When you corner an animal, to a situation that is not to its liking it becomes more violent, as it has to fight for its life, but what happens in the case of humans, what happens when they feel cornered? They defend themselves to protect themselves, or they decide to hide, each person could react differently to that event.
Roose Bolton felt very cornered since Harry Stark came up as the ruler of the North, his former allies turned their backs on him and did not want to negotiate anything with him, because Harry Stark was doing an excellent job, the Lords could fill their bellies with food and whatever drink they chose and not only them but their people as well. That was something that didn't have to happen, with Richard Stark, not all the Lords were happy that the Starks still ruled the north, and it was exploited by the Boltons to gain allies. But with Harry, it was something very different, the worst of it was that the boy had him under control, he could see several groups that watched in terror day and night, rain or shine, they were always watching his castle, the boy didn't trust the Boltons one bit.
And he was not going to hide it at all, that's why he had to talk to Harry just to release a little bit of the weight of the surveillance so that he could act with more freedom, obviously to be able to betray him. He knew that within a year, the Greyjoys were going to be a coup, where he was going to support them with the purpose that they support him to take the North.
So he came to Winterfell to pay a visit, the first thing he saw was a large group of recruits being trained by men in strange armor, he could not identify their faces because of the masks they had. This no doubt he had to inform Varys, that he was going since he was another of their benefactors, that the golden company could help him in case the Greyjoy failed, he was going to go a long way to take the North, and in case the descendants of dark fire, had dragons it was better to have them as allies.
When he and his companions got off their horses, he saw that several archers were aiming at them, distrust was what he felt about being in this place. Several men were watching them, and they did not hide at all that they were watching them.
Although Roose Bolton did not notice something, Ashara was in the crowd with Elia Martell, since long ago Harry said that every time someone close to the Boltons set foot in Winterfell, they had to have no contact with their Mother and Sister, and of course with Elia and her children, since Roose was going to try to attack from that end.
For those who were covered by a coat and placed on their backs as if they were simple people, it helped a lot that the Persians, who were the soldiers that could be seen with the naked eye, had Roose's full attention. Who did not realize that the Spartans and Vikings that inside Winterfell and other castles had clothes, normal, like a civilian, just to make a surprise attack, they were slowly approaching them as if they were simple workers. That was the level of protection that each castle had. Although Spartans and Vikings could indeed be spotted in their clothing, there were many more who were hidden. Anyone could be one of those men, a salesman, a servant, many options could be right but at the same time could be wrong, so if you knew that secret, you better know the faces of all the soldiers of the North, and you will live in paranoia all your life.
- "Roose Bolton" - Benjen was the man that at any time you could find him in Winterfell, as the trip was not so long, with the horses they currently had, visit his nephew and see if he did not need something, it was easy, Eddard could not, as his trip would be much longer, a day's journey, instead his was three hours or four, plus with visits like these, it was better to be next to his nephew.
- "I was curious how our Lord's work is going" - Roose did not bring the look of the archers, there was no blind spot where he was, if he made a move he was going to have thirty-five archers shooting arrows, it was very good security from this point of view - "And it gave me the curiosity to visit Winterfell."
- "There were many changes, I thought that being Lord of such an important house as the Boltons you were going to notice that" - Benjen played dirty at that moment, because the Boltons were important for the North, in his time, currently not, they were only a hindrance that Harry still did not wish to eliminate because it would imply many changes, in his plans, but eliminating the Boltons was among the plans - "You are not very attentive, I would recommend you to come more often, the other Lords do it."
- "I'll keep that advice in mind, but I'm curious as to where Lord Stark is." - Roose did not see that anyone was going to inform Harry of his arrival, not even Benjen said anything about him coming to meet him or anything like that, so in his mind it was disrespectful, and a blow to the pride of not only Roose but the Boltons.
- "My nephew has more important things to do" - Benjen looked at Roose with defiance, maybe before he was going to address concerning his person, but now he was also the Head of a House, and one with extremely high profits and importance, since it was the union of the Bears and the Wolves, extremely powerful houses, plus it had to be added that Benjen was not a big fan of the Boltons - "So if you have something to talk about, you can tell me, I'll get it to him."
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Winterfell (Tower)
In one of the many towers that Winterfell had, Harry was watching how his uncle was talking with Roose Bolton who apparently decided to leave, anyone would think he was a coward, but he certainly had more important things to do.
Such as waiting for his guest, since his mother and Elia did not come alone from Dorne, but brought with them a guest, Oberyn Martell, he wanted to pay a visit to his ally, although on the way he had to detour in one of the few brothels that were in the North, his sexual hunger was enormous, so he came to this tower to see what Roose Bolton was going to do when he was intercepted by his uncle Benjen. One of the people who most expected the extinction of the leeches, as the Boltons were called, by the North.
Something that many people did not understand, was that you could not destroy an Ancestral House very fast, it had to be at the right time and with the right evidence, although he knew that the Boltons gave information to the crown, it was modified information, which was necessary to have a little control over the royal council, where there were politically dangerous enemies.
That was when the Greyjoy entered, the squids wished that the North did not participate in the rebellion they wanted to perform, so they wanted to kidnap Ashara so that the North would not turn against them. Who was going to be responsible for giving such information, the Boltons, misinformation that would lead to their execution, so he waited quietly for the Greyjoys to make their respective attacks, he was already aware of the places where they would attack.
Lannisport the port city of the west, is one of the largest posts of the seven kingdoms and the largest in the west, Port Gull of the Arryn being the largest city in the Valley, is one of the important ones, so it was good points to attack and delay the departure of the ships or neutralize completely, forcing them to look for another port to attack. And finally Oldtown, the oldest city in the west and the second most populated, the main port of the Dominion, where the citadel was also located. Those were the points where the Greyjoys wished to attack, and they wished to kidnap not only Ashara, but Elia Martell and her children to get the Dornish out of the way, a very good plan, but if you know it, you will find many flaws.
Harry was aware of all that, that's why he made Jack change the navigation routes several times when he took and returned with his mother and Elia from Dorne, the Greyjoy's ships could not follow him and if they managed to locate them they were destroyed.
- "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I just couldn't resist that beauty" - Oberyn made an appearance with a smile that you couldn't understand if he was happy or just a fake one, very few places were to the man's liking, but that didn't mean he was going to stop visiting brothels, where he was like a child receiving a new gift - "I have to say that women from the North are very wild... and so are men."
- "Don't go into detail about what you did in the brothel" - Harry knew that Oberyn's sexual appetite had no limits when it came to sex, man or woman, he didn't care, he wasn't going to mess with people's tastes as long as it didn't bother him, he didn't have to care who he slept with - "But apparently your stay in the North is a good one."
- "I would always prefer the warm weather of Dorne, but I do not complain about this place, it is cozy, it is not cold as always characterized by the North, a place where I can relax" - Oberyn was sincere, he did not like the King's Landing because of the foul smell it gave off, he did not like the west because of the people who lived there, all hungry for power, Dominion another place where you could not be calm for a stab in the back besides the Martell and the Tyrell was not very good friends - "I think I will come very often to this place" - Although Oberyn had a little doubt about a topic discussed from the west, a topic he wished to talk with Harry - "Do you think that the dwarf of Tywin Lannister, will not betray us, seeing that his relationship with his father is going well."
- "I only trust my mother and sisters" - Harry saw Oberyn who made a gesture about that comment, but he did not care at all, he was going to be honest with the man he had at his side, it was better to be clear about things - "Apart from them, I do not even trust my own shadow" - They both stared at each other as if it was a challenge where Harry had everything to win because of the resources he had, Oberyn knew it perfectly - "But I am a sensible person if an allay has an enemy, he becomes my enemy, because at the end of the day, the North and Dorne, the Martells and the Starks, will become one family when your niece and my cousin Robb marry."
Rhaenys Martell was engaged to the eldest son of Eddard GreyStark. Robb GreyStark, although the wedding was a long way off, an agreement had already been reached, Elia agreed because it gave much more security to her daughter, now it only remained to find a wife for Aegon Martell, although Harry's sister could be someone with whom little Aegon could marry, he did not want that union precisely because of distrust. From what they were hearing proposals, for that was what this betrothal was all about, Aegon would take another surname when he married, a combination between the North and Dorne. Though neither was in a hurry in such matters, with little Rhaenys already having a betrothed, Elia was untouchable by anyone wanting to accuse her of any crime such as helping the Targaryens. A magnificent game on Harry's part in that sense, since Dorne could only support the North or do nothing when they expand, which Oberyn did not care about as long as Dorne was not harmed, rather it was going to benefit because they would be able to get more territory, if any of the neighboring kingdoms come out against the Northerners when they decide to take power.
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King Landing.
Cersei was not happy, marrying a man like Robert out of wedlock was like a dream come true, but she lived a hell, her husband every time they had relations called her by the name of Lyanna. She thought it was going to be a passing thing that at some point he would forget her and would see her as the beautiful woman she was, but no, it was getting worse and worse.
And the only person she found comfort in was her twin brother, Jaime, it was bad, maybe her reputation was going to go to shit, but she treated her like the woman she deserved, her father wanted an heir, and she was going to give it to him, Robert was going to have his heir too, but he was not going to have his blood.
Pitifully for her, her little younger brother Tyrion discovered them, and he was in front of her with a bottle of wine and smiling about what he just discovered, she was lost, and the best option was to kill him. But for some reason, Jaime was not here, which meant Tyrion was hiding something, so before acting, she was going to listen to him, and then he would die, Tyrion was never to her liking after all, and she did not think anyone would mourn the death of a dwarf.
- "You know sister, you better be careful, that our father does not discover your little secret" - Tyrion began to speak as he poured a glass of wine to his sister, before taking a seat, something that caused doubt in Cersei - "Jaime is not the smartest person of the three, so I advise you to be more careful" - This was not the direction Cersei thought the conversation was going to take, it surprised her a lot - "Indeed, we do not get along well, but you are my sister, and although sometimes you are unbearable, I can not stand Robert treating you as he does" - No doubt this was very different from what she thought - "Although it sounded strange, and I do not like to sound like our father... you are a Lannister... born in gold... and the Queen."
- "You have left me speechless, brother, but is that all you want to tell me." - Cersei took a seat and looked with sharp eyes at Tyrion, who poured himself another glass of wine, if the two of them had a great vice for wine, with that they helped to calm the sorrows, sometimes - "You will not blackmail me for what you discovered."
- "Although it is uncomfortable, knowing that your brothers have relationships, I think that if I was in your place, I would do it too" - Tyrion in that part spoke with the truth, Cersei was in a place where she didn't know anyone but her brother, with him, she felt safe, he will do the same if he was in Cersei's place - "Jaime is the only person you know in this place, I'm not going to tell you anything.... but I think with this we can make a clean slate of our past... it's a punishment that Robert deserves, but our father doesn't have to know about it."
- "You think I don't know you're hiding something." - Cersei defied her little brother who only smiled, not caring at all about her sister's fierce gaze, Cersei was raised strictly by Tywin, her brother Jaime in the same way, but she did not possess the ferocity that the Head of House Lannister possessed.
- "I try to make a peace treaty between us" - Tyrion put down the cup and looked seriously at his sister, he was not afraid of her, and he knew her way of acting and how crazy the woman in front of him could be, but he was not going to be left behind either - "but if you want to do it the hard way... we will."
The two Lannisters looked at each other defiantly, but Cersei had a grimace of displeasure because she looked cornered, she was not going to deny it, Tyrion was very smart and clever, his father himself praised him as the smartest of his sons something that bothered her a lot, since she tried hard enough to fill him with pride, and receive praise, but her father only paid attention to Jaime, though no longer a fool as he did before, and to Tyrion, who it seemed was doing an excellent job in Westeros, making House Lannister much richer than it had been a year ago. That pleased her father, so Cersei could do no more, and she left the room, with a pleased Tyrion who emerged victorious from this little conversation, he had a secret so big that it was even going to destroy his father's reputation, it was good to know, as Cersei was terrified of his father, and his father was not going to hesitate to punish both Cersei and Jaime for what they were doing. As much as it pains him to do this to his brother, this was a game where his happiness was at stake, and he was going to protect his happiness even if he had to shit on his siblings' lives.
Hidden in the room was Tysha his beloved fiancée, who listened to everything attentively, until now her relationship with Tyrion was very badly seen by the people since they could not believe that she could fall in love with a dwarf, but she did not see him that way, perhaps his physical form was that of a man of small size, but he was a magnificent man. She was only a commoner, and he did not use her like many nobles who slept with their servants just for pleasure, no, he loved her, and she loved him the same to the point of helping him in his betrayal, although she was one of the people who did not want to harm anyone, Tysha was one of the few purest people in the world, she did not care about gold, she did not care about power, because that did not bring happiness, she realized that it only brought danger. But she fell in love with a person that if it was for him, he was going to give her the whole world, from one point of view it was nice, but she did not want that, while the two were happy, she was going to help him until she felt that the life of the two was in danger, because she was not going to allow Tyrion to become someone like his father, who was not able to sleep many times. After all, at any moment, one of his many enemies could kill him.
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Iron Islands.
Balon Greyjoy was watching as the best shipbuilders in the world were building a fleet of a thousand ships he asked them to attack the West and regain their freedom, they only had to wait a year, one more year, and they would be free, to return to what they were before, and spread a reign of terror over all of West they were going to be forced to serve them, although there was something that was bothering him, many ships were destroyed as they approached the North, he didn't like that at all, but he didn't think it would be a problem when 100 ships attack the North, it wasn't going to be two or three ships anymore. So any fleet the North might have was going to be crushed by the greatest naval force in all the world, and more so when they kidnapped Ashara Dayne, even though she now had the Stark surname, it was going to stop the North from acting against them when they start, though not for long, but they were going to divide the might of the whole of Westeros. Attacking the important ports of each mainland, forcing them to go to a port where they had to sail, where everyone was going to die since no one could beat the ironmen at sea.
Euron Greyjoy, Balon's better brother, watched his older brother intently, with only one thought in his mind, betrayal, he was going to betray his brothers, he was going to murder them and take command of the Iron Islands.
Why would he do that, because Euron saw his brother as weak, they currently had a very powerful naval force, and waiting for 1,000 ships to be built only showed signs of weakness in his mind, even if Balon only mentioned that he wanted a resounding victory. The Iron Islands had enough ships to attack the West right now, and no one was going to be able to do anything about it. But for now, he was going to keep following his older brother's orders, until it was time to kill them all, and that would be when he won the throne, because he was going to attack the most powerful house of all, Lannisport of the Lannisters, it was a pity Tywin Lannister's daughter was nowhere near that place, because he wanted to rape her so badly, in his mind he wanted to know how a queen tastes, this was the true nature of the Iron Island men, to steal, kill and rape. Even the women had that thought at times.
- "You know brother, I'm so curious to see what Ashara Stark will look like with her clothes off" - Euron not only wanted to fuck Cersei Lannister, but several women who gave off unparalleled beauty, he wanted to fuck them until he got tired of them and killed them - "Elia Martell, and then there's the Tyrell girl, all sucking me off... a dream come true... and I'm going to get it."
- "You can do whatever you want with those women" - Balon didn't care what his brother did as long as it led him to victory, and Euron was one of the best captains in the Iron Islands, and the more motivated he was, the better he fought for whatever he wanted to rape as many women as he wanted was not his problem, as long as he did what was asked of him, and that was to destroy as many of the ships of Lannisport as he could.
Though one small detail they missed was a worker who was close enough to hear him, that worker had a smile on his face, one that was not going to be of the Greyjoys' liking.
They weren't going to find out at all, though, because at any moment that man would be able to take on another identity, and no one would even realize that he had ever existed. That was the job of the Faceless Men, to gather information for their master, and if they had to kill to get that information, Death would be more than pleased because they were paying the debt that the White Walkers broke. Their goal was that, when that goal was accomplished, they were going to be embraced by death and no one else would be a faceless man. But that would be when they finished their work, now they only had to help their master, that was all that mattered, that was why Harry didn't need to use magic in this world, he had the methods to defeat every political and military enemy, he would only use that power when necessary and so far he didn't need to, as they played according to how he wanted them to.
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The Dominion
Margaery was passionate about many things, and something that many did not know was that she was an amazon, very few knew that secret, as for many a princess had to be a lady. But she was not that kind of girl, she wanted to stand out in history as many women did both politically and infighting, like many Targaryen who excelled in the use of any weapon. She wanted to be like them, but to surpass them.
That's why receiving several weapons as gifts from her betrothed made her happy, a double-pointed spear that could be split, a sword with the symbols of the Starks and Tyrells in a reddish colour, and a bow. Those were the three gifts that Margaery received from her betrothed, and it made her very happy, but at the same time more curious, only her closest relatives knew about this, but Harry sent her these gifts because he knew her tastes, which meant that Harry had a spy in Highgarden, but who they were was a big doubt she was having, did her grandmother and brothers realize that, was another doubt she had in her mind.
But who was the spy, she must be very close to them, as she doubted very much that her grandmother would give any details about her tastes, she was not that kind of person, her grandmother was interested in her being able to control the North so she was not going to betray the person who could give her that control over the kingdom that was keeping more mysteries since Robert Baratheon assumed the Iron Throne.
She looked around and saw several servants who were not paying much attention to her because they were each doing their work. And in her vision, she caught sight of her grandmother smiling, not the happy smile, the smile she gave when she was pleased with her grandchildren's progress, which meant she had noticed Margaery discovering there was a spy in the Highgarden.
Olenna went to take a seat next to her granddaughter, who again laid on the gifts Harry Stark had sent her and placed them back in the box where she could store them so that she could have a little chat with her grandmother about what she had discovered, though for Olenna it would be nothing out of the ordinary.
- "How long ago did you find out" - Margaery went straight to her grandmother who looked around, to tell her to be careful with the things she asked, with just gestures, Olenna was already giving her the information she needed to know that anyone could hear it - "A long time, apparently."
- "Not all the servants you met are still the same person" - Olenna knew how intelligent and curious her beloved granddaughter was, when you gave her a riddle like this, she didn't have to give her much more information, for her to start thinking and look in the library of Highgarden for something related to the words she said, and if there was a specific book, with the necessary clues for her to discover the truth, that several servants were killed, but other people took their place with the same face - "I know you will be able to find out."
And Grandmother and Granddaughter's short conversation came to an end, with Margaery looking at the House Stark logo that was printed on the box where her three gifts came from, how many more secrets Harry Stark had. What kind of man was he that even her grandmother was with her eyes open in her own house, how did he get into High Garden without anyone noticing, because she knew all the workers in this place and there was practically no change in her eyes, but her grandmother noticed changes, they were very small so only her grandmother who had much more experience in these games noticed.
Margaery bit her lips as she was cornered, perhaps this was how wolf prey felt when cornered, her curiosity was growing, and she gently stroked the symbol of House Stark that was on the house with a smile, she was not going to lose this game, she was not going to give up, she was going to discover every secret Harry Stark had, she was going to defeat him at his own game, she was going to control him and make him completely hers, because she was Margaery Tyrell, the most beautiful rose in the Dominion and the most dangerous.