[Chapter Size: 3400 Words.]
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Third Person POV
Casterly Rock, 298 AC.
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Certainly, the blonde girl was not in the best moment of her life.
She had been kidnapped in her own home. If a bastard could even call Casterly Rock a home...
She could say that things were as always, but she would be lying even before being trapped on a ship heading north with strange people, none other than Arcticans.
Things had been strange in House Lannister, her uncle, the lord of Casterly Rock and head of the Lannister family, was very angry. Angry in a way that Joy had never seen before.
She did not know many details, those matters were conversations between her uncle and even her aunt Goana seemed to keep certain things hidden from her. Even being a bastard, she sat at the table with the family, along with her cousins, and even Tywin sat at the head of the table as the leader of the family.
However, that was only when they were among themselves, because at banquets with vassals, she had to stay away, sitting with the servants or even not attending the hall at all, by order of her uncle Tywin.
She knew that this was the condition of being a bastard. She did not have the rights of those who carried the Lannister name behind their own, even if her uncle Tywin was harsh with her most of the time, she still knew there were people who cared for her. After all, even if she had to stay locked in a room, feeling jealous of not being able to dance with other noble girls or meet knights and noble lords, her cousin Tyrion and her aunt Genna always came to visit her in the middle of the banquet and often brought food to eat with her.
She still felt loved, Tyrion always made her laugh with his stories and Genna was sweet, her uncle Kevan was serious but not rude, while Tywin dealt with her more politically, there was no love, but she was treated better than bastards usually were.
She had many cousins, although most were not very kind to her, after all many of them had Lannister pride and always treated her poorly when they were in Casterly Rock. Tyrion's brother, Ser Jaime Lannister, was neutral and even friendly to her, but Cersei hated her for her status, she did not allow Joy to even approach her children. She even insulted her publicly when they visited Casterly Rock a few years ago.
The crown prince seemed to share that idea, joining his mother in questioning why a bastard was among them, even if she was far away and the place had only the Lannister family, she could feel the gaze of everyone, many judging her, while others felt pity for her. Prince Tommen and Myrcella shared those eyes, unlike their older brother.
She cried a lot that day.
She remembered spending the whole night wishing she were a noble Lannister, Joy Lannister, being courted by a handsome knight or a great noble. She knew she was asking for too much, but she liked to dream of a good life, married to someone who should be worthy of a Lannister.
She knew she was beautiful, as beautiful as the princess, she had heard that many times, but having Hill in her name stopped her from many things, she was not courted, only desired like a prostitute. No one dared to do anything, after all she still shared Lannister blood and lived in Casterly Rock along with the family.
Her uncle Tywin would never allow such harm to come to her, sometimes guards were even kept with her. Some of the castle maids had been harassed and raped, and if the person was of important blood, her uncle did not even seem to care, but there had been situations where some foolish knights tried to commit crimes in House Lannister and ended up without their heads.
Even being protected, things would have been much easier if her father were here. Thinking of him made her feel a certain regret and sadness. She had been a foolish girl years ago when she cried saying she would be a bastard for the rest of her life.
Sometimes she wished she had never spoken those words. She wanted to marry and have a good family, live well, but she would never have that being a Hill, so her father did the unthinkable, he himself offered her to her uncle Tywin in exchange for retrieving the family sword long lost.
Tywin accepted, if her father brought back Brightroar, her uncle would speak to the king and she would become a legitimized Lannister. When her father came to her and told her what he planned, Joy could not remember ever being happier.
How foolish she had been at that time, for if she had known it would be one of the last moments she and her father would have together, she would have done anything to refuse.
But at the time, she was a foolish little girl in search of a name to fulfill personal desires. She wanted to be respected, she wanted people not to look at her with disdain, to insult her openly or see her as a beautiful lover for when someone grew tired of his wife.
She had never known her mother, Briony, but her father loved her, and even though she had the Lannister coloring, green eyes and golden hair, her father always said she was very similar to her. She felt proud of that, and at the same time foolish disappointment, blaming her mother for her status, not knowing that in the future, she would have a bitter taste in her mouth about those thoughts.
Joy, despite many difficulties, was a privileged bastard and had heard of few bastards who had the same chance she had to live and learn within a noble house.
The most famous of them was Jon Snow, or so he was called.
Joy knew he was 2 years older than her, but she had heard stories about him since she was 6 years old. She felt a little unsettled by the ballads she heard about a bastard fighting, nothing less than a child only a bit older than her, fighting against bandits.
She liked the stories, and they would be only the first she would hear about the boy who was like her, living in a castle as a bastard. She wondered if he had lessons with the maester like she did, though she doubted he would have singing and embroidery lessons, if he trained alongside his true brothers in the yard and had the same guidance from Winterfell's master-at-arms.
If he was despised and not allowed to attend banquets, or interact with other nobles, with the family always keeping him hidden so they wouldn't be ashamed of the status that she and the boy shared.
But those questions seemed to be overshadowed by the boy's achievements, as she continued hearing about his journey beyond the Wall, with many saying he had died there, even walking among giants… Her uncle Tyrion found it fanciful that a boy would have found giant companions, beings not seen for thousands of years, and journeyed beyond the Wall.
Later, she was impressed by the rumors, despite most people mocking and laughing, of an 11 namedays-old boy, nothing less than a bastard, proclaiming himself king. People said it might be northern propaganda to promote themselves, though the report of Jon Snow giving immense amounts of gold even made her uncle Tywin thoughtful.
When she heard about Arctic once again, it was years later, that he had gone to the sea with an impressive fleet. She heard some guards discussing where a fleet of 150 ships had come from, north of the Wall, heading to Dorne and stopping to offer their products.
She heard about negotiations troubled with fights and threats, but at the same time with trade agreements made between Arctic and Dorne. Then they went to the Reach.
Jon Snow, or rather now known as Jon Arctic, won a tournament in Highgarden and crowned his little sister who was with him.
When she learned that he docked in Lannisport, with her uncle Kevan and cousin Tyrion there, she was in Casterly Rock, and admitted she wanted to see what the boy of the same origin as her looked like, but somehow he had become someone discussed constantly in the meetings of Casterly Rock. Her uncles, cousins, and even visitors spoke only about Jon Snow and the success of his traded products.
They said the boy was some kind of magician, making giants, little men like her cousin Tyrion, and ordinary adults follow him and call him king. That it was thanks to him they built a fleet, created products and even transported ice with magic.
Joy at the time seemed to believe in magic and would have loved to see it.
Unfortunately, she did not get to meet him.
She was surprised when her cousin, Jaime Lannister, became a hostage of the Arcticans. She could not believe what she heard. And Tywin became enraged and rushed to Lannisport as soon as he learned of the Arcticans' arrival to negotiate.
The negotiations went well, according to her aunt Genna. Jaime was returned safely, some business was sealed in contracts, the Arcticans bought a great amount of iron and Tywin himself negotiated with Jon Arctic, selling a sword made of the precious metal Arctic produced, for 100 thousand gold coins.
A sword cost that much! She could not imagine how good her life could be if she had that gold for herself, and a boy of the same origin as her negotiated with Tywin Lannister.
Everyone feared her uncle Tywin, even the most powerful men of the west and other lands who visited the Lannister seat. Joy saw everyone tremble in fear. Even the king had to be respectful toward her uncle.
She could hardly believe it when the rumors of the negotiation came. That the 15 namedays-old boy faced her uncle Tywin without blinking. They even said that the terrible lion allowed a small smile to show at the boy's boldness, nothing less.
After all, he had captured Tywin's favorite son and came to Lannisport with no fear, buying and selling goods, while the Lannisters had to pay a ransom for Jaime.
She knew the stories of her uncle Tywin and she knew he would strike the Arcticans because of the humiliation. And that is what he did. He launched an attack against the Arcticans, but they were destroyed, the terrible Mountain became a broken man, left nearly to die. Joy feared Jon Snow at that moment.
After all, how savage must they be to create all that, they did not even seem afraid of her uncle, when all the kingdoms would tremble just by standing before him and enduring the stare of the old lion. But this boy, Jon Snow, faced him like no one before, as the guards whispered without wanting to be heard by others, because they would be dead if someone heard those words.
The Arcticans began the war with Westeros since then and they destroyed all the ships at sea. If those events were not enough, when she heard of Essos, Jon Arctic had conquered a path all the way to Yi-Ti and then came taking even more wars, winning them.
Just like everyone in Westeros, shocked with every news of Arctic, already recognized as a dangerous power to Westeros, she was stunned when her aunt spoke about her father, that the Arcticans found him in Yi-Ti, heard only a few moons ago.
And they brought the sword with them, wanting to negotiate in her father's name, which made Joy's heart ache just to hear that her father had another family and would not come to Westeros.
She wanted so much to see him.
She was in a very strange agreement at this moment, she would go to Arctic, that was her father's will. To live with those people, to see what a boy who began as a bastard had built with magic beyond the Wall.
One part of her was afraid, she would not have the Lannister name. But at the same time, as her aunt had said, they were not savages as everyone tried to make them seem.
So a part of her was sincerely excited, but things were changing, her uncle had started to look at her strangely, ever since the incidents in Winterfell, both sons and Tywin severely injured.
Joy noticed how her uncle stared at her in a strange way, as if he did not know what to do with her. She was afraid. Her aunt said she would be fine, that her uncle was just stressed. But she knew it was more than that. That she might be being used as a bargaining item by her uncle.
She feared that he might retaliate against the Arcticans through her, even though she had nothing besides a promise with her father in Yi-Ti and the king of Arctic.
However, that changed one night, while her uncle had traveled to King's Landing, hearing about the great concentration of nobles going there. There were far more guards placed around her than there should have been.
She knew she was being forbidden from walking through the castle without eyes on her, she suddenly seemed important, more than at any other moment.
What she did not imagine was that, one night, she would truly learn that her uncle had been right to place guards around her, even inside Casterly Rock, because her room was invaded with smoke, making her faint before she could scream.
Her body was lifted from the bed and she felt, even almost unconscious, that they were descending the rock. The group of strangers seemed to move very well inside the rock, while she saw flashes of guards on the ground, unconscious as well, as they continued down the corridor until reaching the lowest part of the castle.
She wondered who they were and how they knew the castle so well. Everything was blurry.
"We got her!" said a voice.
"Great, we neutralized all the guards and watchmen, we have a few minutes or even hours at best before someone notices something is wrong here," the other voice replied.
"Put her in the boat carefully and let's return to the ship. We still have a long journey north." With that, she was placed down, her body swaying with the boat and all she could do was hear the men boasting about having invaded the Lannisters' seat.
Her vision darkened.
When she returned, she jumped up from her bed, desperate, getting up quickly and looking around the place she was in.
She was not in her room in Casterly Rock. Her eyes went to the window and she saw the sea, moving with its waves.
"It cannot be..." Despair overtook her.
There was her aunt Genna in the castle, but she had been taken, why? Who were they and why were they necessarily kidnapping her?
Her eyes went downward in desperation, before letting out a breath of relief, she was wearing the same clothes, intact, without signs of violation.
Why would someone invade one of the most difficult castles in Westeros for a bastard like her, when they could take aunt Genna for being more important, after all she was legitimate? She could only think of one group, even if it was hard to believe.
"Are they the Arcticans? How, what were they doing there?" It was the only answer, though she could not understand how. They were the only ones who might worry about taking her secretly after all the trouble her cousins had suffered in Winterfell, after all she was aware that her uncle Tywin could use her.
She looked for something in the room, there was the bed, larger than the one she had in her room in Casterly Rock, a nightstand and a table.
She moved cautiously as she approached the nightstand, opening it and finding clothes... At least clothes for a girl like her. Her eyes stayed on the dresses and as she opened more drawers, undergarments had also been placed there.
What she found strange was that the bed, the nightstand, and the table were tied to the ship, as if she would steal them, and to prevent that, she did not understand what it meant.
Caw! A sound caught her attention and she jumped, seeing a raven tapping at the sea window.
"A bird?" She did not understand, before the raven simply flew away.
She sat on the bed, not understanding much of what was happening there. She was lost and stunned. But a knock on the door caught her attention.
"May I enter?" The voice called, and she realized the room was not locked.
She said nothing and the person began to enter. Joy stared at the person with cautious eyes, searching for anything to defend herself with her hands, from a possible assailant, while her eyes remained fixed on the door.
A man entered the room, someone with a strange appearance, he had slanted eyes, she had never seen anyone like that, but she had read that people from Yi-Ti were like that after searching about that land in the Casterly Rock library when she learned her father was living in Yin.
"Who are you?" she asked cautiously.
"Forgive the intrusion, my name is Jin Sakai. You must be Joy Hill, correct?" the man asked as she raised her eyebrow.
"What do you want with me?!" she asked, backing away even more, while Jin stood still in front of the door.
"I know this is sudden, but we came to take you. Our king, Jon Arctic, wanted you removed from Casterly Rock safely," he said.
"The one who has my father's sword... Why would he do something like this, my uncle will not be happy about this!" she said.
"I know, His Majesty knows as well. It is out of fear that your uncle may harm you that the king sent us to retrieve you," he said.
"My family would not hurt me, even if I were a bastard!" she declared with a certain anger toward the strange man, despite the fear she felt of him and of where she was.
"You cannot say the same about Cersei Lannister, can you?" he challenged.
"My king said you might be sensitive about being taken like this, but he wants your safety. He said your cousin, if she knew you were important to us, would hurt you to take revenge." he said, and she tried to argue, but she couldn't.
How could she?
Her aunt Genna herself had told her to be careful with Cersei after what happened.
"Did you hurt my aunt? I had friends in Casterly Rock." she murmured. She was lost and surrounded by strangers in the middle of the sea, she had lost, she recognized that from the moment she woke and saw she was not in her room.
The strange man opened a small smile.
"We didn't kill anyone if that's what worries you, we only put them to sleep. It was better than hearing men screaming in pain in the middle of the night, it would've alerted the entire castle." he said.
"..."
She said nothing.
Jin broke the silence then.
"Anyway, a meal will be brought to you. We have only 3 hours of sunlight now, we are heading north. You may request a bath, we have clean water, and if you need anything else, you may call for us." he said.
"Why are you doing all this... I don't think I'm that important..." she murmured.
"Our king told your father he would take care of you. When you meet him, since he cannot simply return the sword, knowing Tywin Lannister would not accept that now, you will understand that the king of Arctic always keeps his word." he said with a faint smile.
She said nothing again and the man left the room.
Joy looked out the window, there were only a few hours of sunlight left. The maester of Casterly Rock said the world was going through a strange phenomenon, the sun raced across the sky and in a short time, darkness took over for more than 21 hours straight.
But none of that mattered to Joy Hill.
She was a prisoner of the Arcticans and was heading to the kingdom beyond the Wall, without knowing whether that was bad or good.
She had no idea what fate had reserved for her.
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