[Chapter Size: 3800 Words.]
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Pessoa Thrid POV
Westeros, 295 AC.
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"Samwell Tarly..." The chubby boy spoke without being able to meet Jon's eyes.
"Tarly... One of the great houses of this realm, known for producing great generals in the history of Westeros..." Jon commented calmly. He had seen one or two Tarlys in green visions, organizing their strategies on the battlefield along with their armies, drawing great lessons from them.
"Thank you for the compliment... but I don't consider myself a great Tarly..." the chubby boy commented with slumped shoulders.
"Are you the youngest son?" Jon asked. He didn't know all the details of every house, only the main ones from what he studied before coming here, but he knew that Lord Randyll Tarly had two sons, and his first thought, seeing the behavior of this boy his age, was that Samwell wasn't his heir.
"No..." The boy seemed to have a defeated tone with that, while Jon raised an eyebrow at him.
"No? I understand..." Jon noticed something very wrong there but decided not to get involved in the internal affairs of these families and looked at the sky. "When I arrived, I saw you alone looking at the stars, do you like it?" Jon didn't know why, but he ended up making conversation with that boy.
"I like to look at them, I read a book by an archmaester from 100 years ago who studied astrology." The boy seemed to open up with that.
Jon looked at him with more favorable eyes. "So you read a lot?" He asked.
"Yes, your grace." He said a bit more timidly, expecting Jon to judge him for it, after all, he had the name Tarly behind his first name.
"I am not your grace, I belong to another realm, call me King of Artica." Jon said while the man nodded. Jon then continued speaking. "The constellation of Sagittarius is beautiful, isn't it?" He continued the conversation while Samwell looked at him confused.
"Your grace, I mean, King of Artica, you said the constellation of Sagittarius!? You know the stars?" He stammered, and Jon smiled at him.
"Yes, we study astrology in Artica. And relax, young Tarly, I don't know why you're so nervous, I'm just a visitor taking a bit of air on the balcony." He said.
"With all due respect, King Jon, but you are one of the most enigmatic men Westeros has ever seen! Everyone only talks about you, the boy of 8 and 9 namedays who became a hero of the North, who went beyond the Wall and created a kingdom and is as rich as any great house, has shown to be as intelligent as a maester, and isn't even afraid of King Robert Baratheon, where many years ago the news that you told him to shove a royal decree up his ass reached all the great houses in Westeros." He exploded as if imitating someone who talked about Jon.
Samwell had finished and looked at Jon, staring at him with piercing eyes. "I'm sorry, your grace, it slipped out!" He said hastily after realizing his outburst and Jon's expression.
"Hahahaha!" Jon couldn't hold it and started laughing at that more than he normally would at something. "That was hilarious, Lord Samwell, I think I needed that." Jon spoke with a humorous tone while the young chubby boy didn't know what to say.
"I don't know what to say... King Jon." He said, and Jon sighed before smiling at him. This boy could be a source of information too.
"So, young Tarly, you spoke about me, but can you tell what they say about my sister?" Jon wanted to know since he noticed his sister standing out a lot, wanting to anticipate the thoughts of the nobles of this realm.
"Lady Arya Stark? Well... They're saying your sister is the most beautiful lady of her generation, many nobles are discussing sending letters to Winterfell. Besides being the daughter of a great noble... she also has kinship with you, someone extremely wealthy and militarily powerful, most nobles want her friendship to become their ally." He said.
"Friendship? I thought people here mostly didn't like me because of my bastardy." Jon questioned.
"Yes, at first everyone treated you with disdain in their circles, but your skill in the training field, the favor the Tyrell family places in you, as well as Prince Renly Baratheon's great interest in you." He spoke to Jon, who was thoughtful about this. He didn't have time to watch all the nobles all the time, so he didn't care much about them.
"It seems my father will receive messages from all over the realm if things continue like this. I wonder what will happen when they see my sister in the archery tournament the day after tomorrow..." Jon couldn't help but laugh.
"Archery tournament... King Jon?" Samwell asked, surprised.
"Yes, she will participate. Imagine the faces of all the competitors when they start losing to an 11-year-old girl." Jon said.
"..." Samwell didn't know how to respond.
"Anyway, thank you for your honesty, Lord Samwell." Jon said, seeming to have taken a liking to the boy, better than the faces of the people he had met in this realm so far.
"It was nothing, King Jon." He spoke with respect. "About what you said about the constellation of Sagittarius, can you tell me more about it? I don't remember reading anything like it." He said, and Jon nodded.
"Of course, as a reward, I'll share a bit of my knowledge." Jon began, pointing his finger at the stars in the sky. The sky was extremely bright due to the lack of light in this era, although it would be much better seen in forests and deserts.
Jon then started explaining, taking out a piece of paper he always kept with him and a quill, drawing all the stars and their positions in the sky. "If you connect all the stars in a drawing, they form the image of a Sagittarius, a mythical beast with the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a man. It is said to be a beast that represents freedom." Jon drew and showed it to the young man.
"Does that thing exist?!" Samwell was impressed with the drawing, immediately asking if that thing existed since Jon had giants, dwarves, and all kinds of fantasy with him.
"No..." Jon smiled. "That's why I said it's mythical. Eastern culture can explain it better; they say people born under this constellation tend to be more free-spirited and love their freedom. Though I don't believe a person is defined by the stars above them at their birth." Jon clarified in the end.
"Yes..." Samwell, despite being surprised, spoke.
"Anyway, I'm going to the hall. Do you want to come back?" Jon asked, and he shrank back.
"No... it's not a place for someone like me..." He said, shoulders slumped again.
"..." Jon didn't respond, seeming to understand that this young man was heavily judged, and there were many people at the entrance of the balcony looking at them, with some jokes directed at the boy.
"All right... I'm going. I hope to see you again, Lord Samwell Tarly..." Jon said and began to return to the hall.
At the main table, Olenna spoke all she could about Lyanna Stark to Arya, while she seemed quite excited.
"In the end, the prince stole her away. Everyone knew something was wrong as soon as he handed her the flowers, but no one imagined what would happen next." Olenna said.
"The Mad King burned my grandfather and my uncle Brandon alive too." Arya spoke.
"Yes, it's true. But your uncle went to Red Keep demanding your sister after she was kidnapped, despite having threatened the prince and being imprisoned for it." She said.
"..." Arya fell silent after that.
"You know, you remind me a lot of her..." Olenna admitted.
"Everyone says that..." Arya commented.
"Yes, but you possess not only the beauty; your claws are equally sharp. Since you will participate in the archery tournament, I hope you don't disappoint." She said, leaving Arya shocked, not knowing this information yet.
"What do you mean I'm going to participate in the archery tournament?!" She had no idea about such a thing.
"Your brother hasn't told you yet. He made an agreement with Prince Renly to be at this banquet, but it's better if you talk to him." She said.
"All right..." Although Arya wanted answers, looking towards the track while Jon left with Renly, she would have to wait until he returned.
"It is a great pleasure to speak with you, young one. But may I exchange a few words with my granddaughter?" Olenna asked as she saw Seryna and Margaery approaching the table as well.
"All right." Arya nodded, leaving Olenna's side, as she wanted to talk with Seryna a bit too.
"How was dancing with the prince?" Olenna asked Margaery.
"It was an honor, grandmother. The prince is very charming." Margaery spoke after sitting beside her grandmother.
"But I saw your glances going elsewhere..." She commented while watching her granddaughter dance.
"I..." Margaery felt embarrassed.
"I can understand you, my granddaughter. He is a man who manages to be more handsome than Renly and his brother, who already make all the maidens fall madly in love. A bonus is that Jon of Artica seems to like women a lot, unlike the last two." Olenna laughed at that, while Margaery felt embarrassed, thinking that her brother and the prince were lovers and must be meeting somewhere at this party alone, after all, Jon of Artica was coming back from the castle balcony alone.
"Do you want to dance with him?" Olenna asked suddenly.
"I couldn't..." Margaery commented, looking at Seryna talking to Arya a few chairs away from them.
"Don't be silly, just one dance, it won't hurt anyone." Olenna said, and Margaery seemed a bit hesitant.
"Willas!" Olenna called from her table. Willas, who was talking to some nobles near the table, looked at his grandmother. "Take your sister to see our guests." She requested, and Margaery, with no way out, got up from the table and went to her brother before whispering her reason in his ear.
He nodded and started walking with Margaery towards Jon, who was talking to some nobles who approached him to discuss some business matters and seek friendship with the Arctic king.
"I sense that Lady Margaery wants something with Jon," Arya said next to Seryna as they talked about her possible participation in the archery tournament.
"I know, she couldn't stop looking at him during the dance," Seryna commented.
"Isn't that bad?" Arya looked at Seryna, expecting some jealousy.
"Jon will always be looked at. I can't do anything about that, and Jon doesn't seem interested in this woman." Seryna spoke calmly. It wasn't like Jon was looking at Margaery the way he looked at Nyra in Dorne.
"King of Artica." Jon was talking to some nobles who were even sycophants while he heard Willas approaching, using the cane to walk with one hand and his sister on his arm with the other as they approached.
"Lord Willas, Lady Margaery..." Jon said while the other nobles also greeted them.
"My lords... How are you?" Willas asked the other nobles while Margaery looked directly at Jon.
"Is the banquet pleasing you, King of Artica?" She asked.
Jon looked at her and nodded. "Yes, I like your food, it's fresh, and mixed with our drinks, I can't complain." Jon said.
"I hope so. Can our luxuries be compared to your kingdom's?" She asked curiously.
"In large part, yes. But if I'm honest, my lady, Artica can surpass you." Jon was sincere while Margaery was surprised at Jon's preference despite not really knowing his kingdom.
"That is quite surprising. Would you take me to dance?" She asked while only the two of them were talking, as Willas had grabbed the attention of the nobles there.
Jon had a choice, to talk with those sycophants who wouldn't let him go to the table, or to have a dance with this woman. He didn't think much and then raised his hand for the lady to give her hand to him.
Margaery gave a sweet smile as she raised her hand and Jon took her to the dance floor.
"Seryna..." Arya seemed shocked by that.
"Let them be." Seryna shrugged, not caring about it.
Jon moved to the dance floor while many watched him at that moment. He prepared in the middle of the floor, placed his hand on the waist of the flower of this realm, and began to dance with her.
"I've never danced with a king, so I am honored by this." She said, looking into his eyes with sincere admiration. That dance seemed to surprise everyone around them, as many heirs were hoping to dance with Margaery after she initially danced with the prince, but she ended up dancing with the Arctic king.
Margaery continued talking during the dance. "I saw you dancing, but now seeing you leading, it is so charming. Did you learn in Artica too?" She asked, letting Jon lead her in the dance.
"Yes, Lady Margaery." Jon said. The woman in front of him was one of the most beautiful he could find in Westeros, but he wasn't surprised by her beauty. He had his wives whom he considered even more beautiful.
"Is there anything you don't know?" She questioned with a smile.
Jon gave a small smile. "We are constantly learning, my lady. To say that you know everything, no matter how good you are at something, is foolishness. There is always something we can be learning." He smiled charmingly.
"You speak with such wisdom..." She couldn't help but murmur as she looked into those eyes that could lead any lady to bed. Margaery had no experience, but she couldn't deny that if this man wanted to deflower her tonight, she wouldn't resist.
They continued dancing for several songs without anyone interfering. They continued like this for 20 minutes until Margaery felt herself sweating. As much as she enjoyed continuing the dance, she didn't want to ruin her perfect image.
"Can you take me to the main table, King of Artica?" She asked in a submissive tone while Jon nodded.
As they began to move, one of the Redwyne twins quickly approached, interrupting their path. It was the twin who hadn't asked to dance with Arya. "Lady Margaery, may we dance?" He asked.
"Sorry, my lord. But I am tired and need to rest a bit." She said with the charm expected of a woman of her status.
"..." The noble only nodded, looking displeased and even giving Jon an angry look for taking so much of Lady Margaery's time on the dance floor. Jon didn't care about him.
"It seems the prince has returned." Margaery commented as she held Jon's arm, returning to the table.
"Lord of Artica, I was waiting for you." Prince Renly greeted as Jon sat between him and his wife.
"I am back." Jon said, though he had hoped to return earlier but was approached so many times that he ended up dancing.
"Did you have a good dance?" Seryna looked at him while asking.
"Well, I can't complain." Jon said, and she nodded without jealousy.
Seryna wasn't as jealous as Ygritte. Even when Jon slept with Nyra, she didn't mind, even expecting her husband to find more wives in the future, as he had always made clear.
"So, Lord Jon. Lady Arya is very excited about the tournament." Renly said while Jon looked at Arya beside Seryna.
"Lady Olenna told her." Seryna commented, though Jon had already heard it from a small hidden rat. He was also surprised to hear about his aunt in that tournament many years ago, which ignited the flames of war that later brought down House Targaryen.
"Yes, thank you, Jon!" Arya exclaimed excitedly.
Jon nodded and turned back to Prince Renly. "I'm sure you seem to want to discuss something more with me." Jon said.
"Yes, King of Artica. I want to make a proposal." He began as Jon raised an eyebrow, though he already knew.
"What would it be?" Jon asked.
"I am very interested in your sword... Darksister. As a descendant of House Targaryen, I believe it to be a perfect sword for me..." He began with a friendly smile while practically demanding the sword.
"Well, you may have Targaryen blood through your grandmother, and even be the prince of the realm, but that doesn't give you the right to something found in another realm many years ago." Jon spoke calmly as everyone at the table heard this, making the atmosphere quite dangerous.
"Are you saying the prince has no right to the sword?" Loras suddenly spoke while the royal guards behind Jon remained alert to any possible conflict.
"I am." Jon said calmly.
"I respect you, King of Artica, but I am sure the nobles here present would agree with me." Renly continued.
"You think they have any power over my belongings? I have a fleet at sea at this moment, and I'm not lying when I say I could conquer the entire realm right now. I doubt all these nobles could organize themselves when we launch an attack here." Jon spoke with a dangerous tone, shocking everyone at the table. He was talking about attacking this realm.
"You are..." Renly couldn't believe what he was hearing. He expected anything but a possible war.
"I am saying, Prince Renly, that I came to this realm to negotiate, but if you want a bloodbath, we can propose that as well from the moment someone tries to steal from me or raises a sword to threaten me. So, I hope you don't doubt I will do something. The same can be said for you, Lady Olenna." Jon spoke with a tone he hadn't used with the old lady yet, implying that he expected her to doubt his words so he could launch an attack with his fleet. He could devastate Highgarden and return without the realm being able to launch a counterattack or Westeros being able to stop them, because at sea they were invincible with Arctic technology.
The table was in a very dangerous situation while no one could say a word after Jon's little speech.
Loras placed his hand on his sword, while the royal guards did the same. At the boy's first move, he would lose his head.
"Loras, drop that sword." Olenna finally spoke, more serious than usual. She turned back to Jon, feeling that this might not end well for either side. For her, even if she harmed Jon, it would be a catastrophe to deal with thousands of soldiers landing on her coast and marching here. They didn't have an army ready to face them.
"Mother..." Mace tried to speak.
"Shut up and let me talk." She growled at him before turning back to Jon. "I think our tempers are a bit high, King of Artica. I'm sure Prince Renly didn't mean it that way, did you?" She raised an eyebrow at Renly, who was sweating a bit.
"Yes, Lady Olenna is right. Perhaps my words were a bit heated..." He commented, still frowning. After all, he didn't want a fight to happen while trying to intimidate Jon.
"Let me rephrase my proposal, King Jon..." He began, regaining some composure. "I want to bet on your sword. I am willing to give a large piece of my lands in Stormlands for you to build a port, as you did with Dorne." He spoke, trying not to sound threatening anymore.
"You want to give me lands for my sword in a contest... but what do you want to bet on?" Jon asked, but without a threatening tone, seeming almost friendly again.
"How about you participate in the joust? If you win, I am willing to give you these lands. If my personal knight wins, I get your Valyrian steel sword..." He proposed.
"..." Jon thought about it in silence. The entire table waited for his response while other tables in the distance seemed to notice something was quite wrong there. "All right, it doesn't seem bad." Jon said. He seemed just surprised, but he had already heard Renly and Loras's conversation before they came to the main table. And he could easily win some lands, so he was willing to accept.
"That's great!" Renly clapped his hands happily, while the rest of the table seemed to sigh in relief.
Renly then stood up from the table and clinked his utensils to get the entire hall's attention. The bards stopped playing at that moment with the prince's announcement.
"Attention, nobles of the Reach!" Renly began. "I, Prince Renly Baratheon, am pleased to make an exciting announcement at this banquet. I am honored to reveal that our illustrious guest, Lady Arya Stark, will participate in the archery tournament. Witness the impressive skill of this young lady from Winterfell, who promises to surprise all the competitors." He said, while everyone looked at Arya in surprise.
"A girl participating in archery, what absurdity is this?!" Many exclaimed in low voices, but no one dared to disagree with the prince of Westeros and his decision.
Arya felt hundreds of eyes on her, but she didn't care as she smiled, ignoring the disdain. She would prove to be one of the best archers in the tournament.
"Furthermore..." Renly had not finished. "There is a special challenge I want to share. Our valiant foreign king, Jon of Artica, known for his conquests and skills, has decided to participate in the joust at my invitation. However, Jon is not a traditional knight and, instead, brings an exciting proposal for all of us. He wagers the legendary sword Dark Sister against the lands of Stormlands with me!"
"Jon and I have agreed to participate in this joust as a friendly contest. If Jon wins, he will receive a portion of the Stormlands to build a port, similar to what he did in Dorne. If my personal knight triumphs, the legendary sword Dark Sister will return to the hands of one who has Targaryen blood by descent."
Everyone was so surprised by this that they forgot about the child participating in archery, looking at Jon with interest. Despite not being a knight, wagering his Valyrian steel sword was exciting for everyone there.
"Let this banquet continue to celebrate courage, skill, and friendship between the realms. May the gods bless the competitors and may the winds of fortune be in your favor! Please continue with the celebration. The archery competition will begin the day after tomorrow and the joust next week!" Renly announced while the entire hall stood up to clap at the proposal, looking at the main table. The tournament had become much more interesting than before for everyone.
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