9 Chapter 9: A Rude Awakening

Arthas looked up and felt the cold touch of the rain upon his face. With the darkened sky and rumblings of thunder, the final day of the tourney has come, and the nightmare came with it.

He looked down at the sheath in his hand. Empty and void. The sword that would have granted him victory over anyone and anything this world has to offer. Is now gone.

"....Arthas...."

He looked behind only to see a subject of his plight. The source of his loss. And acceptance bloomed as he looked upon her beauty, now smidged in pain. Making him smile slightly.

He turned away from her and thought back on to when the world had brought such misfortune upon him.

~~~ Three days ago ~~~

In the arena Arthas had just crashed against a reach knight whos name he didn't bother remembering. Though Arthas was shaken at the hit he took, his opponent was sent flying. And despite the cheers, Arthas did not respond as his mind remained preoccupied by other things.

Dismounting his black steed, he simply patted his new horse who bit down and tugged at his cloak as he tried to walk away. '...it is way too smart for his own good...' jested Arthas with a smile. His horse is already demanding a treat after every bout. So he called this smart ass warhorse of his Maximus.

He is an expensive bitch worth a wopping fifteen gold dragons. But according to Lord Kevan, this horse is a rare breed from the across the Narrow sea itself. Said to be a Khal's horse and can carry upto nearly twice more weight than the usual Warhorses. And with stamina to match.

And he was worth the every coin. Every tilt Arthas went through, Maximus remained resilient against his foes. Barely wavering if any at all.

Returning to his tent and letting the Maximus rest himself down, he was greeted by both Gawain and Percival. The only other occupants of the formerly vast camp.

It has only been a day since an assassin made an attempt at him. One he foiled, captured, and tortured for information. And what he received from the man was alarming to say the least. His enemies had banded together.

The crown, the Baratheon, and a couple of Lords from the Vale.

He was forced to push Lyanna back a certain distance from himself as his father also feared for her safety. Cersei he sent back aswell with Mordred as her companion with hopes the two of them could keep each other safe.

And finally sending the children with the rest of his retinue to House Stark's camp. He handed them the chest full of gold to make sure no one would complain about additional mouths and that they were more than well provided. And then he sent Sif along with them to keep them all in line and safe.

Now he is left by himself and the only two squires that refused to leave. Gawain and Percival were adamant on staying. And he in all honesty, doesn't even know why they refused to leave. Only that he was grateful that they didn't.

So for the past two days he had increased their training to further solidify their foundations and take them further in their specialties.

Percival with his spear and shield. And Gawain with his two handed greatsword.

It took some time but he was able to make some modifications to Percival's shield as strapping it to his arm made wielding his spear near impossible. Arthas had told him to lose the shield instead but he was adamant with wielding it. So Arthas crafted a gauntlet for him with a shield attached to the forearm. Making sure to give enough leeway for wrist and finger movements.

For the duration of the tourney, he knew he wouldn't have much to do but train. And train they did. It was all they did outside of eating and cleaning up after themselves.

He grew to bond with the two of them more than he already has. Gawain himself is a very reliable person when it comes to managing. A duty he had taken upon himself in Sif's absence. He is strict with his work and doesn't like incompetence.

While Gawain is like a leader, Percival is the opposite. He prefers to follow orders. Laid back and chill as he is unforgiving. A merciless nature and a deep rooted anger to the scum of the world that is held back by Gawain's practicality.

Gawain doesn't talk much. And when he does it's usually something worth listening to. Percival though doesn't take any lead to talks but will throw in a dime or two to the conversation from time to time.

It was nice. Just some peace and quiet with him and the boys.

And then they received it. It was late at night when an invitation to The Wedding of Lysa Tully and Jamie Lannister arrived at their tent.

They decided to be present out of curiosity. And obviously formal clothes would be needed as they are required. Luckily, getting the proper clothes for it wasn't a problem as there is an assortment of merchants and goods at the the ancient fortress for the tourney.

Since there was only the three of them to worry about Arthas thought to get each of them a set of clothes to wear for the celebration. His only mistake was asking Kevan Lannister for assistance in that department.

~~~ Break ~~~

'Now looking at myself in front of a mirror, I couldn't help but feel ridiculous at my own stupidity sometimes.'

'What exactly was I expecting when I asked him if he could find something for me to wear to the celebration?'

He is donning a long sleeve red tunic with golden linings at the sleeves, the neck and the hem. Black snake skin belt that shone dark green in the right light. Black trousers tucked inside a pair of black shin high boots. And atop it all is a surcoat. Dark Red in color with a golden Lion on the left chest side.

'....yeah... very subtle Tywin...'

Arthas didn't like what he is wearing, specially it's implications. He had been struggling to control himself for sometime now. His childish tendencies keep acting up and it is making it difficult for him as he knew he has to deal with the aftermath of his childish outbursts. And now he adds this...

Arthas shook his head at the stray thought. 'Now is not the time Arthas.'

Setting his problems aside. He decided to go with what he have as it is too late to change it now, for he longer have any time before the wedding.

He waited right behind the Lannister family. After he greeted them. Now standing at one of the great halls of Harrenhal. He could finally see the extravagant decor. The tasteful music, the whispering crowed, the lights and the food placed upon elegant decors that dotted every table.

Guest come and go. And while few approached him whom he greeted amicably, Arthas chose to stay at the side lines.

'It is Jamie's wedding. He deserve the limelight.' he thought.

Soon he saw Lyanna walk in with his family in tow. Brandon Stark walked with Caitlyn Tully and surprisingly Eddard Stark walked with Ashara Dayne who was followed by Arthur. Looking smug and satisfied at the slightly scared wolf in front of him.

As customary House Lannister is the first to greet them. So Arthas watched and waited from afar as the two Lords exchanged greetings until he was allowed to meet the family.

Arthas soon saw his chance and walked towards Lyanna but was abruptly interrupted by Brandon's angry scowl.

"What are you doing here foreigner?" Arthas couldn't help but react badly at the way he was addressed by the young wolf.

"Answering Lord Lannister invitation Heir Stark." Arthas answered coldly.

"Now why would he invite you?"

"I wouldn't know, I highly doubt my name is Tywin Lannister after all."

Brandon seethed and growled where he stood but then someone grabbed him by the shoulder. They turned and saw Elbert Arryn who simple shook his head at Brandon.

" *tsk* Watch yourself foreigner. You never know when winter comes." with those parting words the him and his small entourage walked way.

Arthas looked ahead and found Lyanna gone. He looked for her all around but found her surrounded by several ladies of the Vale.

Arthas could see her discomfort. The tapping of her feet, her fingers playing with one another, and her eyes sending him a plea for help. Arthas could only shake his head and send her an apologetic smile as he knew he wouldn't reach her. Specially with the watching eyes of several men trained on him.

It was half an hour into the pre-celebration that Arthas saw Lyanna walking towards him. He smiled as she did as soon as they saw each other. He extended his hand for her when she suddenly embraced him instead, drawing eyes and a few whispers.

"You look lovely today my lady."

"Thank you, Ser."

She does look beautiful, a green and white silk dress. Not overly fancy but of high quality. showing off the top of her developing chest and her waist obviously tightly held by a corset. Only a small necklace and a couple of earrings but the plainness made her look even more elegant.

Her hair is tied nearly into a bun and braided around it. Her face has no dressings except a slight bit of coloring on her lips.

All in all, it was simple but to Arthas she is "... beautiful..."

Lyanna blushed at his word. And smiled softly as she answered. "...thank you..."

"I noticed you haven't been skipping out on your studies."

"Why of course." she themed whispered. "How else am I going to have thicc thighs?"

Arthas choked on his drink as he nearly spilled it out his nose. His reaction prompted a soft laughter from the she-wolf who ran her hands across his back to give him comfort.

After fixing himself up, Arthas asked. "So you have the time? I would like it if you walked with me."

"I would be ho-"

And then a scream cut through the guest. People turned their attention to the couples room and saw Lords Stark, Lannister, Tully and Arryn rush inside followed by a handful of men with swords drawn.

Arthas subconsciously wrapped his arm around Lyanna who leaned at his chest while he looked at the door. A foreboding feeling wash over him and settle above him like a grim.

~~~ Break ~~~

"What is the meaning of this!?" yelled Hoster Tully as he pointed at the scene that caused the Lords and knights pause.

Inside the tent was Lysa Tully holding her hand upon her mouth in horror at the sandal she had just seen. Jamie stood rooted at the spot. Wide eyes, labored breaths and a trail of sweat on his forehead with his trousers piled unto the floor which he tried and failed to pull up properly with shaky hands.

But above all is Cersei Lannister who has her top torn off one shoulder. As her arms wrapped around her trying to keep her breast from spilling. But the most scandalous sight was the fact that her skirt was bunched to up to her waist as she sat down on the floor.

"...father-" she whispered.

"What happened here!? Answer me!?" yelled Hoster Tully.

Cersei instead began crying softly. But their inaction instead fueled Hoster's anger. So Rickard stepped in and spoke before it could go out of hand.

"Lysa Tully, what did you see that caused you to cry in distress?" he asked calmly.

"....my-my lords, I-I went to finish preparing for my wedding but was greeted with the sight of Lord J-Jamie kissing Lady Cersei as he undress her."

Everyone was shocked by her words. That was not what they expecting. Truth be told, most of them were hoping this was merely an accident caused by a scuffle. But to hear the truth, was... horrifying.

Tywin turned to the knights and said. "Leave us."

"No!" shouted someone. Everyone turned and looked in horror as they saw Jon Connington standing by the entrance followed by Elbert Arryn who could barely contain his smug face.

"Take them all to the dungeons! We shall ring the truth from them if necessary."

"Lord Connington this is-" tried Tywin.

"The King's Justice! Lord Tywin." Jon was cold and passive in expression. "I will make sure it is properly carried out!" he showed that he would not be moved.

"Then at least express him a Lord's courtesy." Interjected Rickard. "He is their father, he deserves that much."

"Very well. You shall have the chance to hear the truth from your son's mouth first." Tywin agreed and was about to bow in acceptance, until Connington continued. "But you shall be supervised by me."

"Very well." Tywin gritted out.

"Wait father please! Please father listen to me!" shouted Cersei as she was carried away but Tywin offered her no attention and simply looked at his son who held his head down as he was escorted outside followed by Lysa Tully.

Tywin stood rooted in shame, anger, hate and even regret. The cries of surprise from the guests outside did not help his seething mind. And then he heard his daughter.

"I didn't do it! I didn't do anything! Please! please believe me!" she pleaded repeatedly.

Tywin stepped outside to see the commotion and saw to whom her daughter was pleading to. Arthas. The boy who only looked at her with eyes mixed with regret, sadness, pain and betrayal.

And as the boy walked away, he heard a something he had not heard since his wife was still by his side. His daughter was crying. And he can't do anything about it.

~~~ Break ~~~

Arthas stood with his head down. Feeling confused and most of all, betrayed. He had thought he had made progress. He thought he had bought change. That things could be better.

But as usual, he was wrong.

Surrounded by a large crowd, whispering of his presence and the constant insulting jabs and the mocking laughter. It all fell unto nothing in Arthas' ears. Before him now laid nothing but flickering fires and ashes of his camp as it had been torched to the ground.

There are till several people trying to put the flames out. But he knew it as pointless.

But that was not what stunned the young knight. It was the rolled up parchment that was solemnly handed to him by one of the children and several locks of blonde hair. Contained within is one note that says.

'the blue rose is mine.'

Though that did register into him, again he said it aside as he looked at what laid on the ground before him. Two little children no older than ten namedays old. Reduced to burnt corpsess.

Anger rose within him. One he could barely contain it as his fist clenched so hard his knuckles turned white and blood drew where his nails met his flesh.

His anger towards himself grew as seconds passed.

His childish actions. His continued disregard of their status. His taunts, his insults, all of them had piled on and on had now fallen upon in him in heaps.

He over estimated himself.

He was granted a blessing that would have made him a god amongs men and he grew complacent in it.

He was so confident in fighting them, that it slipped his mind that he was not alone. That there are children involved. And what made it worse was the fact that he chose to take them in. And still he disregarded their safety. Out of pride and childish indecency.

Arthas let his tears fall where he knelt as he gazed upon the burnt body of the two kids. And as he mourned their deaths, he could only offer two weak words that he knew would never be enough.

"...I'm sorry..."

~~~ Break ~~~

Night came and the chaos in Harrenhal had only increased. News had spread. And as usual highborns sneered and gawked at the scene while the lowborns bowed their heads as they passed, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves.

At the center of the burrial grounds stood Gawain and Percival while Arthas kneeled where they burried the two little children.

"...do we even know their names..." asked Arthas.

"...they don't have any my lord..." replied Gawain solemnly.

An hour passed in silence until the two decided to make some distance for their Lord. And while Arthas sent out his prayers, a stray thought passed through his mind.

"what are you so worried about? If a simple soldier like you can be given a brand new chance, what more to the innocent? to those who deserve it?" echoed his thoughts with the voice of his father.

It was a comforting thought. Enough to bring a few more tears and a small smile. But with that new light of hope, Arthas offered one last prayer.

"I am sorry I failed you. May you both have all the happiness you could possiby ask for wherever you may be."

As he stood looking looking at the small grave. He thought on the predicament he had found himself in. Enemies on all sides, from the crown to highborns. A hostage held under threat and a lack of knowledge on where to start searching.

'What do I do now?'

'Have you tried not doing it by yourself?'

'I am hearing a voice now, that just great. I must be going insane with all that is happening.'

'...if having a conscience is what it makes a person insane then sure, be insane.'

Arthas stilled not having anything to say about that statement. Yet still it bought into question, why now?

'Because you never needed me until now...you must stay strong Arthas. So you made a mistake, now get up and do it again.' the voice of his father whispered.

'I didn't just make a mistake. I was wrong.'

'wrong? Who decided that?'

'leave it! This was a mistake from the start! she is a mistake. I should have just left her to her fate!'

'but would that still be you?'

'she would have made her choice.'

'choice? Haha... I thought it was fate?'

'I-'

'you are looking at this wrongly again. That wasn't fate.....That was fiction.' Arthas eyes widened. 'And your life wasn't that book last I checked.'

'you see yourself as a foreigner in this lands. Someone who didn't belong, a new note in a song of ice and fire.'

'you treated this as an adventure. With you at it's center. Someone who knew what horrors would come and have the strength to set it all right.'

'you aren't, you are Arthas. Plain and simple'

'you are not meant to save them. You are not here to set this world right. You are here to live. To have a life. If you happen to save lives along the way, then, all the more better.'

'... isn't that what I had been doing this entire time?'

'the casual jokeful remarks in dire situations, the constant downplay of the dangers around you, the fact that you toyed with the group of men that tried to kill you no less and shrug it off as if it had been nothing.'

'these aren't just your childish tendencies Arthas. This is you being so far removed from reality that you saw this things as a joke. You saw this as a game'

'you have yet to accept this as your reality, but your heart is trying. That is why you are here with them. That is why you couldn't turn a blind eye.'

'This is your story. So ask yourself. If you could turn back time, would you have truly turned a blind eye if you believed you could save her?'

'.....no.....'

'would you have walked away if she needed help?

'....no.....'

'would you have abandoned those that needed saving?'

'...no...'

'would you have ignored those you could reach?'

'..no..'

'would you have willingly condemned the innocent into suffering for your own gain?'

'.no.'

'....have you turned your eyes away from all you once were. From all those you believed in. For what we once fought for. For what we died for.'

'Never'

'then get up, you have a life to live. And it will leave you behind if you dilly dally anymore than you already have.'

Arthas took a deep breath and for the first time in days, his mind felt clearer. He felt whole once again.

"I was so strong, too strong. That I had forgotten what it meant to be weak. *sigh* I am truly an idiot of a different magnitude aren't I?"

"Yes you are."

Arthas smiled as he turned to the her, Lyanna Stark standing just behind him.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

"Oh you know me. Being a complete idiot from time to time."

"I could have helped, maybe knock some sense into you while you were at it." she jested as she held his cheek.

"Not this time. This one, this one was me, only I could have talked some sense into him."

Lyanna looked at him in searching. "You've changed." she suddenly realized. His shoulders were straighter. His gait is more elegant. And his eyes, didn't belong to a child. It's the same eyes she had seen reflect upon her father's eyes. It was like someone had removed the unseen bindings on top of his eyes revealing the once ice cold eyes, to now be as clear as the blue sky.

"I feel..... awake." he answered as if satisfied.

Not knowing where to take it from there she simply wrapped her arms around him as she held him. The two of them simply basked in comfortable silence. Soon she then led him back to the Stark Camp where the others waited them.

But before they could. Arthas had another thing to address first.

"I can't go with you, not just yet. I have questions that needed answers. And your father won't be able to give them to me."

"...I feared as much." Giving his cheek a soft kiss, she whispered. "Go."

Lyanna stood as Arthas left. The man she had fallen for had changed all of a sudden that she could barely recognize him. But she knew she needed to wait for answers. So she returned to camp and rested, knowing she will be needing all that she could get.

______________________________

AN: sorry for the delay, had a dialysis. Felt too weak. Needed rest. I'll see if I can send the other chapter soon.

Ths chapter went through several revisions. From cringe level of over 9000! to the current one. Let me know what you think 😉