WILOW-Ch.461: The Feast is About to Begin
Red Keep, King's Landing
POV of Domeric Pendragon
"One thing I can say about the Tyrells is that they sure know how to hold a feast," Domeric said as he looked at the halls of the Red Keep in slight amazement.
Prince Robb gave a small smile at his words, but didn't say anything more. The boy was probably still having nightmares about the siege of the Red Keep and his mother's trial.
From what he'd later heard, the siege of the Red Keep was far more brutal than any other battle in the whole war.
He knew that if he'd acted and sent his giants, then the battle would have ended with far fewer casualties, but after seeing what those men tried to do to the innocents of King's Landing, he hardly felt any respect or sympathy for them.
"Something on your mind?" Domeric asked, and Robb startled, as if he had forgotten that he was still walking beside him.
Robb gave a small, bitter smile. "Mother is talking about my marriage." He sighed, "She… she wanted me to get married before Jon. But how the situation is… She's a little disappointed that I'll be married after Jon, but she still wants me to get married as quickly as possible."
"Your mother? Don't get me wrong, but does she still have a say in the affairs of House Stark?" Domeric asked.
"Officially, my mother doesn't have a say, but she's still my mother. Also, apart from my mother, my father seems to want me to marry, too," Robb said.
He nodded. "Hmm… So, who's the lucky girl?"
Robb scoffed, "I hardly think being married to me requires much luck. Just large teats and wide birthing hips to impress my mother."
He stopped and frowned at the boy… no, man, "Robb. You're the heir to Winterfell and crown prince of the Kingdom of Honour. You're also a pretty good swordsman. You're handsome, though not as handsome as me, and most of all, you're an honourable man with a big heart." He said as he pointed to Robb's heart, "Don't think too low of yourself. Any girl would be lucky to marry you."
Robb looked down in embarrassment before he scoffed, but didn't say anything else.
"I also know what's going on between you and the healer named Talisa. I know it's no coincidence that she came all the way here with us from Golden Tooth. Just as I know that your frequent disappearances are to meet with her." Domeric said.
"How do you know that?" Robb asked, a surprised expression on his face.
Domeric looked at him as if to say, "Really?"
"Right... Your Imperial Spy Network. I should have been more careful. But I don't want to talk about her right now," Robb said.
"As you wish. But one piece of advice from me. If you truly believe you've found love, never give it up. Otherwise, you'll regret it for the rest of your life," Domeric said.
After that, they walked in silence for a while before Robb finally turned to him. "Domeric."
"Hmm??"
"Jon wanted to thank you. For all those… gifts you know." Robb said, "He was truly very worried about the debt that the kingdom owed to the Lannisters, the Iron Bank, and the Faith. The Royal Fleet was also a welcome gift. He was worried that he would have to take more loans to fund another Fleet. And Vincent Page is also very helpful during the Small Council meetings. Not to mention the Valyrian Sword."
"Jon wanted to thank you on your own. But you were nowhere to be found. So, I suppose I'm saying it in his place now." Robb said.
And then, before Domeric could say anything, Robb continued, "And thank you also for the gifts you gave to the Kingdom of Honour. All of this will greatly accelerate the kingdom's establishment process. And I myself have benefited greatly from these gifts."
As Robb finished speaking, he pointed to the Valyrian Sword, Wolf-fang, strapped to his belt. It was the sword Domeric had gifted to the Kingdom of Honour.
Domeric wasn't surprised that it had fallen into Robb's hands. After King Eddard had given one of the two swords that emerged from Ice to King Aegon, it was perfectly normal for him to give Robb a new sword he had acquired.
In response to Robb's thanks, he just shrugged and said, "If we want to fight against the Long Night properly, then we will need all the help we can get." He said, "And a strong kingdom will be able to help us far more than a kingdom that was deeply in debt to other factions."
Robb nodded. Then he stayed quiet for a long moment before asking, "How's Sansa doing at Dreadfort?"
He almost stumbled at that. Then he looked at Robb and frowned, "The castle's name is now Camelot. Not Dreadfort. And how do you know that she's still at Camelot and not back at Winterfell?"
Some time ago, Sansa had set sail for home with a contingent of the Empire's returning troops to the north.
According to the normal travel plan, after reaching Regalis Port, Sansa would first stop in Camelot and then proceed to Winterfell.
But Sansa seemed to have no intention of leaving Camelot.
"Oh. Right. You changed the castle's name, didn't you? Just like you changed your family name, house words, and house banner. And they're all dragon-themed. People will start thinking you're the Targaryen instead of Jon. Is there a particular reason for that?" Robb asked.
Besides changing his last name to Pendragon and his castle's name to Camelot, Domeric also replaced the House Banner with a black three-horned dragon's head on a white background.
The dragon's head in the design was quite magnificent and detailed, giving the impression that it was looking directly into the eyes of those who looked at the banner.
He also changed the motto "Our Blades Are Sharp," which still belonged to the old Bolton House, to "Never Awaken a Sleeping Dragon" for his Imperial House of Pendragon.
Therefore, he could understand Robb's question and replied, "Much of this is based on The Legend of King Arthur."
"The legend you keep mentioning but never tell anyone?" Robb said.
"I'm thinking of publishing the legend as a book, but I haven't had time to write it down yet. But you still haven't answered my question about Sansa."
Robb snorted and said, "Before leaving, she made it clear to us that she'll either marry you or she'll remain unmarried for the rest of her life." Then Robb gave him a beseeching look, and he shook his head.
"Don't look at me like that, Robb. I already have someone else I love. I've already promised her that I'll marry her. Nothing is going to change that."
Domeric's mind was already preoccupied with Luna and Hermione, his soulmates, and he hadn't yet figured out what to do with them.
Even though Hermione hadn't yet arrived in this world, Domeric didn't think his situation with her would be much different from Luna's.
Therefore, Sansa's situation wasn't even on his mind at the moment.
Robb looked frustrated at his words, "She never stopped loving you." Robb said, "Even after she was betrothed to that… Joffrey. She never stopped loving you. And she suffered because of that. Doesn't that count for something?"
"If she loved me this much, then perhaps your father shouldn't have broken the betrothal in the first place." He said.
Robb clenched his hands but didn't say what was on his mind. And that was a smart thing.
"You didn't ask me how Arya is doing these days." He said, blatantly changing the topic.
Robb knew what he was doing, but went along with it, "As if she doesn't tell us how much she's enjoying her stay in Dread… Camelot." Robb smiled, but that smile quickly turned into exasperation. "If this goes on, then I don't think she'll leave Camelot to marry anyone else either. And with Bran's condition…" Robb shook his head and didn't say anything.
And anything else he was about to say was drowned out as they heard hurried footsteps from behind them.
"Robb. ROBB!!!" a man shouted as he ran toward them. It was Smalljon Umber.
The large man came toward them and smiled, "Oh. Your Majesty. You are here too. Good! King Eddard is calling us to the garden. The feast for Jon and that lassie is about to begin."
Domeric looked at Robb and said, "Let's not leave your brother to those pompous lords of the South." He said, and both Robb and Smalljon chuckled before they turned and started walking toward where the Great Feast was being held.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.462: A Small Matter
Ch.463: Olenna Tyrell – The Schemer
Ch.464: Wedding Gifts