[Chapter Size: 3100 Words.]

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Pessoa Thrid POV

Westeros, 295 AC.

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The king’s council soon filled up with all members, with Robert entering last, still sleepy. “I need something to keep me awake for this…” He exclaimed and went straight to the wine as usual, filling a glass for himself, taking a long sip, and then turning back to all the members who were staring at him at that moment.

“We can begin, I want all the news of what happened in that kingdom. But why haven’t we received any ravens in the last few weeks?!” Robert demanded.

“Well, your grace, something happened, because my little birds could not send any news, it is very likely they were captured,” Varys commented with a sad and cautious look, while his gaze again searched the skies, always wary. He could not say that this meeting might be spied on by a sorcerer through birds and suggest they change the meeting place, after all, he would be deemed insane.

“What incompetence!” Robert immediately exclaimed. “Perhaps we should change the master of whispers…” He blurted out, taking another sip, while Jon gave Varys an apologetic look, knowing there was no way to find another master of whispers to replace Varys and even if they could, Varys would be a threat with the network of information he possesses.

Varys was not offended, or at least he made a very neutral face while listening to the king. “I apologize, your majesty…” He began. “Then I will go straight to the subject of the news.”

He quickly caught the attention of Robert Baratheon, Jon Arryn, Stannis Baratheon, Cersei Baratheon, Grand Maester Pycelle, Petyr Baelish, and Barristan Selmy, waiting for him to continue.

“There was a tournament that Jon Artica’s group participated in… First with Jon Artica sending two representatives to the archery tournament…” Varys began, with Robert raising an eyebrow in disappointment.

“What? Ned’s son didn’t participate?” He exclaimed.

“Yes and no, Your Grace…” Varys said and continued before the king could interrupt him, cursing him for the charade. “One of those participants was Arya Stark…” he spoke.

“Ned’s daughter?!” Robert was extremely surprised by this, knowing the girl must be about 10 or 11 namedays.

“Yes,” Varys began.

“Catelyn Stark will be furious when she finds out about this…” Baelish spoke with a mocking tone.

“That’s so wild…” Cersei also mocked. “No wonder she spent years beyond the Wall, that’s the behavior of a wildling!”

“…” Stannis said nothing, maintaining a neutral face, as could be said of Selmy.

“…” Jon also remained silent without comments, but had disapproving eyes for such behavior.

“Shut up, woman!” Robert snapped at Cersei. “I’m interested in what the girl did, tell me Varys, what result did she achieve!” Robert was excited to see how Arya would fare in this tournament, although he did not expect her to do well.

Varys sighed. “She finished the competition in 4th place, missing the target at 110 meters,” he declared, and everyone immediately looked at him confused for a moment, trying to digest what they had just heard.

“Wait a minute… are you saying that Ned’s youngest daughter hit a target at 100 meters and still took fourth place?!” Robert’s eyes widened at this.

“She hit a target at 105 meters, your grace,” Varys corrected him.

“…” The place fell silent for a while. Until Robert burst into laughter, breaking the silence.

“Hahahahahaha! You’re saying Ned’s little girl hit a target at 105 meters, she’s 10 namedays, isn’t she?” he exclaimed joyfully, as he always does when he hears news of Ned’s children.

“11 namedays, your grace,” Varys said.

“That’s incredible!! How many archers can do that in Westeros?” he asked openly.

“Few, your grace, maybe about 100 of them,” Selmy replied.

“You see Jon… Ned has very good children… If Marcella could do something like this, I would be such a proud father…” he couldn’t help but murmur.

“Do you think our daughter would do something so wild?! I refuse!” Cersei growled, but Robert didn’t care.

“I agree with the queen, your grace… This activity is not for girls…” Jon Arryn also disapproved of such behavior.

“It’s hard to believe a girl could do this… are you really sure about this?” Stannis seemed skeptical about it. He couldn’t imagine his daughter doing something like that.

“There are thousands of witnesses, my prince… You will hear about it in the coming moons. The girl is an unprecedented prodigy,” he said as Stannis nodded.

“There was another representative from Artica. He won the tournament, I presume,” Selmy commented.

“You are correct, the Articans have proven to be great warriors both in the training yard of Highgarden and in the tournament; the Artican named Eldric won the tournament by hitting a target at 125 meters distance…” he spoke while Robert whistled.

“We should invite them to our next tournament… I’d like to see such strength,” Robert exclaimed.

“Don’t forget Robert, we must capture those wildlings for what they did with the trade ships from the Vale!” Cersei snarled.

“I agree with the queen, your grace…” Baelish said, and Jon also nodded in support, neither of the last two wanting to ease any punishment that Jon Artica would have.

“Enough of this talk, I first want to know about the tournament, tell me, Eunuch, I heard Ned’s son won the tournament, I want to know the details!” He exclaimed and Varys nodded.

“As he fought in the joust, he is not a knight… This is a blasphemy against the 7!” Jon Arryn interrupted with a tone of disapproval.

“Prince Renly made a bet with Jon Artica, in exchange for the Valyrian steel sword that is in possession of the Artican king,” Varys commented.

“Darksister…” Selmy seemed interested.

“The legendary sword of those damned dragons…” Robert commented.

“Prince Renly argued that the sword belongs to him, so he made a proposal with Jon, betting lands on the coast of Stormlands with his champion, Loras Tyrell,” Varys commented, and Robert seemed increasingly interested.

“Renly tried to take the sword for himself?! It belongs to my Joffrey by right!” Cersei immediately shouted.

“Shut up, woman, I want to hear the rest of the story,” he said, though he already knew that Jon Artica wins the tournament.

“The tournament began and the final ended up being between Jon Artica and Loras Tyrell, and as you know, the victory went to Jon Artica. There are some rumors that he can control animals and this gave him the victory,” Varys couldn’t help but comment on this at the end, after all, he hated magic.

“Fanciful stories,” Robert commented. “But look at Ned’s children… Damned be that bastard, always having children who stand out… even though one of them is a bastard,” Robert commented joyfully, he regardless of the current circumstances, he will always be proud of his foster brother.

“The wildling won the tournament, but the Tyrells kept them in custody?” Cersei immediately asked after hearing such nonsense.

“I don’t think so… when I received this letter, they reported that the Articans were preparing to depart, while Jon Artica was finishing his negotiations,” Varys commented.

“What?! We sent a royal order, it should have reached the Tyrells!” Jon Arryn spoke sternly.

“The Tyrells are disobeying the crown! They are traitors!” Cersei accused.

“I don’t think that’s it…” Varys tried to clarify. “It’s like the letter never reached them…” he said.

“We’ll look into this later, and hope that Sir James can bring them under the custody of the crown,” Jon Arryn interrupted, leaving that discussion for later. “I want to know what resulted from these negotiations with the Tyrells. We know the Articans bought animals, metals, books, hired teachers, and even desert sand… as well as sold their own products in Dorne… Now what did they do?” Jon Arryn asked.

“Before that, sorry to interrupt, did you find out why they took the sand?” Baelish asked curiously.

“No… I don’t know why they took so much sand to the north…” Varys commented and continued.

“Yes, he again negotiated his products with the Reach…” Varys began.

“Wait… he has to come here, I need his drinks too!!” Robert interrupted while everyone looked at him with their own thoughts, he just wanted more alcohol to drink in the end.

Varys then continued. “His negotiations with the Tyrell family were about buying a large amount of horses, he bought 8,000 in total, while 3,000 were already entering his ship and another 5,000 would be picked up later…” Varys spoke.

“8,000 horses… That’s a good amount,” Stannis commented.

“Yes, besides the horses, animals were bought and metals again with some other resources from the Reach,” Varys said.

“How much did he spend?” Baelish asked.

“Over 1 million golden dragons…” Varys responded as the room fell silent again, stunned by that amount.

“The damn man is that rich? Didn’t he already spend an exorbitant amount in Dorne?!” Robert exclaimed.

“Yes… We don’t know how much Jon Artica has in his coffers beyond the Wall, but he loaded his ships with gold,” Varys commented.

“The north of the Wall is a region never before explored… who’s to say there aren’t gold veins as large as in the west?” Stannis commented.

“Maybe the Lannisters aren’t the richest after all…” Baelish commented, looking at the queen, who seemed quite offended by this, clenching her fists and teeth.

“Another reason to capture them and start a campaign beyond the Wall!” Cersei exclaimed.

“We are not starting a war over a few trade ships…” Jon Arryn himself said this, even though the attacked ships were from his kingdom, he wasn’t foolish enough to start a war amidst a financial crisis in the crown, let alone in a land that even the North would be hesitant to enter. The risks were too great for a profit they were not even sure of, their best chance was to bring Jon Artica to the capital and force him with the demands of the crown.

“Anyway… is there anything else interesting from the Reach?” Baelish asked, though he agreed more with the queen than Jon.

“Well… there were a few more interesting things besides the trade and tournament…” Varys began. “This relates to Arya Stark.” He said and Robert immediately became interested.

“Something more about Ned’s daughter?!” Robert exclaimed.

“Arya Stark stood out as a huge potential bride for all the nobles present from the Reach.” He began.

“But she’s a wildling!” Cersei exclaimed.

“Shut up, woman, I won’t listen to you insult the girl, otherwise, you will be removed from this meeting!” Robert spoke as he became increasingly drunk as the meeting progressed.

“…” Cersei was frustrated, but she kept quiet.

“She stood out not only in the tournament, but she made friendships with all the great ladies at the tournament, knowing how to behave like a true lady and showing great intelligence,” he said.

“Intelligence?” Baelish seemed interested.

“Yes, my spies heard some news that Arya and even the Artican queen possess great knowledge, speaking other languages to communicate among themselves without anyone hearing, and Arya showed she had a sharp mind when questioned by a maester, leaving them even speechless,” he said.

“Really…? The girl can do that?” Robert now seemed skeptical like the others.

“Yes… She has become a potential target, in addition to her extreme blossoming beauty, which many saw surpassing even the garden’s own flower, Margaery Tyrell,” he said.

“Maybe she takes after her mother…” Baelish said with a smile.

“Beautiful and intelligent… Ned told me she was very much like Lyanna, and I remember when I visited Winterfell many years ago… and he wasn’t lying… so that’s obvious!” Robert said to himself, lost in memories of the time he had his fiancée.

Cersei heard this and turned red with the mention, Lyanna was a wound to her pride, first seeing that Rhaegar chose Lyanna at that contest, even though he was married, it was she who should have received the tournament crown… And to complete her affliction, even Robert, who on their first night together, he called out for this dead woman, and he never lost his passion for her even after a decade and a half.

Cersei was also frustrated with other things, but said nothing, after what she heard from Robert, she knew he would remove her, but her thoughts were anything but calm at that moment.

‘Why… are these wildlings standing out so much… Shouldn’t it be her son, the true king of Westeros to be acclaimed in the realms.. not a wildling from the north!!’ She exclaimed internally. ‘Shouldn’t it be her sweet daughter being coveted in this way!? Why are these Starks considered more by everyone than her own lions?’ She thought frustratedly.

‘Someone younger will come along…’ A voice appeared in the queen’s mind at that moment, leaving her trembling inside.

‘Someone younger will come along and take everything that belongs to you…’ The voice of that witch echoed again, while Cersei trembled without anyone noticing.

She still remembered going to the forest to see that prophecy and she believed in it, after all, everything the witch said, came true. ‘Could it be this little brat?!’ She exclaimed internally.

“So this would be the queen who will replace me and take everything from me? Younger and more beautiful? I will kill her before she enchants my son!” She murmured quietly to herself, unheard by anyone.

If she was desperate there, what she began to hear made her even more dazed. “Jon, I have an idea, if Ned’s daughter is so coveted, I want you to send a letter to Ned, proposing an engagement between Arya Stark and my heir!” He exclaimed.

“What?!” Cersei shouted, drawing everyone’s attention, and she spoke with a venomous tone. “You’re going to give our son to a wildling?!” She snarled, not caring about Robert’s previous threat.

“Leave this room immediately, woman, I don’t want to hear you speak ill of the girl again!” He exclaimed. “Ser Selmy, accompany the queen out of this room!” He commanded, and the knight nodded.

“…” Cersei looked at the king with a deadly gaze, clenching her teeth like never before. “I hope you listen to me, Robert, if you marry our daughter to this girl, I will make you regret it, I swear!!” She exclaimed and started to leave with Selmy accompanying her, while everyone was surprised by her outburst.

“What’s gotten into this woman…?” Robert was at a loss for words.

“I don’t know, your majesty. But you should think very carefully before proposing something like this…” Jon spoke and continued. “Arya Stark spent years beyond the Wall… many will see our future king having a wild queen…” He said.

“I want a marriage between my family and that of Ned! Isn’t the girl intelligent and beautiful? Besides using a bow, maybe she’ll put my useless son in his proper place!” Robert exclaimed, now seeing an incredible opportunity to marry the two families and unite them.

“Your grace… Lady Catelyn Stark expects it to be her oldest daughter… Sansa…” Baelish commented.

“The younger daughter seems much more suitable to be a queen. And she still looks like Lyanna… if I can’t marry her, at least my son will!” Robert exclaimed, not knowing how Cersei was planning to do everything to stop this, even going to the king’s chamber and driving out all the prostitutes there to wait for him and try to seduce him.

But without knowing this, Robert continued. “Pycelle, send a letter to Ned, I want you to write about his daughter Arya and the interest in seeing his youngest daughter as a potential match for my eldest son!” Robert exclaimed.

Pycelle, who had been silent the whole time, nodded to the king’s demand without questioning. “Very well… I will do that, your majesty.” He said.

“That’s great. Now let’s wait and see what Ned does and hope that Jon Artica is brought to the capital with Arya, I want to see the girl personally before approving her.”

As always, there were some eyes hidden from everyone’s view at that meeting, while Jon listened to everything hidden, even with Varys being quite attentive to spot anything and looking up from time to time to find him, the man always seemed cautious to say anything because he always had the impression that he was being listened to.

Back in the Reach, the Artican group’s journey to the coast lasted a few more days while Jon finally saw the coastal city ahead.

“My king.” A group of Artican soldiers came out of Oak Garden and greeted them on the road as soon as they saw him through their Wargs.

“It’s good to see you.” Jon greeted them while looking at at least 40 ships still in the harbor. “How are things?” He asked.

“All the requested horses are at sea, we’re just finishing up gathering the last of the livestock.” He said, and Jon nodded.

“That’s good… but our friends will soon catch up to us like this…” Jon commented.

“Should I defeat them, my king?” One of the royal guards asked, and Jon shook his head.

“No, I want to do it myself. We’ll have to wait for them outside the city; after all, it would cause us many problems there, so we’ll catch them here and plan to leave as if nothing had happened…” Jon shared his thoughts while everyone around nodded in agreement.

He had a plan and even if it could make him an enemy of Westeros, he would proceed, since the consequences would be minimal. He had set his two hawks to fly over Highgarden and exterminate all the ravens, leaving the place without communication in the last few days.

“Have you prepared the birds?” Jon asked as a cart was brought with many birds he had purchased, birds from the Reach. He began to bond with all of them and released them.

His objective was simple: to hunt all the ravens coming in and out of Oldtown, needing to isolate the entire city, after all, he was going to make the visit that the maesters and Lord Hightower wanted. Jon watched the 30 eagles flying south before turning back to his men.

“Now let’s wait for Ser James to come; I want to see if his reputation with the sword is as good as they imagine…” Jon advised, and they prepared for the ambush.

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Raccoon here:

I plan to write the next chapter soon. I’m excited to create a reaction from the Starks to the news and the marriage proposal!

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