Arthur knew he had fucked up. When he had finally regained the control of his mind -and pulled his attention from Rhaenyra's eyes- he had realized he might have started a war. Killing a Dornish Prince was bad enough, but killing him the way he did was far worse. In a matter of weeks, rumors would start circulating in Dorne about the savage that devoured a living Martell, the people of Sunspear and around would demand vengeance. And if no war was to be declared, the Stark knew that meant that many assassins were already on their way to find his bed to slit his throat.
Arthur could handle an assassination attempt, or two for that matter, but he knew it would be a matter of time, perhaps two or three years, before one of the men sent to kill him manages to go unnoticed by his paranoia and season his goat milk.
And if by some miracle, he were to manage to survive longer that expected, then the assassins would start targeting his family, or Rhaenyra…
He considered surrendering himself to the Prince of Dorne to prevent that, he decided that he would, should he be given no other choice. Running away was not an option, he was no coward, and the Dornish would find vengeance in killing his uncle or his cousin anyway.
He sighed as he was laying in his bed in Storm's End. So many things were going inside his mind.
Shadow had remained by his side that night, the direwolf had been unusually quiet since its friend had ripped the throat of a man with his bare teeth. Arthur knew the beast felt guilty for what had happened. The northerner wasn't angry at it though, it wasn't the wolf's fault that their minds had almost merged during the past night, nor was it its fault that it had involuntarily warged inside its Stark friend when he had been asleep.
In all the years they had spent together, such a thing had never happened. Arthur had not even heard that it was possible for the animal to warg inside the mind of the skinchanger it had bonded with. Perhaps this was a thing that only direwolwes were capable of, or perhaps the bond between Shadow and him was stronger than it should have been… Perhaps Rhaenyra's presence and blood had triggered something that neither wolf nor man could explain.
His princess had a weird effect on Arthur. He considered her to be one of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen since he had met her, but never before had she… attracted him.
He had been embarrassed when he had regained his senses after killing the Dornish, she had seen him covered in blood with human flesh stuck between his teeth. He had expected her to spurn him away for this, but the only thing she did when he had isolated himself to clean the blood of his face, was ask him if he was okay. Arthur had not really answered this question, mostly because he had not been sure of the answer himself. Instead, he did his duty as an adviser, and advised the Princess to leave Storm's End as soon as possible in order to regain the safety of the Red Keep and inform her father, the King, of what had happened. If Rhaenyra had been frustrated by his answer, she did not show. The only thing she told him was to take care of himself, something he knew he would fail to do.
Lord Blackwood and his son Willem paid him a visit that night, to thank him for saving the heir to Raventree Hall and swear to repay him in anyway they could. Arthur simply accepted their thanks and told them to keep supporting Rhaenyra's claim to the Throne. He still asked Lord Blackwood to talk to the undecided Riverlords to push them into supporting his princess, and to inform him should a lord or several were to declare themselves for Aegon instead of the rightful heir. Lord Blackwood swore on his honor that he would do as he had been asked, and send him a raven should he be aware of any traitors.
Willem did as well, though, Arthur could see that his first kill was weighting heavily on the boy's heart. He shared a few words with him, and it was a more colored Willem that had left his chambers that night. At least someone would have a lighter mind tonight.
Arthur went to bed early, eager to wash away his tiredness and regain his strength, he hadn't shown it nor did he intend to talk about it, but he was angry at the fact that he had lost his sword so easily during the trial, he might have been tired and driven by his wolfish instinct, but that was no excuse. He needed to visit the training yard more often from now on, especially if he intended to survive a few assassination attempts in the coming weeks.
(-)(-)(-)
To say that Rhaenyra was frustrated would have been an understatement. That stubborn Stark of hers had been on her mind since she had seen his wolfish eyes and had not left since then. That oaf had not even bothered to show himself at lunch and supper, leaving her alone to deal with the booming Lord Boremund who could not stop talking about Arthur's victory and the way the Dornish Prince had died screaming. As she tossed and turned in her bed, she remembered how uncomfortable Ser Criston had looked every time her northern adviser had been mentioned. Perhaps the stormlander was as worried for their common friend as she was… Yet… Rhaenyra surprised herself when she realized that she did not care about the fight half as much as she would have thought, she was much more concerned with the yellowness of his eyes and the mental state he was in than by a dead Dornish Prince.
Since she had met him, Arthur had always been a stubborn immovable iceberg, as hard as the Wall twice as imperturbable. Yet, the emotions she had been able to decipher in his eyes once they had returned to their natural grey had disturbed her. They had seem so out of place in his usual stone face. Worry, regrets, self-anger, and the most disturbing of them all; shame, and it had shone the moment their eyes had crossed.
What was he ashamed of? Displaying such brutality in front of her? She had seen her fair share of brutality during the many tournaments that her father had organized. Truth be told, seeing him rip the throat of the Dornish Prince that had insulted her had aroused a strange feeling inside her, he had nothing to be ashamed of.
Rhaenyra needed to speak with him, privately this time, to hell with any rumors that might emerge from them being alone in the same room, she would get answers from him no matter what.
(-)(-)(-)
He was making it difficult. He had retreated to his cabin the moment they had boarded the ship back to King's Landing, and Shadow had followed him.
Rhaenyra had never been patient, the only reasons why she had not knocked on his door and demanded that he came out was out of respect for him and because she feared his reaction. She did not want him to turn into an angry stonewall, he wasn't a servant she could order around, if she were to disrespect him, she'd loose him in a heartbeat.
During the second day of their journey, she considered kicking his door down…perhaps this situation was frustrating her far more than she'd care to admit.
Her only company during this painful journey was Ser Criston. As usual the stormlander was quick to ease her worries and make her laugh. However, she had been unable to notice how tense he had looked every time she had glanced in the cabins' direction.
Now that she thought about it, it had been quite some time since her sworn shield and her had been alone together.
"Is something on your mind Princess?" The knight asked, seeing a thoughtful look on her face.
Rhaenyra sighed, perhaps talking with Ser Criston could help her.
"I have many things on my mind." She admitted. "After all, a Dornish prince just died during my courtship… The Sea Snake and my uncle are away in the Stepstones fighting the Crabfeeder, if Dorne was to declare war upon us, we would be forced to fight them without the support of Caraxes and the Velaryon fleet."
"Well… if it is any consolation, I do not believe that there would be a war. Prince Qyle was slain during a trial by combat and his killer was not a Targaryen. The last time the Dornish tried to invade the Seven Kingdoms, they lost the war in a day. If they were to seek revenge, war would not be their way."
Rhaenyra bit her lower lip, she wasn't convinced. The fourth dornish war had ended quickly thanks to Vermithor, Caraxes and Vhagar. But two of those dragons were now riderless and the third was already fighting a War. Right now, only Syrax was large enough to fight a battle, but her alone would not make a big difference. After all, Meraxes had been larger.
"Still… my father is not going to be happy…"
Ser Criston chuckled.
"Do you speak of how you rejected every suitor His Grace put before you, or how you abruptly ended the tour with two months remaining?"
He was trying to ease her mind, she knew that, but she couldn't find it in herself to smile.
"If it is any consolation, Princess, your father will probably be angrier at Arthur than he will be at you."
"And why is that?" She asked with worry. "Arthur protected a boy who was about to get killed by a lord. He won his trial by combat against a Dornish prince. He has done nothing wrong."
Ser Criston took a moment to chose his next words carefully before answering his princess.
"The way he killed Prince Qyle was wrong." He finally said as gently as possible. "No doubts the lords you rejected will seize this opportunity to slight you through him."
Rhaenyra groaned out loud, those petty little men were parasites, how her father could deal with them with smiles and offer them his wine and food, she will never understand.
"Princess…" Ser Criston added. "Perhaps it would be best if you were to… dismiss Arthur Stark from your service…"
The Realm's Delight turned around in a blink, her purple eyes filled with anger.
"I hope you have a very good reason for even suggesting something like this, Ser." She almost spat.
"Princess…" he started slowly, Rhaenyra hated that tone. "Many Lords and Knights in the South are angry that you allowed a northerner to advise you, they whisper that he is manipulating you into marrying him rather than a proper Lord…"
"A proper Lord?!" She repeated furious. "None of the men who dares talk behind my back and believes me to be feeble knows what a proper lord is! They all expected me to marry them for the might of their house and the safety of their castle in exchange for my Valyrian womb for their offsprings! Very few of them even expect me to sit on the Iron Throne one day! Arthur's presence just reminds them of how pathetic they are! They want him out of their sight so they can keep being pathetic without feeling bad about it, which they should!"
Her tirade drew many surprised looks from the crew scattered on the boat's bridge. Realizing her mistake, she turned her head back on the ocean and put on a neutral face.
"Princess, I understand your disdain for them, I share the same feeling. But…
"Anything before the word 'but' is horse-shit." She thought absentmindedly.
"… you have to understand. It is their support that will secure your rule on the Iron Throne, you cannot ignore their feelings. And now that Arthur has ripped a man's throat with his bare teeth, his savagery has been exposed for all to see. His presence by your side is only weakening your claim and…"
"I have heard enough of you, Ser Criston." She interrupted him abruptly, her eyes still on the ocean. "Leave me."
She heard him sigh, which only increased her anger, his retreating footsteps though, were almost music to her hears.
She exhaled loudly to release the tension of her body, dismiss Arthur was the worst thing she could think of. If Arthur were to leave, she would be alone once again, with no one to help her prepare her rule and tell the difference between friend and foe. His presence by her side had been a blessing, his lessons had helped her realize many things about the Game of Thrones that she would have been unable to figure out by herself until it had been too late. He had saved her life, protected her from those lecherous lords, and comforted her when she needed. He was her last real friend… even if he was doing all of this for his homeland.
That last part stung more than it should have, she was quick to bury that annoying feeling inside her chest.
She thought about the North, this place that so many people had called a frozen wasteland filled with barbarians since she had been a child. Arthur was no barbarian, he was stubborn and sometimes insufferable, but he was one of the best person she had met.
But now that she thought about it, she did not know that much about him. All he has ever done was his duty, he barely spoke of his homeland or himself for that matter. Could she even call him a friend? Would he really leave her to her misery when his duty was done?
A hand on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts, she turned her head only for her purple eyes to clash with the grey ones of the man on her mind.
"You' all right?" He asked with concern obvious in voice.
Rhaenyra was pleased to see him, even more so that he was concerned about her.
"I am better now," she replied absentmindedly. "What have you been doing in your cabin all this time?"
"Avoiding your questions." He bluntly replied as he leaned on the railing of the ship.
The Princess frowned, she was vexed to hear that.
"And what made you come out?"
"Your screeches." He said as Shadow was rubbing his face against the girl's face.
She giggled a little as the massive wolf licked her cheek, but she was still vexed.
"Well… since you obviously know what I want to ask, do tell me: should I bother?"
Arthur let out a deep long sigh and actually considered the idea. He ended up shaking his head.
"No one knows about this, not even my father, my uncle or my brothers. Only my little cousin does and that is because he needed to know. Otherwise I would not have told him."
"That is not really an answer." She pointed out with an upset tone.
"I'm sorry… What I am trying to say is that it is one of my biggest secret, and this boat is not really a private place to speak of private matters."
Rhaenyra tightened her jaw. She saw his point but that did not change the fact that it left her unsatisfied. She wanted to know why his eyes had turned yellow! She wanted to understand what had happened and if there was a chance for it to happen again! She wanted to know him better!
"Will you tell me… one day?"
Her question surprised the Stark. He looked at her in the eyes and saw… maybe it was desperation. He wasn't sure.
"Well if I do not end up being assassinated by a dornish, then I promise I will tell you."
She frowned.
"You really think they will try something like that?"
"Not inside the Red Keep, for I would be under your father's protection and that could start a war. I just hope they won't target my uncle… or my cousin."
"What about your father and brothers?"
"I wouldn't particularly miss them." He shrugged. "They are all selfish cunts."
Rhaenyra rose her eyebrows in shock.
"You never told me about your family…"
"For good reasons, as you can hear."
"What have they done for you to despise them so much?"
Once again, Arthur let out a deep long sigh.
"My father is… well… he is a greedy bastard. Everyone knows he wants to be the Lord of Winterfell, he belittled my cousin many times in front of the lords by saying that I would be a better heir than him. That's actually part of the reason why, my uncle sent me south."
Rhaenyra's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"I am pretty sure my uncle would have hated me had I not spent so much time teaching Cregan…" he added as he lost himself in his memories of home. "Thank the Old Gods for Giant, had it not been for him, Uncle Rickon would have never acknowledged my worth, or believed that I had refused to take part in any of Father's stupid plan."
"A giant?!" The Princess repeated with shock.
Her Stark friend let out an amused chuckle.
"No, 'Giant' is Cregan's direwolf, Shadow's little brother. I found them both North of the Wall and brought them back to Winterfell four years ago."
Rhaenyra let out a sigh of relief, and rolled her eyes in fake embarrassment.
"'Giant'? Really?"
"He was four." Arthur defended his cousin with a smile. "And he is a good boy. He is the only Stark that I actually miss."
"What about your brothers?"
He let out a groan.
"Let's just say they fit the definition of the word barbarian pretty well." He said, shocking Rhaenyra. "They are all uneducated and more interested in fighting and hunting than bettering the North. And before you ask, yes, I did try to give them all a proper education, but my father put an end to it."
"Why?"
Rhaenyra immediately regretted being so inquisitive, it was now obvious to her that Arthur was suffering from reliving his past. His gritted teeth were proof enough.
"Because my father is a fool, he believes that a good northerner is a strong northerner. He disowned me in all but words when he thought that I was more maester's material than anything else, given how much time I used to spend in the library as a boy."
Rhaenyra could not believe her hears, how can a man so stupid sire a man like Arthur?
"But… you are strong. How did you become strong without the support of your father?"
"Thanks to my uncle." He replied with a warmer voice. "My uncle Rickon did not have children from his first marriage, Cregan was only born six years ago. So I had been the unofficial heir for thirteen years. Uncle Rickon taught me well, I will always be grateful, his influence allowed me to make many friends among the Northern houses."
Despite her smile, a question was still in Rhaenyra's mind.
"Are you… angry that you will not inherit Winterfell?"
"Angry? No. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, I love the North, I love Winterfell, I had great plans to change my homeland for the better… But I am glad to have a cousin like Cregan, he is more sensitive and smarter than my brothers. I am sure he will listen to any plans I will propose."
"And if he refuses?"
A small grin appeared on Arthur's face, he turned to look at his Princess.
"What do you expect me to do? Usurp him for the greater good?" He laughed. "He is going to be the Lord, it is his prerogative to refuse me. I simply expect him to give me a good explanation, I'd be disappointed if he were to refuse me out of pride."
Rhaenyra rolled her eyes, though she was glad that his mood had improved.
"What about your mother? What did she think of all that?"
Once again, she regretted her question, for her friend's face had turned neutral in a blink.
"I'm not even sure if she ever thought, to be honest." He stated bluntly. "She was quiet and never did much except raising us, my relationship with her ended the moment Father ostracized me. I barely spoke to her between that moment and her death."
The Princess was sad to hear this, her relationship with her mother had not been the greatest given their opposite opinions regarding the condition of a princess and she had often rebelled against her. But she never stopped loving her, even today.
"What about your uncle? Judging by the way you speak of him, he was like a second father to you."
Arthur let out a deep frustrated sigh.
"My uncle Rickon is… more stubborn than you and I combined and not prone to let any of his feelings be known. I'm actually angry at him, and have been since I've left Winterfell."
Rhaenyra cocked an eyebrow.
"Why is that?"
"Because he is the one that sent me to King's Landing to stem Father's plans to usurp Cregan. I'm not saying he was wrong to do so, it was the smart thing to do. But…"
"Anything before the word 'but' is horseshit." Rhaenyra interfered with a mocking voice.
Arthur through her a dismayed look before letting out an amused laugh.
"However…" He reformulated. "I'm pissed at him because he simply summoned me to his solar to inform me of my mission without giving me an explanation. And of course I'm pissed at him because it is his fault I'm south of Moat Cailin."
The Realm's delight felt her heart ache when she heard those words, was Arthur truly miserable by her side?
Perhaps the Stark lad realized his mistake, for he quickly added:
"Don't take this the wrong way, I enjoy your presence and I'm glad I have met you. It is the South I despise. The lords are more concerned about the best way to waste their coin than the prosperity of the people under their protection, the small folk are rude, and King's Landing is a mountain of shit covered in gold and marble, living there is harder for me than survive beyond the Wall."
Now it was Rhaenyra's turn to throw him a dismayed look.
"Surely you're jesting, how could it be that bad?"
"I don't have many friends in Court." Arthur sighed. "Actually, your my only friend in Court. The rest are just lickspittles and vultures."
The Princess was silent for a moment, before she absentmindedly petted Shadow's neck.
"I feel the same." She answered, her voice barely above a whisper.
For a long moment, they both lost themselves in each other's eyes. No a word was spoken, not a move was made, the relaxing feeling of enjoying each other's company prevailed.
Arthur knew what was going on, he knew how dangerous that was and knew that whatever attraction there was between them could never bloom into something more… meaningful. He'd be lying if he said he did not like having Rhaenyra by his side, he simply refused to have his lust and desire control. This was nothing but trouble.
Rhaenyra wasn't actually thinking about her feelings, she just wanted to enjoy this moment, where Arthur and her could simply be at each other's side without a care in the World, this was so relaxing for her.
The moment could have lasted a lot longer had the Stark not heard some kind of cry from above, he turned his head quickly and scanned the sky while Shadow was growling Rhaenyra was simply frowning in confusion.
When the Northerner saw a gigantic red creature descend towards their ship, he yelled:
"Take cover!"
Caraxes almost grazed the mast of the boat as it straighten its trajectory. Arthur reacted in a second, he locked Rhaenyra in his arms and nearly planted his foot in the rail of the ship to prevent them from loosing their balance.
"Princess!" Ser Criston called as he rushed by their side. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She replied with her hands firmly holding Arthur's wrists. "I'm fine."
They both took a long look at the crimson Dragon who was on his way to the Red Keep. Arthur's grey eyes were wary, while Rhaenyra's were hopeful.
"Was that your uncle?"
"Yes."
"If he is here, that means the war in the Stepstones is over. Finally a good news."
Rhaenyra gently patted his hand and rose her head to look at his face.
"With a bit of luck he'll anger my Father well enough to make him forget about us."
Arthur laughed goodheartedly.
"I wouldn't count on it if I were you." He said as he released her.
As the Princess kept looking at the Red Keep, her adviser found himself staring at her silver hair, it lasted for a second or two before Shadow quietly warned him about the man who was throwing him a dark look. He turned around to cross the eyes of Ser Criston Cole and slowly lowered his head in shame to apologize for his inappropriate behavior.
He needed to get a better grip on his instincts, otherwise he would get himself killed, and Rhaenyra would lose the Crown.
After all, he knew very well that love was the death of duty.