Chapter XI

Part II

Jon VIII

Warning: Explicit content, starts and ends with /!\

I woke up to sunlight blinding me from the windows placed on top of the bed. Groggy, I quickly sat down on the edge of the bed, wiping my eyes and face, trying to stare into the windows. Still sleepy, I leaned in to get my shirt, but I winced as I didn't find it. Weird, I usually put it on the table next to me, but a quick look to my left and right left me with one conclusion, this wasn't my room. Where the fuck am I, then? That's when it struck me.

No. No, this wasn't possible, that was a dream. Shit.

For the better part of ten seconds I believed I had dreamed it all. It wasn't possible, and yet, it all came back to me soon enough. I fought to resist it, but it was too tempting and yet there was passion, there was caring, it wasn't like any of the other times I'd gotten someone to bed just to piss her off. This time it felt right. But even then, what had I done? I played directly into Doran's cards, and it would now only be a matter of time till everyone knew and someone would barge in and find us here. Then it would go to shit and Doran would ask for me to marry her, no he wouldn't ask, he would demand, for having dishonored her. Not like I was the first, but it would be official to the rest of the kingdoms and the sneaky fuck would then go with phase 2 of his plan, the part that relies on my lineage. Well, shit. I'd need to write a raven to Theon soon enough.

I didn't have time to think though, as the bed sheets beside me moved. I turned around and saw Arianne's beautiful face looking at me, her dark hair dishevelled, and that's where the last thoughts of it being a dream died out. A smile formed on her lips and mine, as she took me by the hair and neck, bringing my lips to hers. Once more, it didn't feel forced or out of pure lust, it just felt…right. As I pulled out of the kiss, I remembered that Arianne wanted to ask two questions, but only got to one, and the answer to that question being very thorough and detailed, she hadn't gotten to the second. Not like I was complaining, but I was still curious.

"So, what was your second question?" I asked.

Arianne looked surprised, thinking for a moment, before seemingly remembering and asking with a small smile:

"Oh yes. Tell me Jon, do you know who your mother is? You never talk about her."

Shit. I'd almost forgotten all that story, and now it came to bite me. I could lie of course, but she'd confided in me, wouldn't that be betraying her trust if I did?

"Ah." I said, dropping my smile and looking down. "I'm sorry, I cannot say who it is."

"Why is that?" She asked as she lunged forward, slowly moving her fingers through my hair as she continued. "All of Dorne wished to know which of her countrymen managed to forsake Lord Eddard's honour. Is it Ashara Dayne? We all know what happened at Harrenhal."

Ashara Dayne. That could be an option, yes, but with her now alive this complicated things. And then there was Alysanne, and people would start talking eventually. And no, I couldn't lie, this just wouldn't do. I vowed to be truthful and I would.

"Yes, but no. Ashara Dayne isn't my mother."

"Who is it then? And why won't you tell me?"

Oh god, Arianne, why do you torture me so? I guess it was time to tell her the truth.

"I cannot tell you because it will change the way you look at me, and I don't want that. I don't want you to look at me as a different person because of my parents."

Arianne then did something I didn't expect. She just laughed, a sweet laugh, not a mocking one, one that cut deep nonetheless. She then smiled once more and kissed my cheek, as I reddened slightly.

"Jon, I love you. I doubt anything you say could ever make me change my opinion of you, apart from a Lannister perhaps. Is she a Lannister?"

I just shook my head, too shocked to speak.

"See, then we're fine. So, who was it?"

So, then it was time. Time to finally let out the truth and face the consequences. There would be no going back from this, and I could only hope she'd not rip my heart out right then and there. I drew in a deep breath, and finally led the two words out.

"Lyanna Stark."

I don't know if they came loud enough for anyone to hear, but I was sure she heard me all the same. I closed my eyes and waited for the eventual storm to come rushing in, for my own stupidity in trusting her with the biggest secret in the seven kingdoms. For a few seconds that seemed an eternity, I waited for the storm, but it never came.

Instead after two dozen seconds, Arianne pulled herself to me till her face was on my shoulders. It was then that she hugged me, deeply, tightly. Stunned, I did not know how to react, and only briefly returned the hug. She then broke the hug and stared at me, with an angry face. This was it, it was over, my happiness snatched from me in an instant. How could I have been so careless?

But then she spoke

"Don't you ever, ever think this changes things between us. I don't give two shits whether you are Aerys the mad's bastard son himself, do you understand me, Jon?"

"Ari…"

She pulled me in again, kissing me deeply as a lone tear formed on my cheek.

"I told you I don't care. Your mother was innocent of any crimes against my family, and neither do you. You cannot blame yourself for existing. I don't care who your mother was, I only care about you, and you only."

"Arianne, I…you don't understand."

"I understand this makes you the heir to the Iron Throne due to the Usurper's legitimization. In any case, Targaryen loyalists will be torn to support you. You'd be a bastard whose legitimacy rests on Robert Baratheon's name alone, one that the loyalists denounce as a false king."

"You think I don't know that?" I asked sharply. She just looked surprised.

"You don't want the throne, do you?"

"I would never want it." I said as I shook my head. "I'd be a terrible ruler. Unlike you, I wasn't born for ruling. Not Seven Kingdoms anyhow. Some lands along the sea, a keep and mayhaps two or three towns would do for me. I could maybe be a lord paramount in another life, but the whole Seven Kingdoms? I'd end up dead within the month. Seven hells take that damn chair."

She nodded, smiling.

"I can understand that. Though you've taught me more of ruling than I learnt since I turned fourteen, I am quite surprised you think you lack the capabilities to rule."

"Unfortunately, ruling isn't always about being capable." I answered.

"Indeed." She nodded. "You said being a lord paramount could suit you though, wouldn't that compare to being king?"

"It wouldn't. It's easier to manage a smaller area of land you have a lot of control and power over than one where you don't have either of those things."

"Yes, I can understand that sentiment." She answered, still smiling. "I'm sorry to bother you, but may I ask, do you know how it happened?"

"Do you mean between my mother and…?"

"Yes. I'd understand if it was too painful for you…I'm just curious."

"It's no matter. Truthfully, I don't know much of what happened, but I'll try my best to give you the most complete version."

And so, I did, recollecting the events of the rebellion, from the tourney of Harrenhal to the events at the Tower of Joy, Ned's eventual decision to raise Jon in Winterfell and the events afterwards. We then found ourselves recollecting memories from our childhoods, not that I had inherited much from Jon anyways, so it was mostly Arianne doing the talking at this point. We talked for so long, both lunch and dinner were brought to Arianne's rooms, but the flow of time didn't matter now, I didn't count the minutes and hours I was with her as I did before, now it wasn't a trial I had to go through, it was only two friends talking about everything and nothing. Suddenly, it was night once more, and Arianne suddenly stood up from the table to which we'd moved to.

"I'm sorry, Jon, it is getting late, and I'm afraid I might bore you to death."

"I don't think you could ever bore me to death, Ari."

She laughed.

"I don't think you want to challenge me; I can be really annoying if I want to."

"Of that, I have no doubt." I said as I stood up from the table. "I must be going now."

I turned to face the door, but I felt Arianne's hand grab my arm. Surprised, I jerked around and that's when she pressed her hands against the back of my head, pulling me into another kiss. Time froze again, and I don't know how much time this one lasted. All I know is when I opened my eyes again, Arianne was staring at me with a smirk.

"For someone with such a good memory, you seem to forget a lot." She remarked. "I damn well intend to keep you with me every night from now on."

"Every night?" I asked surprised.

She shrugged.

"Even during the day if you're feeling adventurous." She winked, biting her lip.

I laughed, and she dragged me onto the bed.

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Her hands were quick in getting rid of any clothes I had on my body, the Dornish climate having already claimed most of what I had. It was not long before I stood naked over her. I answered in kind, ridding her of her silken dress, dropping it onto the floor.

She bit her lip as I moved to kiss her neck, biting at it in several places as she moaned several times. Her voice, her moans, her pleas only made my pace up her neck more frantic. I needed her more than anything else in the world, she was…everything. I moved my lips to her mouth, where she welcomed me once more, our tongues dancing with each other as I could taste the wine on her tongue. I normally hated the taste, but with her, it came to taste as sweet as lemonade.

She broke off the kiss after a long minute, eyeing me with lust in her eyes.

"Fuck me, Jon." She whispered into my ear. "Fuck me so that every person in this castle knows I am yours."

I smiled but instead of aligning my body with hers, I kept trailing her with kisses around her breasts and down her body between her legs.

"Sure. But first, I want to taste you." I replied with my mouth ready to devour her.

"Shit!" she cried out as my tongue entered her, moving in circles inside her cunt, just like I would inside her mouth. I felt Arianne's body tense before shaking slightly, her hands gripping at the sheets like she was fighting for her life, with her moans quickly filling the room and possibly the whole wing of the castle.

"Don't stop. Don't you dare stop, Jon Stark!" she cried between two moans. Not like I had any intention to, I quickened the pace as my hands wrapped around her thighs, keeping her womanhood between my lips.

Then her body shuddered and she came in a howl, her sweet nectar flooding my mouth as I tasted her, swallowing every last drop that came into my mouth.

"You taste delicious." I said with a smirk as Arianne was panting.

She laughed and brought herself to my lips once more, eager to taste what was left of her juices on my tongue.

"Enough with that." She said seriously. "You know what I crave, give it to me!" she pleaded.

"I want you to ask nicely, princess." I replied with a smile as I kissed her neck.

"Fuck me. Please. Fuck me, make me yours."

Those were the only words I needed to hear, as I aligned myself with her womanhood. With one quick thrust, I found myself inside her, her walls pressing me as I felt the heat of her insides.

"Shit. Ari, you're magical." I blurted out.

"Hmmm." Arianne answered as she closed her eyes, feeling the pleasure as I moved to fill her. I began moving inside her, her moans becoming louder and louder as I pressed on.

"Harder!" she managed to blurt out between two moans. "I want you deep inside me, harder!"

She was amazing. I quickened my pace as asked, and her moans only grew louder and louder till all I could hear was her screaming, my panting and the sound of her skin meeting mine as we collided.

Her walls drained my manhood as I fell on top of her, kissing her passionately as she moaned into my mouth, filling it with an unknown sensation. I broke the kiss as we both moaned in pleasure as she moved her hips to quicken the pace even more, her moans reaching a point where people in the Shadow City could probably hear her.

Finally, she came with another scream, her body shaking from the pleasure, but I did not relent, and kept up the pace. Surprised by this, she groaned, her nails digging into my back. But I didn't care about the pain, I only cared about her. Hell, the pain of her nails in my back combined with the heat of her body and cunt made me cry out in pleasure as she arched her back.

"Fuck, Jon!" she screamed.

"Ari, I'm close…" I tried to warn her. But instead of stopping her hips, she wrapped her legs around my waist, barring any escape.

"If you dare cum outside of my cunt, I'll have your head, Jon Stark!" she cried out.

God, this was too much to bear. With a groan, I unleashed everything inside her, making her cry out in pleasure.

"Yes! I want it all, give it to me!"

"Arianne…" I whispered as I collapsed onto her, removing my member from her insides as she moved to lick the remaining fluids off of it. I grabbed her hair and kissed her deeply once she'd finished, moving her on top of me before breaking the kiss. I stared into her dark eyes, before whispering. "I love you."

She moved in to kiss my lips quickly before whispering into my ear.

"I love you too, my wolf."

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Needless to say, the next few weeks flew by fast, with each day and night becoming a dream as Arianne and I talked, laughed and cried, sharing more than a bed as I feared we'd end up doing. The snake had caught me in her fangs it seemed, but I wasn't complaining about it. She was the best thing that ever happened to me. Damn, Ned, sometimes I do like your stupid decision-making.

But my time with the princess had driven me apart with Arya and Edric. I'd seen them less and less over the past few weeks, as the time I spent outside of Arianne's chambers was either in my own room, sparring outside or taking a trip to one of Sunspear's beaches, feeling the warm water wash up to my feet sinking in the sand.

Watching into the horizon an evening as the sun set onto one of these beaches made me realise something, though. One day, Arya would marry Trystayne, and with that my mission of protecting her would be done and dusted. Hell, she could very well defend herself already, I doubt I'd still be needed in a year or so. Then I'd never see Arianne again, and the happy times would end. She'd marry a lord of Dorne or maybe even the Reach, and I'd have to settle in the North and find someplace to settle down. But I doubt I'd find a woman like Arianne there.

That night, as I lay beside her, she noticed my distant look and quickly asked.

"Jon, is something bothering you?"

I sighed deeply. "Have you ever thought about the future? I mean, soon enough my mission to protect Arya will come at an end, and my father, I mean Ned, will try to recall me North."

She smiled.

"I've thought about it indeed. My father is sick, it's only a matter of time till I become princess of Dorne, with you by my side."

"Me?"

"Do you not love me?" she asked confused.

"Of course, I do. It's just that…"

"Then what is the problem, am I not worthy of your hand?" she asked mischievously.

"If anything, I'm not worthy of yours. I cannot bring much to you. I am sixth in line to the throne and a legitimized bastard. My hand is not worth much for Dorne."

"You are worth more to me than any other lord."

"I know, Arianne. But…I'd still have to ask your father and…I doubt he'd accept."

Arianne just laughed.

"My father will accept; I'll make sure of it. If I tell him I want you, he'll give in eventually, and if he doesn't, I'll just refuse every offer until he consents to give me your hand."

"But what of the people of Dorne, wouldn't they object to the match? You have to think of the consequences of such a union, I doubt the dornish lords would be happy with their princess marrying a northerner."

She shook her head.

"Well they accepted Trystayne marrying Arya…"

"Trystayne isn't the heir to Dorne."

"Right then let's take it one dornish house at a time then." She raised her hands, and started counting on her fingers. "The Allyrions like you, Lord Ryon hasn't had a bad word to say about you. Perros Blackmont also likes you and Edric, so you'll have them in as well. No need to talk about the Daynes, they all like you, except Gerold, but Gerold doesn't like anyone and his family are landed knights, not lords. You left quite an impression on the Fowlers." She said that last part with a smile, I just rolled my eyes. "Right. House Gargalen is very minor and hasn't voiced anything for or against you, House Jordayne will back you since Lady Myria is a friend, Alyse likes your input on the finances so you have House Ladybright backing you as well. House Manwoody are Stony Dornish, they'll back a northern match, the Qorgyles and the Ullers will follow my uncle and would probably back you as well if I reason with him. The Tolands will back my choice, and the Wells are too minor to care. This leaves the Vaiths, Wyls and Yronwoods. The Vaiths will probably back you and the Wyls like your fighting spirit so they'll back you as well. This leaves the Yronwoods, true they have a son in age of marrying me, but the bloodroyals would rather see Quentyn sit in Sunspear than myself. And cohabitation with Cletus would be…a pain. My father wouldn't consent to the match."

"And would your father accept even after the letter I sent Theon?"

Arianne then leaned in and grabbed my right arm, guiding it over her stomach.

"He has to. Especially after I've told him what is growing inside me."

I recoiled in shock.

"Arianne you didn't…"

"I didn't drink moon tea, no. It has been a few weeks but I know your child is growing inside me, and I'll be damned if I kill it or let it become a bastard, no offence to you or my cousins intended of course." She replied. "The babe I am carrying will become prince or princess after me, that I'll make sure."

I was dumbstruck, too shocked to move, before breaking down crying.

"This…this is wonderful." I went to hug her tightly. I'd never experienced that much joy before. I continued hugging her for a good minute before looking her in the eyes again. "In two weeks, I'll head down to the Water Gardens and ask for your hand, will you accompany me?"

She smiled in return.

"Of course, I will."

I never slept better than that night, and this news brightened the next few days immensely. Arya and Edric took notice and asked what was up with me being so cheerful all of a sudden, but I just waved it off. The next few days I spent working on my pet project I'd started for a few months, as I thought it was time to introduce a new sport to Westeros, but I needed to get a very budget version of a ball first. I didn't have rubber or synthetics so I'd have to do one the old way. I'd bought a fair amount of leather, inflating it so it would resemble the shape of a ball, leaving a small gash open in order to fill it in with cork shavings. Then I sewed the gash back up using leather once more. Once the ball was ready, I dipped the whole thing in a mixture from the Summer Islands that apparently helped strengthen the leather so it didn't break at the first kick. A rudimentary version, not made for playing when it was raining, as the rain would make the ball much heavier and as such, dangerous, but it was a start.

I ran into the courtyard, this time keeping my sword in my room, but always keeping a dagger on me, you never know when you'll need that thing after all. I had a ball, but now I needed a field. Thankfully, Sunspear did have a sparring yard covered with fine sand, large enough that taking half of it wouldn't be an issue. I took a few large wooden sticks and hurried onto the field, putting two sticks on the ground and counting my steps to create the boundaries of my makeshift football field.

By then, my agitation had stirred up some people, who looked in confusion as to what I was doing. Arya was the first to come up to me as I started drawing the boundaries of the field.

"Hello, Jon."

"Hey, Arya, I didn't see you there. How has life been going?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"You haven't really been around these past few weeks." She answered, dodging the question.

"I haven't really had the time, I'm sorry I…"

"Yes, we've heard." She interrupted

"Heard?" I asked quizzically.

"You and the princess haven't exactly been discreet." She said with a sly smile on her face.

I just rolled my eyes. "You shouldn't listen to gossip."

"Oh, it's not the gossip, those walls are thin you know, and the halls carry sound quite well."

My face reddened.

"Ah. Well um…"

"No need to make excuses, Jon." She held her hand up. "So you finally crossed a bridge, what now, you going to marry her?"

"Arya…"

"Come on, you know you can trust me." She said angrily, as she crossed her arms.

I looked around the courtyard, and seeing as some people were watching and probably listening in, I leaned into her ear.

"I'm going to ask for her hand, yes. But please keep it to yourself." I leaned out and put on a serious face. "Seriously, Arya, this isn't a joke. Do keep it to yourself, promise me."

"I promise." She said, giggling. "I won't say a word to anyone, even Trystayne."

"You've been getting on?" I asked, surprised.

"Better than I expected." She shrugged. "He lets me do anything I want with Needle and he's nice. He's quite cute as well, I guess there's worse matches." She said that last part with a sigh. "But I'm happy for you, I'll admit I've never seen you this happy since…" she thought for a moment "since never actually. I'm excited for you, Jon." She then proceeded to hug me for a moment before quickly switching her gaze behind her.

By then, Edric had approached us and his eyes instantly darted towards the ball I held beneath my arm.

"What's that?" the storm kid asked.

"So, Edric, how's it been going with Alysanne?" Arya asked before I could even get a word in.

"It's been going…good. She's nice, I guess." The boy answered.

"You guess? Every time she's mentioned you go as red as a tomato." Arya let out with a small laugh. "Mayhaps I should tell her how Elia is jealous of her?"

Edric's face whitened, the boy's face quickly draining of colour as he stammered slightly.

"Arya, stop torturing the poor boy."

"Alright, alright, I'll stop, you're no fun."

"Right." I continued. "Then to answer your question, Edric. This is a game I thought it'd be nice to try out. It's call football."

"That's quite a stupid name." Arya interrupted. I just rolled my eyes.

"Basically, the goal of the game is to send this ball" I said as I raised the leather ball, "between these two posts, using only your feet." I pointed to the two sticks standing out of the ground on each side of the field, separated by about fifty meters.

"So, it's a team game?" asked Edric.

"Yes."

"How many players in a team then?"

"Usually eleven, but I think we can settle on five on each team now."

Edric nodded and we scouted the courtyard. Soon enough, quite a few people had grown interested, including Prince Oberyn, who stared at the field in confusion.

"So, what are the rules?" Oberyn asked as he and his daughter Obara stepped up.

I quickly counted the number of people around me. Arya, Edric, Oberyn, Obara were here with me, so we had five. Ser Wendel and Ser Manfrey also had gotten interested, these were two more. With Trystayne and his friend Perros Blackmont that made two more. Finally, Oberyn managed to convince the older Ryon Allyrion to join as well to make the numbers.

"Right." I looked at all of them. "The rules are simple. You can use any part of your body to carry the ball to the other side of the pitch between the other posts, except your arms and hands. Each time the ball crossed the two sticks, it is a point. Usually we'd do two halves of three quarters of an hour, but we'll settle on half an hour per half, with a quarter of an hour break between the two halves. The goal of the game is to defend your own "goal" while scoring a maximum amount of goals yourself. The winner is the one who scores the most goals in the end."

"And if there is a tie?" Trystayne quickly asked.

"If there's a tie, we go to overtime. Two halves of a sixth of an hour with a short break. If the tie still stands then we go to penalty shoot-out."

"What's a shoot-out?" Edric asked, confused.

"Each player gets to kick the ball from the point you see here." I said as I pointed to the penalty spot marked by red paint. "If you score, you get a point. If the goalkeeper stops it, you get no points."

"How can a goalkeeper expect to block a shot from that distance if he can't use his hands?" Oberyn asked, as confused as ever.

"The goalkeeper is the only person in the game that can use his hands. But." I raised a finger, anticipating Oberyn's next question. "He can only do so in the square area in front of the goal." I indicated the lines made of white paint along the goal area.

"If the ball ever goes out of the side bounds." I pointed to the white boundaries on each side. "You can take the ball with your hands and throw it back in provided you do not step over the line with the ball. The team that doesn't knock it out gets to throw. Similarly, if the ball goes out of the back bounds." I pointed to both boundaries near each goal. "Then it depends. If it is your goal and you put it out of bounds, the opposing team gets a corner kick from the side it went off of." I gestured to the makeshift flags. "If it is your goal but the opposing team put the ball out of bounds, then the goalkeeper gets the ball."

"And how would you get the ball from the other team?" the young Blackmont asked.

"Well with your own feet." I answered. "You must play the ball at all times though. No tackling, shoving, pushing or harming the opponent. You cannot hold him back by the shirt or any other garments, and you most certainly cannot use weapons."

"And what if I do anyways?" Prince Oberyn asked.

"Then if you do, you get a warning or get sent off and the opposing team gets the ball, except if the foul happens in the goal box, instead it's a penalty."

"And who would enforce it then?" Oberyn countered.

"Usually we would have a referee, but in this case, I think…"

"I can referee!" a voice was heard in the distance.

"Lady Alysanne? Did you understand all the rules?" I asked as the young Dayne came running up.

"Of course." She smiled. "It isn't complicated, it's simpler than cyvasse."

I nodded.

"Well then Prince Oberyn, you have your answer. Lady Alysanne will referee the match to ensure no fouls are committed."

"All that is well and good." Lord Allyrion interjected. "But what is the point? Not the goal of the game, I understand that, but what is the aim of the game, if it isn't meant for children?"

"Well" I answered calmly. "It develops strength, flexibility and endurance. Once we get into it, you'll see that we'll be running as much as when we would be in battle. And it will also improve communication, team work and you get to know your teammates better. It builds some amount of trust if you will. And plus, who said fun was reserved to children. There's other ways of enjoying yourself as a man or woman than just sparring or…" I turned to Oberyn. "…other activities."

Oberyn scoffed. "I really doubt that."

"Really? Then let's get into it." I pointed out several groups that seemed more or less fair. "Prince Oberyn, Ser Wendel, Ser Manfrey, Prince Trystayne and Edric, you're a team. I'll join Lord Blackmont, Lord Allyrion, Obara and Arya on the other. Take your positions and let's get to it."

"Wait, since you're obviously experienced playing, why are you in their team rather than ours?" Edric complained.

"You have three adults, against Lord Allyrion on his own for us. I think it can outweigh my own skill." I shrugged as Edric seemingly accepted the explanation.

Lord Allyrion got designated as goalkeeper on our side, while Wendel Manderly guarded their goal, a wise choice considering the stature of the man. Unfortunately for them, they still were quite inexperienced, and dribbling them was a piece of cake. That didn't mean that scoring was a walk in the park, with Edric and Trystayne showing a lot of potential. Still, the score at half-time was unforgiving, as we led them six goals to two, with most players already exhausted.

As I moved to take a jug of water, I felt a big pat on the back. As I turned around, I noticed Prince Oberyn looking at me, sweating profusely, his long hair looking as if he just took a bath.

"Well, tell me not to doubt you again. That was quite fun, although I'd prefer if it was us winning." He said between two pants. "And it is physically draining, I think we've earned this pause."

"Thank you, Prince Oberyn." I nodded. "And nothing is set in stone. Prince Trystayne is quite skilled, it's only a matter of time till he gets his footing, you can still come back."

The Dornish Prince nodded as well. "Aye, the young prince is quite skilled. And your squire too. Turns out the younger ones are doing better than us; I suppose it's just me getting old."

"Every man has his own strengths. Yours isn't football, it's sparring with a spear."

"And what of your weaknesses, Jon?" he eyed me intently. "Do you have any? Aye, you do not fare well with spears or lances, but your swordplay is unmatched."

I shrugged. "Every man has his own weaknesses. I'm but a man, I have some, but then would I not be an idiot if I revealed them?"

"True, true." He answered. "Would one of those weaknesses be my niece by any chance?" Oberyn smirked. "Don't worry." He said as my face started emptying itself of any blood. "She's told me everything. Including marriage. I must admit that my brother had explored a betrothal for her, but that man has died since, and I think he'll think favourably on the match now."

"Thank you, Prince Oberyn." I nodded politely.

"But…"

"But hurt her in any way, shape or form and I'll be either waking up in a bed filled with scorpions, poisoned in my sleep or at dinner or shafted by a spear. Do not worry, Prince Oberyn, I have no such intentions."

Oberyn smirked. "I didn't think you would. Still, better to warn you now."

I nodded briefly, and Oberyn rose up to talk once more. However, he was interrupted by Ser Lyonel, the hawk master, who came rushing in behind me, startling the both of us.

"Erm, I beg your pardon, Prince Oberyn." He stammered. "Lord Stark, Theon's hawk has delivered a message of utmost urgency. Prince Oberyn, I believe a man of the night's watch is waiting for you in the private meeting hall."

The prince nodded with a surprised look on his face and hurried along to the private hall. I on the other hand, just followed Ser Lyonel to the rookery, where indeed, Hedwige was waiting. I quickly took the message from Ser Lyonel's hands, rushing down to my chambers to decipher the sheet.

The first part was easy enough, that wasn't coded, although it was still painful to read. So, it was war then. I'd heard about the conflicts brewing in the capital, but now with the North and Riverlands under fire, this had become a full-scale civil war. I'd heard Renly had amassed troops in the Reach and was marching to retake King's Landing, while Tywin Lannister was still somewhere in the Riverlands. Now with Robb's army on the march, this meant that the North was weakened as well, and in turn, all of Westeros. Reading further was tricky, as everything was coded in morse, but luckily, Theon had taught us to decipher it during our stay at Winterfell. The message read.

Mvg Pyk. Fk Rob.

Af obv nego fail, mvg Dftmrk. OPSL.

Mvg Yki nxt. Dany Q. Nth Free.

Need stop Qtyn. Need M supp.

Right, so that was the goal. Not Renly, not Stannis, not Tommen, but Daenerys. Well, to be fair that was a good choice, but now I could only hope that she wouldn't turn super dark super-fast. Theon would help with that sure, but this was a big gamble. The North being independent was of course the best solution, there was no way in god damn hell that the northerners would accept the mad queen's daughter after what happened to Brandon and Rickard Stark, the pact had been broken after all. As for the last part, that was quite unexpected, I don't think Quentyn moving to meet Daenerys would be a bad thing, I'd just need to condition Quentyn for it.

The reason Theon probably wanted Quentyn out of the picture was so Operation Sea Lion could work without a hitch, but even with Quentyn, it would work anyways, well hopefully it would. Sea Lion would bring a huge blow to Stannis' naval capabilities and in turn getting a fleet for Daenerys, her unsullied and her dragons to get back to Westeros as fast as possible, provided she doesn't stay too long in Slaver's Bay.

In fact, Quentyn going to Slaver's Bay could actually be a life saver if I played my cards right. And it would get Doran off my back and bring in the Martells into the fray. However, that left the fact that despite everything, there was still the Reach and the Stormlands between us and King's Landing, and I doubt Renly would be willing to cede the throne that easily. And Stannis was no idle threat either. Reports were that he had raised thirty thousand swords and started mini civil wars in both the Stormlands and the Reach. Problems, problems I pondered, before the door opened suddenly, shaking me off of a potential response I had to send.

"I'll be on the field soon. I thought it had only been ten minutes." I said, not even looking at the man who just barged into my rooms without even knocking.

"It's…not…that." Prince Oberyn muttered. His eyes were as wide as saucers and he seemed to have seen something truly terrible. His hands were shaking slightly, and his face was nearly devoid of colour. "You…you better come see this."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised at seeing Oberyn in such a state. Even in the direst of situations, he had this cocky and brash attitude, and never showed fear. The man before me however, was fucking terrified. What could have shaken him to the core like this? I wondered as Oberyn lead me down to the private hall, a small room sparsely decorated with only a man and a cage with a veil on top of it standing there.

Night's Watch. Cage. It clicked. Shit, I braced myself as I walked forward, greeting the man all dressed in black.

"You of the night's watch?"

"Aye, Lord Stark. Denys Fisher's the name. Served with Lord Commander Mormont and your father at the Elk's Pass." The man clad in black answered

The Elk's Pass. The famous battle where Ned Stark defeated the dead against immeasurable odds. He'd heard stories of it, and had been mocked for it, most dornishmen not believing in tall tales, but more and more stories about Iron Cages containing dead men had spread, and confusion had replaced laughter when talking about such a subject.

And now the lone cage was standing in front of me, a black veil covering its probably undead contents. I braced myself like I would brace for an impact of a car crash. And then the veil lifted, and hell followed with it. There it was, a vision of horror, an undead man, or at least I thought that was a man, with close to nothing left of skin or hair on it. Blue eyes, bright as the dornish waters, no nose and missing several teeth. Its right arm was battered, with the bone shattered in several places, yet the arm was still moving as if nothing happened. Its ribs were nearly all broken or damaged, sometimes containing the remains of its entrails or skin. Nothing could have prepared me for this, as the undead man shrieked and tried to run towards me, only restrained by the fact that the cage had iron bars, and the wight had no feet or legs. Yet these spectral hands still tried to lunge at me as it took all the courage I had to even step forward, resisting the urge to puke at the sight and smell of that…creature, its bright blue eyes meeting my own.

Then the veil removed that ungodly sight, and everything turned to normal once more, yet something had changed. The Ice zombies were real, wights were real, Ice Spiders, the Others, everything was fucking real. There isn't any time left. Need to go north. Need the dragons. Need Ice, need fire. Need men, need dragonglass, need armies, need peace. Shit, we're so fucked.

I stood there immobile, before turning to Prince Obery, who was sweating nervously again.

"Prince Oberyn, I think you, me, Arianne and that thing need to pay a visit to the Water Gardens. Fast."

Oberyn acquiesced. "Tomorrow." He said slowly as we both left the room in shock.

The rest of the walk back to the field was done in silence, neither of us willing to speak first. The corridors came and went, until finally the field came into view, with the game already having started again. I sighed as I made my way there but Oberyn stopped me with a hand gesture. Confused, I turned to face him, but before I could even mutter anything, he started talking in a slow voice, unlike his usually joyful but serious one.

"It's weird, yesterday I thought everything, or close to everything, was good in the world. But now, now I don't know. War is coming to us, whether it is the civil war that the Usurper's death caused, or the war for the living. The war…" he breathed in heavily. "for our survival. Soon enough Dorne will have to enter the fray again, and if yesterday I would have welcomed it…now I fear it. I fear what will come of us, of these joyful faces, when we march on."

I turned to answer but Alysanne cut us off.

"Ah, there you are!" She shouted enthusiastically. "Your teams have been waiting for you."

"Jon, come on, Trystayne and Edric scored two goals already, they're catching up!" Arya cried out.

Alysanne waved her off. "Come on back in and be happy for fucks' sake. It looks as if you've seen a ghost."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that before turning to Oberyn.

"You're right. We don't know what comes next. But today let us smile and be happy, today we celebrate life and joy. Today we play and we have fun. Tomorrow we plan and we mourn. Today let us forget for a moment." I looked up at the balconies surrounding the field as a small crowd had gathered. Amongst the crowd, Arianne was standing there in a red and gold dress like the colours of her house. She smiled down at me, and I gave her a smile in response.

"Come on now!" she shouted. "Are you going to let my little brother and my cousins defeat you so?" she laughed.

I turned to Oberyn, who was getting a similar treatment from his younger daughters, Elia, Obella, Dorea and Loreza. He turned around to face me with a small smile.

"Aye, I believe you're right. Today, we smile. Let us save the rest for tomorrow."

You know what was missing in Westeros? Football that's what. You know what was missing in ASOIAF fanfics? An SI teaching football to canon characters. Yeah the scene can be viewed as cringey, but I liked writing it. Anyways, this was a loooooong piece to write, 7k words, lots of things happening at once. Next part will be shorter, promise.