Lynesse Chapter 16: Heading South

This is a Game of Thrones fic. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

This chapter has been edited due to content. If you want to see the unedited version GO HERE.  

I took a deep breath and looked at the direwolf in front of me. Like me Ghost didn't pay any attention to the chaos around us. Northerners, Dothraki, and Unsullied were all preparing for the long journey South to battle Cersei Lannister. With people of very different origins traveling together there had always been the chance things would get more than hectic.

But, at the moment, I had something else to focus on. Jon had given me Ghost a gift. Now I would try to fully embrace him. Starks of ages past had ridden direwolves into battle and Ghost was more than big enough to support my weight. A Stark would have no trouble riding a direwolf, but I was a Mormont. The last of my line.

If I continued to be paused in indecision, people would start to notice. Their queen rode a dragon without fear and so their king must ride his mount with valor. With another deep breath I started to mount the direwolf even as riding a horse seemed a much better idea.

Ghost seemed to know how frightened I was and so did everything within his power to make mounting him an easy experience. Even with his help it was hard to find a position where I wouldn't just fall off in a short while. I tried to hide how difficult mounting a direwolf was for me to all those watching. I should have practiced this alone.

Upon finding some semblance of comfort on Ghost's back, I took a look around me. While chaotic, everyone had found a rhythm so the final preparations were getting done quickly. Except for brief commands, no one talked. They were most likely frightened about what the future held for them. There shouldn't have been so much tension as we all had survived an attack from the dead. The last attack that the dead would ever make.

A few people bowed to me and I tilted my head slightly to be polite. Had they noticed how hard it had been for me to mount Ghost? Did they even care? Those not involved in the game of thrones hardly cared what royalty did. As long as they were able to live their lives in peace, they paid those like me no mind.

I looked to the skies to try and see Drogon. Daenerys had decided to ride him long before we were supposed to leave. Our lovemaking from the night before was the only way I knew to keep her calm. She shouldn't worry as with two dragons, enemies would flee beneath her. Or was there something else gnawing away at her very soul?

My head turned as I heard laughter. A very familiar sound that I both hated and found comfort in. The Imp was supposed to be in a carriage, but the chance to talk to me had probably been much too tempting for him. I didn't know if I wanted him gone or not.

"You should ride a horse." Tyrion said once he was able to control his laughter. "Whatever made you think you could ride a direwolf?"

"House Stark has ridden direwolves in ages past." I replied with a tone of indifference. "Though I am a Mormont, Jon has gifted me his direwolf."

"That doesn't explain why you don't just ride a horse. Are you jealous of Daenerys' dragon?"

"I want to show Jon how much I appreciate his gift."

The look the Imp gave me was hard for me to define. Usually his face was an open book to me, but not now. Or maybe the truth was that I didn't want to understand his expression. For some reason the meaning behind his smirk made me embarrassed. No one should understand that about me. That was something that I shouldn't feel.

"Don't you have a carriage to get to?" I asked dryly. "You need to make sure you don't get left behind."

"Now why would anyone want to leave me behind?" Tyrion replied. "People like me."

"That is knowledge that would shake even the gods."

Like my fruitless efforts before, he showed no sign he was insulted. Probably because I wasn't actually angry at him. He had shown himself to be a better friend than I had expected that day in Essos. Back then all he had meant to me was a way to get back in Khaleesi's good graces.

"We shouldn't be nervous." Tyrion said. "Without my brother by my sister's side, she will be easy to defeat. Even if she tries sending a thousand armies our way she will fail. She's much too direct to ever be good at strategy."

"Your sister was clever enough to seat herself firmly on the Iron Throne." I argued. "She was clever enough that her enemies fell around her."

"Because she had those that were loyal to her. Now all who follow her orders do so purely because of fear. And dragons are more fearsome than anyone could hope to be."

Tyrion had a point. When you ruled purely by fear, the moment a more fearsome opponent appeared was when rebellions could start. While some would still remain loyal to Cersei, most would side with Daenerys in the hopes she would be kinder to them. Khaleesi had helped free slaves while the Lannister had unleashed dragonfire inside King's Landing. Though I didn't know how many actually knew that horrible crime had been committed by their Mad Queen.

"And you are sure that Jaime won't side with his sister again?" I asked. "He loved her and stood by her side as she committed numerous atrocities."

"He loved her." Tyrion repeated. "My brother may not have my wisdom, but he's no fool. He's admitted to himself who she truly is and won't change his mind on the matter. I don't doubt he'll cry over her death, but he will be strong enough to kill her."

"What if you're wrong?"

"Jaime won't do anything to endanger Daenerys' claim to the Iron Throne. He may be weak and save Cersei, but he'll never seat our sister on the throne ever again."

Because the words had come from his lips, I believed Tyrion Lannister. He was loyal to our queen and would not want to see her rule cut short. It didn't matter that he would have to go up against his own family, he wanted the Lannisters off of the throne. He wanted to make his family's reign on the Iron Throne short.

"I would never have thought of riding Ghost." Jon said and I turned to face him. "He doesn't seem to mind you being his rider, though."

Jon would never think of riding a direwolf? Yet even though his blood ran thicker with Stark blood, he rode a dragon thereby following the footsteps of his Targaryen ancestors. It was more than natural for Khaleesi to ride a dragon, but seemed nearly profane for Jon to ride one of the creatures. Yet he would never think of riding a direwolf?

"The king doesn't seem to have much of a problem." Tyrion said, a slight teasing tone underlined his voice.

"Ghost is the most challenging mount I've ridden thus far." I admitted. "But I assume he is nothing compared to Rhaegal."

"Rhaegal is more at home in the air than I am." Jon replied.

"It may take time, but you will be comfortable in the air one day. The Targaryens weren't the only ones able to ride dragons. Why shouldn't a Stark feel at home on a dragon's back?"

It should be Jon that was king. It should be Jon that was Azor Ahai. Yet those two burdens had fallen on my shoulders. Those two burdens would test me unlike anything I had endured before. Maybe it was better Jon was just a man that rode on Rhaegal's back. He was a pure soul that should be spared the worst of what life entailed.

"I'll try to remember that." Jon said and put a hand on Ghost. "You stay safe, my friend."

"I doubt Ghost will allow any harm to come to me." I reassured him. "With you and Daenerys in the skies, no enemy will be brave enough to attack."

With that he walked away. My eyes tracked him for as far as they could. I don't know why my focus on him was so intense. No one in Winterfell wished him harm as he had fought to defeat the Night King. So why was I so concerned to watch him walk away? It was a mystery to me and one I wished to never solve.

"When we stop, you need to **** him." Tyrion said with a sigh after Jon had faded from our sights.

"What?" I asked angrily. "Why would I even think about ******* a man? I knew you were despicable, but this is beneath you."

"As I said, just **** him. Only lovers watch the other walk away."

"I was making sure that Jon was safe."

"Then why not walk beside him to better deter his enemies? And do you really believe any enemies are in Winterfell now?"

I didn't have to endure Tyrion's questioning. I could just walk away. So that's exactly what I did.
* * *
Finally we had begun marching out of Winterfell in earnest. Jon and Khaleesi flew their dragons to watch over us on the ground. From such a vantage point they would be able to deal with enemies before they could become a problem. I was in the middle of the march so that, on the chance someone tried to attack, the King of the Seven Kingdoms would not be killed.

Though I highly doubted Ghost would allow any harm to come to me. Now if only I could become truly comfortable riding him. It wasn't that I still had trouble riding the direwolf, but the fact was my new rank made me feel uncomfortable. Jon should be the King of the Seven Kingdoms, not myself. It wasn't my accomplishments that had awarded me the position, but the fact that Khaleesi loved me above all others.

I was a fraud and should be somewhere hidden. Not only would it serve to help others protect me, but it would mean not as many men could see me. Why the hell had I decided to ride a direwolf? What fault of my ego had decided doing so was a valiant idea?

None of my inner turmoil was shown to the world around me. No one but Khaleesi would be allowed to see the weaker parts of myself. How could my men lay down their lives for me if they didn't see me as a beacon of strength.

I looked around at the Dothraki surrounding me. Daenerys favored all the power she had gained in Essos over the allies she had found in Westeros. At least these people wouldn't see me as the rest of my fellow Northerners would. They wouldn't judge me as the Westerosi judged one another. They had seen me fight to protect their khaleesi and now I rode a great beast.

Ghost lifted his head and I could imagine why. He must be scared about leaving the North and going to warmer climates. While it snowed in King's Landing, it wasn't the same as in the North. Northerners were a stern people because otherwise my ancestors would have died a long time ago.

I scratched behind his ears to provide him some comfort. If we weren't so visible to everyone, I would have spoken to him. I would have reassured him that our future was nothing the two of us couldn't handle. Jon had complete faith that Ghost could live in King's Landing. He had complete faith, too, that I had the ability to be a king.

My head turned as Rhaegal roared loudly. He was diving down and my direwolf tensed beneath me. The Dothraki started shouting as if afraid the dragon would kill them. I raised my eyebrow as I wondered what was going on. Had the dragons gotten into an argument with one another? Was Jon unable to control his mount? Was this a game for the creatures?

Whatever the case was, Rhaegal rose again and started taking long circles around the many men on the ground. The tension in my direwolf had not eased. Ghost must have sensed what was happening with the dragons. Wh-I did my best to clutch at his fur without showing my stress to the men around me. Though I was unused to riding direwolves, I could tell that he was mere moments from running.

I searched to see what might be setting him off so I could calm the creature down. But I saw the scared Dothraki a moment too late. He would have to be reprimanded sometime after I got control of Ghost. If I could rein my friend in.

To make sure I didn't fall off, I leaned forward as if on a horse. The only problem was that a direwolf wasn't a horse and it felt completely different when running. I could ride a horse in my sleep as the motions had become so normal to me. But a horse's movements were drunken compared to how Ghost moved.

After a few minutes I had to stop a laugh from leaving my mouth. Instead I focused on those around me. Every Dothraki had already parted to allow for their weak member, so chasing him was easy. The nomads shouted out in joy as they couldn't wait for him to be reprimanded. They wouldn't be too happy when Khaleesi decided not to have him killed.

"Nakho!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "Nakho, filkak!"

The Dothraki paused for a moment but I knew he would be running again soon. He was being called a coward by his khal, of course he would continue to run. I would think even less of him if he didn't. He was in a strange land merely because his khaleesi asked it of him. He had fought against the dead. Of course he would be running for as long as his horse could endure.

Just as I had predicted, he started running yet again. Without any prompting, Ghost ran even faster after the deserter. My grip tightened even as the speed made me feel more free. He would make sure I didn't fall off. He would protect me.

While the Dothraki had parted to allow me to decide the deserter's fate, the Northerners didn't. Instead their idea of helping was to attempt to stop the man. Which meant I had only a few precious moments to decide things on my own before others would involve themselves.

"Ghost, you know what to do." I whispered and braced myself for whatever he would decide to do next.

The Dothraki was mere feet in front of me and suddenly Ghost pounced on him. I let out a feral yell as my friend plunged his claws into the horse. With that motion the animal fell down pinning the man underneath. It wasn't likely that the man would survive, as some blood was already leaving his mouth.

"She would have me die in a foreign land." The Dothraki coughed.

"It is your fault for running." I argued.

"She would not have cared if the dead had killed me. She would not care if the khaleesi of this land tore me to shreds."

"You are her bloodrider."

"You should run, Andal."

I wanted to kill the man right where he lay now. I wanted to let out all my rage. Displaying such anger would be commonplace to the Dothraki, but to the Northerners I would appear as a savage. It wasn't the Dothraki I needed to reassure about my rule, it was the Westerosi.

So instead of spilling more blood, I had Ghost leave the horse and made a show of trying to get the horse off of the deserter. But, of course, he died shortly after my men managed to unpin him from the animal. Ghost barred his teeth as if a dead man would still be terrified of him.
* * *
It was an hour after the sun had set when the camp was finally finished. Everyone was tired and unhappy with the small meal portions. Since I was Daenerys' husband, I was able to get a larger share than most which was why I decided to eat in our tent.

"A Dothraki deserted me." My love mourned.

"Men get scared." I reassured her after I finished my slightly larger meager meal. "You've asked men to fight the dead in a foreign land and usurp the queen. At least he revealed himself before he became a problem."

"There never should have been anything to reveal. Bloodriders are loyal to death to their khaleesi. Why would he abandon such a bond?"

I wanted to hide as much of the truth from her as I could. She was worried and there was a massacre just under her breath. If I told her too much honestly then many who should live would die. We would both be able to justify the bloodshed to ourselves, but the nightmares would haunt me until I died.

"One man believed he would die." I said and put a hand on her shoulder. "One man did not want to die in a foreign land with people who were not his own."

"I should make sure no others have such fears." Daenerys replied with barely concealed rage in her voice.

"You can reassure them by claiming the Iron Throne and your birthright. You can reassure them by showing you are the khaleesi they pledged their loyalty to. You can reassure them by drenching King's Landing with the blood of the Lannister queen."

"What would I do if I didn't have your wisdom?"

Her eyes had changed from hopeless to wrathful to lustful. She leaned her head up and I leaned mine down. Our kisses were fiery and I knew it would be a pleasant night.