Oberyn panted as he walked carefully across the dunes.
The Flower's betrayal affected him more than he wanted to admit.
Going to Sunspear was impossible, the attack was undoubtedly a joint one, he knew that from the little information he had.
He just hoped Doran was okay.
The options were that they would have eliminated him, or that he was a Hostage.
Any one was bad.
They were near Tor.
They would not go to the city, for fear that it was also being attacked.
Their main duty was to reach the sea, take a ship, and look for allies.
He had to return to Essos.
The alliance with the Starks was not made yet, and to be honest, even if the Starks supported them, they were in their own war against the Lannisters, until Ned Stark arrived in Dorne, they could not do anything, but Valyria had dragons and resources, they also knew that Pentos had fallen to them, with luck Bravos would fall and with that perhaps would bring money and resources to eliminate Dorne's enemies.
Not to mention that to go north he had to pass through a barricade of Lannister ships, with so few men it was impossible. And going by land would take him months of travel, avoiding the bandits that were in Westeros.
' Impossible ' thought the prince.
Meeren was his chance.
They saved the queen of Meeren in Yunkai long ago, she was in their debt, and as the second wife of the king of Valyria...
Valyria's help would be indispensable.
The king's marriage to his niece only helped the cause.
' But it will take us weeks to get there ' he thought.
Weeks that would leave Dorne unprotected.
Oberyn shook his head.
He couldn't suffer like that.
"Never bent, never broken" he whispered.
His daughters saw him.
They were worried too.
For their little sisters.
Tyene and Arianne were alone in Sunspear.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ned Stark listened to the information while cursing.
"How many are there?" he asked.
"At least three traitor houses," his spy told him.
Ned cursed again.
The lion's informants were good without a doubt.
' How did they know? ' he thought.
"Sunspear has been taken by the Manwoody and Darkstar, the latter in turn became lord of Sunspear, Edic Dayne the true heir is in the dungeons, Allyria Dayne is also a prisoner, possibly to persuade the Dayne soldiers not to rebel," said the informant.
' I must inform Ashara ' he thought.
"The Flower attacked the Yronwood, it is presumed that they are fighting, but it is useless due to the number of soldiers, there are rumors that Prince Quentyn died in the attack," he said.
"Did they kill a prince? An heir?" he whispered.
The spy nodded.
"Sunspear was the worst, a joint attack from within, the Qorgyle, massacred citizens and militia alike, it is known that Prince Trystane and Prince Doran have fallen, Princess Arianne and her little cousins are prisoners" the spy finished.
Ned nodded.
The spy retreated.
His wife looked at him from beside her.
"I will inform Ashara," she said sadly.
Ned shook his head.
"No, I will do it," he said.
He felt like it had to be him.
It was his responsibility.
"First I will send a letter to Robb, he must return" he informed.
She nodded.
"Prepare the priest, before you go, you must have rights over the Dayne" she finished.
XXXXXXXXX
Shireen and Meera were both having lunch together.
She told her about the wall, the free people, the three-eyed raven, the children of the forest.
The other girl was listening to her in wonder.
She always liked stories.
But Meera told her something that was incredible but true.
"So we'll probably be sisters" she informed her.
The princess was saddened by this.
"I didn't mean to," she said.
Meera nodded.
"I don't blame you, you're locked up," she said.
"Doesn't it bother you?" She asked surprised.
Meera shrugged her shoulders.
"It's not that it bothers me or it doesn't bother me, we live in strange times, I don't blame you, I'm not attracted to the idea, but I know my duties, I know what I must do, as much as Bran does," she said.
Shireen nodded.
It was true they lived in strange times.
"It's not decided yet," she said.
Meera nodded.
But she did not doubt the possibility.
She could also see that the Baratheon princess was interested no matter how much she tried to deny it.
She didn't know what to think.
She loved Bran.
She liked Shireen.
But sharing a husband was not something that had ever crossed her mind.
Well, neither did getting married.
And now she was.
' The queen of the savages ' she thought with amusement at the title her brother had given her.
It bothered her, but it amused her at the same time.
' My duties are to my lords, the Starks. And to my husband, Brandon ' she thought.
She had long since accepted that.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Rickon looked at his mother.
At her side was Lyanna Mortmont, who looked at them somewhat uncomfortable with the situation.
He had spoken to his father.
Who seemed to agree with his child's request.
His mother looked at him with a smile.
"I'm Catelyn, nice to meet you Lyanna," she told her.
As soon as they arrived they had introduced themselves to their parents announcing their engagement.
The little wolf looked resolutely at his father as he said this.
Dacey Mormont looked at Lyanna with amusement at her grief.
XXXXXXX
Catelyn approached with Ashara at her side, they were in front of the ancient tree, the tree with the face of the religion of the ancient gods.
The woman studied a little of the Northern religion when she was young, but after the rebellion, she didn't imagine she would need it.
Ned stood beside her, reciting the vows.
She followed him.
She was grateful to Catelyn, that her handing him over was an acceptable political move, it showed that she was still Ned's wife, that she was becoming her sister.
Finally, Ned approached her, they kissed.
The northerners burst into applause.
XXXXXXXXX
Ashara watched her husband as they entered the bedroom.
She's been waiting for this for so many years.
' Ashara Stark ' She thought happily.
The fall of House Dayne at Darkstar's hands faded from her mind.
The massacre of Dorne.
Even from Aegon and Rhaenys.
This was her night.
Not theirs.
She watched her husband approach.
Her lips on his.
His tongue entered her mouth.
She let out a moan.
She wanted this.
She longed for it so much.
For so many years.
So many disasters had happened.
But they got back together.
Like in Handerhall, when she was a kid.
She felt her husband's hands running over her, caressing her, adoring her.
She bit her lips with pleasure, feeling Ned Stark kissing her neck, his hands squeezing her buttocks with devotion.
Ashara opened her eyes and saw him then.
As a young man.
As a warrior.
Like old.
It was the same as always.
Her dreams, in reality.
"Ned…I love you" she whispered.
Her husband smiled at her.
"And I you" he whispered to her.
He pushed her gently, she fell onto the bed in surprise.
He climbed on top of her.
They still had their clothes on.
But Ned Stark didn't seem to care.
"I have a little confession, wife," he whispered in her ear.
"Yes?" she asked.
" I've been waiting for this for a long time" he confessed.
XXXXXXXX
Jon glared at the gates of Qarth.
Weeks had passed, he had killed at least a thousand mercenaries with his army, and had leveled up in the meantime, he was level 57 with 7 skill points.
Still, he had not been able to enter Qarth.
A magical barrier protected the city.
The wizards of Qarth had summoned it, he had tried many ways, but none of his men could penetrate it.
His siege engines were useless.
He could only eliminate soldiers who attacked them.
Of course, he could summon his dragon rider to attack.
No doubt a dragon would destroy that barrier easily.
But Jon didn't.
Not because he couldn't.
It was the city that he feared.
The wizards certainly had magical items.
He had read many manuscripts of magic in Valyria.
They were dangerous.
If he destroyed one with Dragonfire, it could place a curse on him and his men.
Not to mention that he would wipe out every single citizen if his dragon went too far.
He needed to take Qarth with caution.
The magicians used a shield, which undoubtedly involved human sacrifice.
Jon watched the red shield surround the city.
"I have to find a way, otherwise I'll have to destroy the entire city" he muttered.
He looked at Qarth.
He thought about the wizards.
"Cowards"
[T/N: ...eh, if you hide away and sacrifice your own people then I agree.]
XXXXXXXXXXX
Daenerys reread the letter.
'Dear Robb
I'm sorry to bring you bad news.
But your family needs you in the West.
The Martells have fallen, and Dorne is in hands of Tywin's allies.
I require you to come immediately and support the war here.
I understand that you want to stay and get to know your wife's family, but the fall of Dorne gives us little choice.
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
But come immediately.
I love you
Ned Stark'
Robb handed her the letter before preparing his men, not out of distrust but out of trust.
"The Martells fell" she muttered.
She remembered Prince Oberyn who helped her with the bastards and her nephew.
Robb came over to say goodbye.
"I have prepared a thousand men for you to take with you on my behalf," she said.
"You need them here," he said.
Daenerys smiled at him.
"The Martells helped me, the Starks too, it would be very bad of me not to help... I would go myself, unfortunately, the war with Yiti does not allow me to do so" she said.
Robb looked at her uncertainly.
"Please, we are family now...Accept my help" she begged.
Robb bowed.
"Thank you Daenerys," he said.
"Jorah," she said.
The guard looked at her.
"You will lead my men in the West," she ordered him.
The guard looked at her in surprise.
"It's time for you to regain your honor, show Ned Stark that you are not the same man," she told him.
The guard bowed in acceptance.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ashara Dayne woke up feeling strange.
She had slept in a very comfortable bed, only to wake up on a cold floor.
She looked around, her husband, naked like her, was sleeping next to her.
' What is this place? ' she thought uncomfortably.
"Ned" she woke him up.
He opened his eyes and looked where he was, sighing.
He explained the situation to her, as he did with Catelyn.
Ashara listened to him curiously and they approached the monitor.
{Welcome player!
Due to your marriage to the player Ned Stark, you have been granted access to the game, and now you are a player, You will have different, but equally useful, skills.
Press next to go to the selection of options.
NEXT/BACK}
She pressed next.
{Options:
Frequently Asked Questions/FAQ
Character menu
Objects
Go out}
She pressed on character menu.
{Name: Ashara Stark
Title: None
Skills: 1
Level 1: (0/20)
Health: 50/50
Mana: 30/30
Attributes: Low
Skills: None}
"Choose the one you think is best for you," Ned asked.
She knew she wasn't a warrior.
{You have selected the Singer skill.
Do you want to spend a skill point and gain the Singer skill at level 1?
Yes/No}
Ashara pressed yes.
{Singer Level 1
Cost: 10 mana.
Relaxation song: Relaxes anyone who listens to it. Lasts two minutes.}
[T/N: Fuck Patreon, truly. You have probably read it in my note, but I got hacked or something, and my account was deactivated without warning.
I did not receive a warning or anything; there are over 300 chapters.
So here's the new deal, as I have probably said, I will be in mass releasing a fuck ton of chapters.
But, I will only be posting chapters here from now on.
If you wish to donate still, my Ko-fi is still up, and it's still the cheapest, with prices ranging from $1 to whatever you want. But don't feel obligated, as everything will end up here eventually.
ko-fi.com/puddinglord]