of snow which he was then buried in. Strangely enough it was comforting. He fell from the world and saw many things he did not understand, but many things he did. He saw memories from the past come to life before him.
There was Rhaenys leading him to the godswood in Winterfell telling him she wanted to give him a nameday gift. Then he was flying on Gnasher for the first time. Then he was forging his crown of bronze and Uru alongside Jon and his sisters.
Images and voices swirled around Robb so quickly he couldn’t make sense of them. He felt himself falling, then rising again as he leapt out from under the pile of snow with a mighty howl, cutting through the silence of the godswood.
Robb had never felt more alive than in that moment. Every one of his hairs were standing on end. His heart was thundering in his chest as he observed the world in a new light with his newly enhanced senses. Everything felt clearer, more focused. He could hear the sound of a bee’s wings beating together as it hovered from one flower in the godswood, to the next.
Locking eyes with Rhaenys, Robb heard her heart beating slightly quicker than usual along with a much softer one slightly below it. It was their child. Is this how father saw the world? A great swell of emotion nearly overtook him in that moment.
The silence was broken when the Greatjon yelled “The King in the North!” First Jon joined him, then came Uncle Benjen and all the rest, cheers and shouts echoing all around. Robb felt half a god in that moment.
After that, the ceremony was concluded and Jon approached him with a robe while Rhaenys carried his crown, her own resting prettily on her head. Torrhen’s crown had been lost three centuries ago, yielded up to Aegon the Conqueror when he knelt in submission. What Aegon had done with it no man could say. In the traditions of the Stark kings of old, Robb had forged a new crown for himself with his siblings. It was an open circlet of hammered bronze incised with the runes of the First Men, surmounted by nine dark uru spikes wrought in the shape of crude longswords.
Of gold and silver and gemstones, it had none; bronze and uru were the metals of winter, dark and strong to fight against the cold. A cold that Robb found himself now immune to.
“A shame to cover up your body after such an improvement.” Rhaenys smirked as Robb donned the robe.
“For the first time in your life, I think you’re taller than me.” Jon added, chuckling. It was true, Robb found his body bulging with muscles he didn’t even know he had, even growing a few inches to overtop his twin.
“Alas, I am sure you will find some way to cope.” Robb told his brother, placing his crown atop his head.
“We are so proud of you, my son.” His birth-mother’s voice drew his attention to the trio as they stood behind his wife. From the way her hands were fidgeting, Robb could tell she wanted to take him in her arms but was resisting the urge, given the lords in attendance.
“I hope to prove worthy of the office I hold.” Robb said in as regal a fashion as he could manage.
Thankfully it was becoming easier, being king. Wearing a crown felt like a suit of armour to Robb, it gave him courage and strength he didn’t know lay within him. He felt more than just a man. But even then the weight of his responsibilities could feel heavy.
Rhaenys had thankfully taken to being queen much easier than he had being king. There was an ethereal grace to her, an easy charm. Every morn Robb woke with her in his arms, he thanked the gods a woman so remarkable had fallen in love with him. Rhaenys then took his arm.
“You already are, my love.” She said as they began to leave the godswood.
——
It was later in the day when five dragons were spotted coming from the North. In the night following Robb being declared king and in the face of Tywin’s multiple dragonriders, Robb had sent a message to be read aloud in every keep, city and village in the North. A call for any with Stark blood to come and try to tame a dragon and fight with them, be they noble or common-born. Fortunately there was never a shortage of people with Stark blood in their veins. Along with the dragon came the promise of land and titles when the war ended.
It was certainly a gamble, one they had not all been in agreement on taking. However they lived in desperate times, with no idea just how many dragonriders Tywin Lannister had under his control as Jon’s captive was stubbornly refusing to talk. Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen had rolled that same dice during the Dance of Dragons. Robb hoped it would turn out better for him than it did for her.
So far only five of house Stark’s riderless dragons had been tamed, and almost twice as many people had died trying to claim a dragon. Robb had gone out to meet them in a field on the northern bank of the Tumblestone, with five dragons to match their’s.
Wearing his crown, Robb stood in a row with Jon and Alysanne to his right, with Uncle Benjen and Aunt Lyanna to his left, their dragons and wolves all standing behind them.
A show of strength and unity.
“Remember while, they may have a few drops of Stark blood, you will not know most of them.” Benjen said, he had been one of those apposed to the idea of the dragonseeds. “Do not expect the kind of loyalty you get from true family.”
“Yes, meet them with suspicion from the beginning.” Lyanna’s sarcastic remark earned a hard look from Benjen.
“I didn’t mean he should meet them with open hostility, only to remember that no matter what disagreements we might have, we are still family, our loyalty is not a matter of transaction. We have bought these people with dragons, clearly they are for sale.”
“You speak wisdom, Uncle.” Robb said, hoping to end the conversation. “But we have no choice.”
With his enhanced vision, Robb could name each of the dragons he saw before the others. First he spied Wanderer, the smallest and fastest of the group, then a dragon with the ram-like curved horns and turquoise scales he had only seen on Squid’s Bane. The third dragon was long and thin, and was so blue that it could hardly be seen until a cloud floated over it, Robb knew the dragon to be Icewing.
The fourth dragon could eclipse the first three all on his own. The great, spiny, grey mass of Behemoth beat his wings like an albatross as he flew behind them. Robb heard a great rumble from Gnasher behind him. Evidently his dragon was pleased to see his father again.
The fifth dragon, Snowfall, was the only dragon in the group to match Behemoth’s size, even beating it. Snowsong’s sister was a beautiful white and blue dragon and in her absence, the biggest dragon that house Stark owned. The dragons circled above Riverrun for a time before Robb flagged them down to the field.
Lyanna was the first to speak. “Arra?” She called out to the brown-haired young woman who dismounted Wanderer. His father’s oldest child with Lemore had left Winterfell to become a Witcher studying under their aunt Lyanna. Robb let out a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to question the loyalty of at least one of the dragonseeds.
“It’s good to see you, Lyanna.” Robb’s half-sister grinned as she cantered over to them, before turning to Robb. “Must I call you ‘King Robb, your Arch-magnificence-y’ now, instead of ‘Robbie’?” She cackled.
“I still call him arse-face from time to time and i’ve received no punishment.” Alysanne threw her arms around Arra. “So call him whatever you like, little sis.”
Arra and Septa Lemore’s other two daughters had been raised alongside all of them in Winterfell, they were as much sisters to Robb as Alysanne and Alyrianne were.
“Though preferably with some respect when we’re in company.” Robb added, drawing both his sisters into a hug. “I can’t decide if I’m happy to see you or angry that you came to fight in a war.”
“I heard about father…” Arra said, quietly. Nothing else needed saying after that.
“We are glad to have you here.” Lyanna said when Robb released them. “Perhaps you could introduce your fellow riders?”
“Aly Snow.” A grey eyed woman in her thirties bowed her head slightly. “My da’ was a Stark bastard from a couple generations back. I’m a captain of the Dog’s gateway gang in the Winter City.”
“A criminal?” Jon asked, his shoulders straightening up. He held no love for the gangs of the Winter City.
“A friend of Beric’s.” Aly corrected.
Robb narrowed his gaze at her. “I didn’t see you at the collegiate meeting I called.”
“I have one of my lieutenants play at being the captain when meetings are called. I find it’s safer that way.”
“Clever.” Benjen admitted.
Lyanna barked out a surprising laugh that caught them all off guard. “Are you they Aly Snow who had Samara dance naked on a stage to pay off her gambling debts?”
“The very same.” Aly smiled.
“She taught me everything I know about being a Witcher.” Lyanna laughed. “I owe you a barrel of beer.”
“I’m Cleaton and this is my twin sister Cara.” A tall handsome man with dark blonde hair and grey eyes a couple years older than Robb introduced himself loudly, standing next to Snowfall, stroking the dragon’s neck.
While the other dragon riders had worn riding leathers, Robb noticed Cleaton had opted for finer garb. He wore a silk shirt, fur cloak, finely made breeches and wore a gold ring on most of his fingers. The man’s sister was standing beside him almost timidly, half behind her brother’s shoulder.
“Snowfall is one of house Stark’s finest dragons.” Robb said. “You must be proud, my grandmother was her last rider.”
“She was my grandmother too.” Cleaton proclaimed, smugly. “We’re children of your father’s older brother.”
“Bastard children.” Jon corrected him. “Our uncle Brandon never married.”
“Yes.” Cleaton said through slightly gritted teeth as he looked to the side.
“Behemoth must be your dragon then.” Lyanna said to a dark-skinned boy probably the same age as Sansa, certainly the shortest there.
“Dagmar, m-m’lady.” He gave a hurried bow.
“House Stark owes you all a great debt.” Robb stated, using his kingly voice.
“Don’t we know it…” Cleaton said under his breath, clearly not knowing that Robb could hear him easily, but he decided to ignore it.
“You will all be given rooms in Riverrun as befits your standing as Dragonriders. With your help, we will win this war and you will all be showered in gold.”
That certainly pit a smile on all their faces. Though Benjen was perhaps a bit too quick to mistrust them, he wasn’t wrong. All Robb had to do was keep being the one with the best to offer them.
——
Robb sat in the high seat of Riverrun’s Great Hall, with Rhaenys beside him, regal as a queen should be. Their direwolves were at their feet, great hulking masses of grey fur sitting still as sentinels by their masters. All his lords stood along the galleries as they waited for the prisoner to be brought before them.
He shifted in his seat slightly, it was smaller and less comfortable than the one in Winterfell. Robb found himself remembering his father’s words “A Prince should never sit easy when conducting his duties, lest he grow complacent.”
He supposed that was doubly true for a king.
The gods are cruel for taking you, father… You would be a far better king than I could everbe.
He heard the footsteps of him being brought to the hall before they opened the door, so he called for his sword. His squire Olyvar offered it up hilt first, Robb had been unable to call Ice to his hand even after taking the Trial of Winter. Tetra had told him the Lannisters must have placed strong wards on it to prevent it from moving where it fell.
In the absence of his family sword, Robb had to make do with his own. It wasn’t Jon’s Valyrian Steel longsword, but it was pure black Uru with a weirwood hilt and direwolf’s head for a pommel. The sunlight from the windows glinted off the runes on the naked blade when he drew the sword from it’s scabbard and laid it across his knees, a threat plain for all to see.
“Your Grace, here is the man you asked for,” announced Harper as he opened the door, walking the prisoner behind him, then forcing him to his knees in the centre of the hall.
He did not look like much of a lion at all, Robb observed. Ser Lucion Lannister was a Grandson to a brother of Tywin Lannister’s late wife, who was herself, a cousin to Lord Tywin. What relation that made him to Cersei, Robb wouldn’t even try to understand, but he was a Lannister knight who had ridden with the Kingslayer who had been captured at the Whispering Wood.
The man’s hair was a ratty blonde, he had brown eyes and a long nose. Val looked more like a Lannister than Lucion did. His clothes were worn and dirty from having been kept in the cells with the other prisoners they had taken. He did not lack for company.
Once he was down appraising the Lannister, Robb set his voice to ice. “Rise, Ser Lucion.”
“Thank you, my lord.” The Lannister did not need to be told twice, he was transfixed by Grey Wind and Mooney as they sat in front of him, their long fangs bared.
Robb would have been surprised if everyone in the hall couldn’t smell the fear rolling off the knight as he scrambled to his feat, taking a few steps back until he bumped again Harper, who shoved the Lannister forward, much to the enjoyment for the watchers who laughed as the knight stumbled.
“It’s pronounced ’Your Grace,’ scum!” Harper barked as he loomed over the smaller Knight.
Ever since the news of his uncle’s and father’s deaths had reached them, Robb had noticed Harper was more angry than he used to be, especially against the Lannister prisoners. Robb could hardly blame him.
“Y-your Grace,” Ser Lucion corrected hastily, stumbling back to his feat. “Pardons…”
“I have called you from your cell to carry my message to your… cousin Cersei Lannister in King’s Landing.” Robb began in his best ‘King’s Voice’ “You’ll travel under a peace banner, with fifty of my best men to escort you.”
Ser Lucion was visibly relieved, the man almost smiled. “Then I should be most glad to bring His Grace’s message to the queen.”
“Understand,” Robb said, “I am not giving you your freedom. I want your pledge, on your honor as a knight, that after you deliver my message you’ll return with the queen’s reply, and resume your captivity.”
Ser Lucion answered at once. “I do so vow.”
“Every man in this hall has heard you,” warned Robb’s uncle Edmure, who spoke for Riverrun and the lords of the Trident, his mother standing beside him. “If you do not return, the whole realm will know you for an oathbreaker.”
“I wouldn’t trust a Lannister to tell me the sky is blue.” Tetra stepped forward from the gallery, her voice so sharp it almost made Robb’s teeth ache. Moon-eyes, Tetra’s blind direwolf stood close behind her. “So I shall require a little more from you.” She raised her hand and curled her fingers.
Ser Lucion cried out in pain as his hands went to his face, Robb could smell flesh burning. He gave an angry look to his uncle’s lover, the woman had a habit of not listening to others. When her spell was done, Lucion now had a large brand across his right temple, going from his forehead down to his jaw. Robb could not make out all the runes of it clearly.
“The mark is a curse on you that no one else will be able to remove. If you break your word to us, you will wither and die.” Tetra said to the whimpering Lannister, suddenly far more afraid of the dark woman than he ever was of the wolves. “…but if you remain true, I shall remove the curse and the mark when you return.” She returned to the gallery and Beric’s hushed scolding. Robb knew he would need to have words with her afterwards.
“I-I-I will do as I pledged,” Ser Lucion replied timidly. “What is this message?”
“…An offer of peace.” Robb stood, longsword in hand, he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Grey Wind rose to his feet as well. The hall grew hushed. He pointed to tip of his sword down to the Lannister. “Tell the Queen Regent that if she meets my terms, I will sheath my sword, and make an end to the war between us.” There was an almost imperceptible grumble among the Northern lords, Robb chose to pay it no mind. “Olyvar, the paper,” he commanded. The squire took his longsword and handed up a parchment that Robb unrolled and read allowed.
“First, my father’s bones will be returned to us, so he may rest beside his brother, mother and father in the crypts beneath Winterfell. My uncle Arthur’s remains will also be sent to Starfall so that he might rest in the tombs of his ancestors. The remains of the Stark men who died in my father’s service at King’s Landing must also be returned, as well as their arms and armour.” He saw his three mothers standing in a row all looking at him from the gallery to his left, all three wore the same stone-faced mask.
“Second, my father’s and uncle’s swords will be freed from any and all wards the Lannister mages have placed upon them.” For as long as Robb had remembered, he had wanted to wield his father’s sword. Now that he could, all he wanted was his father back. “Third… the queen will command her father Lord Tywin to release those knights and lords bannermen of mine that he took captive in the battle on the Green Fork of the Trident. Once he does so, I shall release my own captives taken in the Whispering Wood and the Battle of the Camps, save Jaime Lannister alone, who will remain my hostage for his father’s good behavior.”
“Lastly,” Robb was getting to the end of the list. “Joffrey and the Queen Regent must renounce all claims to dominion over the north. Henceforth we are no part of their realm, but a free and independent kingdom, as of old. Our domain shall include all the Stark lands north of the Neck, and in addition the lands watered by the River Trident and its vassal streams, bounded by the Golden Tooth to the west and the Mountains of the Moon in the east.”
“THE KING IN THE NORTH!” boomed Greatjon Umber, a ham-sized fist hammering at the air as he shouted. “Stark! Stark! The King in the North!” The call was echoed a few times by the other lords in the hall before Robb rose his hand for silence.
He rolled up the parchment again. “Maester Vyman has drawn a map, showing the borders we claim. You shall have a copy for the queen. Lord Tywin must withdraw beyond these borders, and cease his raiding, burning, and pillaging. The Queen Regent and her son shall make no claims to taxes, incomes, nor service from my people, and shall free my lords and knights from all oaths of fealty, vows, pledges, debts, and obligations owed to the Iron Throne and House Lannister. Additionally, the Lannisters shall deliver ten highborn hostages, to be mutually agreed upon, as a pledge of peace. These I will treat as honored guests, according to their station. So long as the terms of this pact are abided with faithfully, I shall release two hostages every year, and return them safely to their families. Neither Joffrey, nor any of his men shall set foot on my lands again. If he disobeys this command he shall suffer the same fate as my father…” A low rumble emanated from Grey Wind’s maw. “Only I don’t need a servant to do by beheading for me.”
“These are…” Lucion uttered, clearly trying to find a way to say “Joffrey would never except these terms” in a way that would keep him his head. “These are…”
“-These are my terms.” Robb tossed the rolled parchment at the knight’s feet. “If she meets them, I’ll give her peace. If not…” Grey Wind slowly padded forward snarling. “I will litter the South with Lannister dead.”
“King Joffrey is a Baratheon, Your Grace…”
“Oh is he...?” My father died because of your bastard king.
“Stark!” the Greatjon roared again, and now other voices took up the cry. “Stark, Stark, King in the North!” The wolves threw their heads back and howled.
Ser Lucion had gone the color of curdled milk. “The queen shall hear your message, my—Your Grace.”
“Good,” Robb said, turning to walk back to his high seat. He looked to Rhaenys who gave him a small, but encouraging nod. “Harper, see that he has a good meal and clean clothing. He’s to ride at first light.”
“As you command. Your Grace,” The Chosen Man replied.
“Then we are done.” The assembled knights and lords bannermen bent their knees as Robb turned to leave, Rhaenys joining him, linking her hand with his. Their wolves at their heels. Olyvar Frey scrambled ahead to open the door for them. Tetra didn’t even need a look from Robb to follow them out of the hall.
“You did well.” Rhaenys said as the walked through the corridor before Tetra caught up to them.
“I agree.” The dark-haired Mage said, Robb’s mothers walking behind her.
“I could have done without your performance.” Robb told her, Tetra’s gaze distinctly reminded him of the way Balerion looked at anyone who wasn’t Rhaenys.
“Performance?” She asked as if she were talking to a child. “And what would you call the bit with the wolves?”
She did have him there, and Robb didn’t like it. “Must I remind you, I am a King?” Sounding much more like a child than he had intended.
“And a king I shall make sure you remain, even in the face of your foolishness.” Tetra responded.
“It is not foolish to offer terms.” Robb’s birth-mother cut in. “We marched to war to protect my homeland and free my husband. Now Ned is lost to us and no amount of killing will bring him back.”
“I do not question the offer of terms.” Tetra turned to his mother, affording her more respect than she gave Robb. “But I do question expecting the Lannisters to uphold them.”
“I agree with Lady Gilcrest.” Elia said. “Though it would have been netter to bring up the issue in private rather than surprise us all.” Her eyes narrowed.
“Now at least if he is not true, he will die soon after.” Robb’s Dayne mother added.
“The South has taken too many Starks in my lifetime.” Tetra said, mournfully. “I will not allow it to claim another.”
Robb grumbled, but understood her. “Uncle Beric once told me you wouldn’t trust people to plan your own funeral for you.” Tetra chuckled and gave him a wry smile. “If you act on your own wishes, the lords will begin to question your fealty…”
“I couldn’t give any less of a crap what they think of me.” Tetra said, fixing him with a stern gaze. “You are Stark. You have had my loyalty since the day you were born.”
“Your Grace!” Perkins interrupted them as he ran into the corridor. “Your Grace, the Princess!”
Robb had seen Sansa and Alysanne in the Great Hall when he was giving the terms to Ser Lucion, he wondered what possible trouble they could have gotten into since then.
“What’s Alysanne done now?” It was the more reasonable guess.
“Not her.” Perkins said, breathlessly as he went to them. He had been running.
“Then Sansa?” His birth-mother asked.
“Princess Myrcella.” Perkins corrected. “She’s here.”
What?Robb’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“And she says your father and Arthur didn’t die in King’s Landing.”
WHAT!?!?