The Apprentice

Daemon stood by the window of his room watching everyone walk around the encampment, he especially liked watching the servants hurry to get things ready for the joust. Though Daemon would be fine to give that a miss as he wasn't much interested in that event, though from what he could tell from her visits while he recovered Lyanna was very much interested in joining, to the point where he was concerned that she might join in secret like Barristan did when he was only ten name days old.

*Knock*

*Knock*

"Enter!" Daemon said clearly, the door opened and a smile spread across his face as he saw the beautiful visage of his betrothed Lysa. She smiled as well upon seeing him and as the door shut she quickly walked towards him and Daemon took her into his arms. He pressed his lips against her own making her moan in delight as her grip tightened on his arms and she melted in his grasp.

"I hope your father wasn't too angry," Daemon said with a smirk. Lysa giggled before shaking her head "Quite the opposite he was rather excited... well as excited as he'd allow himself to be, he even bragged about how he had the foresight to arrange a betrothal years ago ." She answered as she leaned into his chest.

Daemon smiled "I was under the impression he'd be angry as I've kept postponing our marriage for the reason of wanting to get stronger." He stated.

Lysa nodded "He was of the thought that you might break the betrothal after you became a Lord, though once he saw us together when you first arrived his worries seemed to disappear." She explained.

Daemon smiled mischievously as he spun her around and placed her on the bed "Oh? And did you have the same worries?" He asked as he placed kisses across her collarbone making her hum in approval as she gripped the sheets of the bed "Never..." she said breathlessly as she felt her legs starting to spread for him.

Daemon noticed this and smirked at her "You want to do it before our bedding ceremony? How scandalous, what would your father think." He said jokingly making Lysa smile before she reached up and wrapped her hands around his neck "I don't care." She simply replied before she started to kiss Daemon with increased passion.

Daemon kissed her with equal ferocity as his hand went to untie his breeches while Lysa hiked up her gown. Years of waiting and pent-up love for each other seemingly exploded as they lost control of themselves and Daemon found himself desperate to penetrate Lysa.

"My Lord!"

Daemon's aura almost exploded out of him maliciously as they were interrupted by someone at his door, Lysa giggled as Daemon leaned over her shoulder huffing in frustration "I suppose we shall have to wait after all." She said as she kissed his cheek.

Daemon pushed himself up from the bed and helped Lysa up her brushed down the creases in her dress. Daemon walked to his door and was almost tempted to give whoever knocked at the door a beating "What is it!" He said in a voice more aggressive than he meant to. The servant who had knocked on his door looked positively terrified of the man before him as he straightened up so much that Daemon thought he might get taller.

"P-Prince Rhaegar wishes to see you, my Lord." The servant said with a tremor in his voice. Daemon sighed as he saw how much his presence was scaring the young servant "Thank you, inform him I shall be there momentarily." He stated before closing the door and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Is everything okay Daemon?" Lysa asked as she stalked around the bed and approached him.

Daemon nodded but his face was still marred with a look of displeasure making Lysa look at him expectantly "I do not think the Prince is going to be pleased with my actions..." he stated.

"He asked me before the Grand Melee to give the match to Arthur if it came to it, but I did not, I fought him as seriously as I could." He explained further making Lysa nod in understanding.

Though she did have a look of confusion on her face when she considered Daemon's words "I truly did not expect such behaviour from Prince Rhaegar, to think he'd ask you to fix the match between you, did he tell you why?" She asked to which Daemon nodded "He wished to use it as a show of force against any Lords who are having thoughts of rebellion." He replied.

Daemon saw the look on Lysa's face and held his hand up before she could speak, he drew her close "Rhaegar has a plan to deal with his father but he can't do it if the kingdoms rise against them." He whispered into her ear. Even speaking of such treason in the safety of his room filled him with paranoia. Lysa still did not look entirely convinced but she nodded nonetheless "When you're finished come and watch the Joust, Lyanna brought the boy like you asked." Lysa said as she pecked him on the lips and walked past him and through the door.

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Daemon was standing in Prince Rhaegar's chambers watching him stare out of his window to the grounds below, Elia was sitting at their dining table with little Rhaenys on their lap. Daemon looked to Elia with a look that asked if she knew what was going on but she just shrugged her shoulders as she bounced Rhaenys on her leg while the baby played with her hair.

After a while of silence, Rhaegar turned around with a look Daemon had not expected as it was a wide smile on his face "Daemon... you performed far beyond my expectations, that was truly a fight that will be written down in history." Rhaegar said as he clasped Daemon by his shoulders.

Daemon looked slightly confused "In truth I thought you'd be mad that I did not simply hand the victory over to Arthur." He stated.

Rhaegar chuckled "In truth I was but when I witnessed your fight I realised I was wrong, you were the right man to go up against Arthur as you allowed him to show how powerful he truly is, as soon as I saw the faces of the Lords I knew it was the right decision." He explained.

"So thank you, my friend, we've achieved what we set out here to do and more, please tell me if there is anything I can do for you in return," Rhaegar said as he let go of Daemon and walked back to the window. Daemon took this as a polite dismissal but instead of leaving he stayed as he thought that he might as well take advantage of Rhaegar's good mood.

"Rhaegar there is something you can do for me..." Daemon said tentatively as he wasn't entirely sure he should ask, what he was about to ask of Rhaegar would surely break the law.

Rhaegar turned around with a smile still on his face, for a moment Daemon thought he'd caught a hint of red in his eyes but when he looked closer they were just as purple as his own "Of course Daemon, if it is in my power then I shall do it." He said sincerely.

Daemon breathed in and out to calm his nerves, he wasn't nervous that Rhaegar might decline but he was nervous about what would follow if he did say no as Lyanna marrying the Stag Lord was not an option "I wish for you to allow and officiate a Duel of Betrothal." He said bluntly.

Rhaegar lost his smile and instead, a look of confusion appeared upon his face "A Duel of Betrothal? Has someone challenged you for Lysa's hand?" He asked but Daemon shook his head.

"No, it is I who wishes to challenge the Stag Lord, Robert Baratheon for the hand of Lyanna Stark." He started with a serious expression on his face. Rhaegars' look of confusion morphed into one of shock, and he was not the only one. Elia who had been quietly bouncing Rhaenys on her knee almost dropped her because of the words that came out of Daemon's mouth "Daemon! You are already betrothed, to do this would be seen as a great form of disrespect upon three of Great Houses." Elia said still reeling from the shock, while it's true she knew about his feelings for Lyanna she did not know he meant to get his far for her. In truth when she heard of the. Betrothal between the Starks and Baratheons she felt pain in her heart for him, but to do something like this would cause a massive rift between the three kingdoms.

"My wife is right Daemon to do this would be seen as not only disrespecting the Tullys but also the Starks and Baratheons," Rhaegar stated.

Daemon nodded "I realise this and you know I would not ask if I did not have any other choice..." Rhaegar understood his meaning and sighed "I will do this for you Daemon but you will need to give me some time to figure out how to minimise the damage of such an act." He stated seriously.

"Would you please be patient Daemon."

Daemon smiled "Of course Rhaegar I trust you." He said before walking to the door.

"Daemon would you mind escorting me down to the jousting? I wish to get there before it starts," Elia asked, Daemon looked at her and nodded "Of course." He said as he held the door open for her which she quickly walked through, Daemon took one last look at Rhaegar who had gone back to looking out the window before heading off after Elia.

As the door shut behind Daemon and he walked behind Elia she quickly turned around and with her free hand she shoved him "Are you mad?" She whispered angrily. Daemon chuckled "Perhaps only a little bit." He replied.

"You can't break a betrothal when you have one yourself, especially not one between two Lord Paramounts." She tried to reason.

Daemon shrugged "You knew about Lyanna and Lysa, I made it clear that I would be with both of them a long time ago." He stated.

Elia sighed "You did, but I thought you'd at least have the sense to know when it simply becomes impossible." She said as she rubbed her eyes.

Daemon smiled at her before bringing her into a hug "Are you sure this is about Lyanna and not someone else..." he whispered making her tense in his arms.

For a while she didn't say anything, she just leaned against Daemon. Luckily they were in an empty corridor as seeing the Princess in such an embrace with a man who wasn't her husband would be quite scandalous. Abruptly she removed herself from his embrace and wiped her eyes "I believe I can find my way to the jousting grounds." She said before quickly walking down the corridor leaving Daemon standing there by himself.

———————————————————

Daemon walked towards the Stark camp, he wasn't feeling at all too great after his conversation with Elia however contemplating his relationship with her would have to wait as he had things to do.

"HA HA LORD SILVER," he heard from behind him as a heavy hand clapped him on the back and from behind Robert Baratheon sided up next to him with a large smile on his face.

"I have to say this my Lord I have never seen such a fight in all my days!!!" He boomed out excitedly.

"At first I thought you'd be a prissy little lordling scared of his own shadow but my how I was wrong! By the gods, you truly are a powerful warrior just like Brandon said you were!" Robert boomed out as he grabbed him by the shoulder as they walked. Daemon couldn't help but smile, while they were rivals even if Robert wasn't aware, he couldn't help but be affected by his good cheer.

"Thank you, My Lord, I'm glad you found the fight entertaining." He replied with a courteous smile.

Robert laughed again "Piss on that call me Robert! We must spar sometime, seeing you fight has got my blood boiling!" He said to which Daemon nodded.

"I look forward to it," Daemon said with a smile before they both clasped arms and said their goodbyes. Daemon walked further towards the centre of the camp finally reaching where the Starks had set their tents, while most of the Great houses and Lords were offered housing in Harrenhal the Starks refused as they felt more at home with their bannermen, though if you listened to rumours then it would be because Rickard Stark was quite a superstitious man and believed in the curse of Harrenhal and did not want it latching onto his family.

"Daemon!"

Daemon looked to his side and saw Brandon Stark walking up to him "I'm glad your injuries weren't as serious as they looked, I have to say even at my full strength I do not believe I could've taken such an attack." He said as put his hand on Daemon's shoulder.

Daemon smiled "It looked much worse than it was, I'm almost back to full strength now so there was no need to worry." He said back to him.

Brandon gave Daemon a half smile "Maybe but isn't that what friends do for each other." He stated.

"Right," Daemon said as he nodded.

"So what brings you to our part of the encampment?" Brandon asked as they started to walk together.

"I asked Lyanna if she could arrange a meeting between me and one of your bannermen," Daemon explained getting a look of surprise back from Brandon.

"Which one of our bannermen did you wish to meet?" Brandon asked out of curiosity.

"Howland Reed, he was in the Grand Melee and did quite well," Daemon replied getting a nod from Brandon.

"I've only met the Reeds once but from what I've heard Howland is quite a proficient aura user, though unfortunately nowhere close to your monstrous talent." He said in a joking manner.

Daemon looked at Brandon with a sly look on his face "You'd be surprised at how strong he may become with the right training." He stated.

They both walked into the makeshift training ring that had been set up for the Stark family. There Lyanna was sparring with Howland though it was clear the see that the young boy was not as enthusiastic about it as she was as he mostly defended himself from the powerful swings of her training sword.

"Come on fight back!" Lyanna shouted as she swung her sword over and over again.

"Y-Yes my Lady!" Howland replied a little nervously as he parried her sword to the left before taking a swing at her that she deftly blocked. Fighting with a sword wasn't Howland's speciality as he had grown up wielding the spear and trident, so needless to say he was struggling in this spar but he could not refuse Lady Stark's request.

Lyanna grips her training sword with both hands raises it and slashes downwards which forces Howland to sidestep, Lyanna takes advantage of this and pushes off her feet and shoulder barges him to the ground.

"Go easy on the poor lad sister," Brandon said with a chuckle as they approached the two of them.

Lyanna whipped her head around with a scowl on her face, though it quickly turned into a smile when she saw Daemon and she dropped her sword before running up to them. Though she didn't embrace Daemon like she usually would as they had to maintain social decorum "Daemon! I brought Howland here like you asked, though he isn't anything special, he isn't particularly good at fighting." She said whispering the last part to him.

"I have to agree with my sister, I did see him fight during the Grand Melee and while he did quite well he was nothing special," Brandon stated looking over to Howland who was picking himself up from the floor.

Daemon shook his head as he smiled at them "You're missing the most important aspect, his ability is incredible." Daemon replied as he walked over to Howland.

"My Lord!" Howland said as he snapped to attention seeing that Daemon was approaching.

Daemon raised his hand "Please call me Daemon, after this conversation I hope we might have a closer relationship." He said with a smile.

"O-Of course My- Daemon." He said nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"Howland may I ask why you joined the Grand Melee to begin with," Daemon asked as he led them both over to some chairs that overlooked the ring.

Howland at first seemed reluctant to answer but Daemon was patient and he waited for the younger boy to speak "I have a Bastard sister... she is sick and my father is reluctant to acquire medicine for her as it is both foreign and expensive, I hoped to win the Grand Melee in hopes of acquiring the gold necessary for such an expense." He explained. Daemon immediately understood as Bastards even those who belonged to Lords were looked down upon, especially by their family. What surprised Daemon the most was that Howland loved his sister this much that he would defy his family and attempt to seek a remedy for her own his own, something he found commendable.

"I am not one for spouting pretty words so I shall get to the point of why I wished to see you," Daemon stated as he leaned forward in his seat, he could see that Howland was sweating slightly and finally realised that this whole situation might look like he had done something wrong and was about to be punished.

"I want you to squire for me," Daemon said bluntly.

"Huh?" Howland said with a stupefied look on his face.

"Of course, it won't be a real squiring as you keep to the Old Gods but after you're finished I'll set you up as your own Knight in all but name." Daemon went on explaining.

Howland wasn't the only one completely shocked by Daemon's offer, Lyanna and Brandon who had stuck around were in awe as well. It is not lightly that a man as powerful as Daemon makes an offer like this and it made them both all the more curious about what made Howland so special.

"And as a bonus, I shall pay for whatever treatment your sister requires from now until she is cured or your Squiring ends. All I require from you is your Loyalty and dedication" Daemon finished.

Howland still had his mouth open at the offer that was being presented to him. He had seen Daemon fight in the Grand Melee, even if he didn't win he and shown how powerful he was to be able to fight face-to-face with the Sword of the Morning himself. To have a chance at squiring with him as well as having his sister's medicine be provided for her it was all too good to be true, which is why it left him wondering.

"Why?" He asked in a low voice.

"Why would you offer this to me, there must be hundreds who are stronger and more skilled." He stated.

Daemon smiled and stood up before gesturing for Howland to do the same "I can tell that all of you here have doubts about my judgement, so

I shall show you why I've chosen you." He stated.

When Howland and Daemon both entered the ring he released his aura and channelled it to his palm "Alchemist Aura types can change their aura into something else, which I'm sure you all know." Daemon stated as his aura changed from its usual state into water. "But this isn't water it is simply my aura mimicking the effects of water." He continued.

He then turned to Howland "Activate your aura ability around your whole body." He asked and so Howland complied and released his aura before activating his technique.

'Water Form'

Suddenly Daemon drew his sword and sliced it through Howland seemingly bisecting him in front of both Lyanna and Brandon "His Aura not only mimics the effects of water but his body does as well... which is impossible." Daemon finished. Both Brandon and Lyanna now that they understood were in awe as they saw Howland who was completely fine after being cut in half.

Daemon then turned to Howland "You have a lot of potential, so will you become my squire?" He asked.

Howland found his mind racing as he tried to find some sort of reason why this would be a mistake but he couldn't, while it all seemed too good to be true it was just that... true and so he made the most sensible choice he could "Yes My Lord I will be your squire." He said with a quick bow making Daemon smile.

"Though I'm not sure how Father will react to such news." He quickly added.

"There is no need to worry about such things, I shall speak with my Father and make sure that yours won't kick up a fuss." Brandon chimed in getting a grateful smile from Howland in return.

Daemon gave him one as well, he was prepared to deal with Lord Reed but having the Starks do it would be much easier "I hope you're ready because I will be training you just as hard as I was trained." He stated with a serious expression. Howland gulped but nodded his head with determination, in his mind he was ready to do anything to get stronger and to help his sister.

"My Lord!!!"

Both Brandon and Daemon turned around to see a messenger boy running towards them at full speed, he was going so fast he nearly tripped over himself multiple times "Calm yourself, lad, what is the matter." Brandon asked as he caught the boy from falling.

The boy looked to Daemon "The King is here my Lord!!! He wishes for his Lord Silver to join him right away." He stated breathlessly.

Daemon found himself frowning as all the joy he'd felt was sucked away from him "Brandon can you arrange for Howland to have quarters next to mine," he asked and the Stark Heir nodded "Howland do not tell anyone that I've officially made you my squire, the information will be dangerous right now." He said ambiguously. He then gave Lyanna a smile which she returned before walking off with the boy and towards the King.

(AN: Daemon has his apprentice, someone that'll be good to have in the upcoming war which shall be soon. I'm really tempted to just knock it out next chapter if I'm not too busy. Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter.)

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