16

Book 2: Chapter 5

*** Sansa***

Sansa blinked, the last thing she remembered was going to bed. Now she found herself standing alone in her Meadow of Blades. Well, not alone as her direwolf, Taiga, was sleeping underneath the Heart Tree at the center of her field. It was her signature and a reflection of the core of her very soul, or at least that was how Archer had explained it to her. As for the Counter Guardian himself, he had his floating gear works while the other Shirou had a clear field, which meant his full potential was yet untapped.

Still, none of that mattered as Sansa was excited to be back in the Reality Marble world and have a chance to talk to those two idiots again. Turning around she expected the two to greet her already only to gasp at the sight before her.

"W-What is..." Sansa looked in the distance, the Gear world and the Dawning world were now covered in ice. Or to be more exact, the Gearwork world were completely frozen in ice and a blue hue was over permeating it, while the Dawn world was covered in snow.

"Trace on..." she whispered as the two scimitar blades that her two male counterparts wielded manifested in her hands. Looking back at her direwolf, who seem oblivious to everything, she decided to let Taiga sleep.

Steeling herself, Sansa began her trek to the borders. She noted that her own lands were still pristine and untouched by whatever wintery grip had encased the other two. It took anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, she was not sure which – time was a funny thing when you were dreaming – but when she got to the edge that was her Reality Marble, she looked to the other two frozen lands and opted to venture out toward the less cold Dawn world.

"Hey, that's Hell you're walking into," a familiar snarky voice spoke up behind her.

Sansa turned around and was immediately on the defensive, but was relieved to see the tall bronze skin man that couldn't have been anyone but her older alternate self.

"Archer, what's going on?" Sansa asked, looking at the other two Reality Marbles. It was then that she noticed Archer's state; his clothes had visible wear and tear on them and his stance was one that showed obvious signs of fatigue.

"It appears we underestimated the importance of your world," Archer sighed as he sat down on the icy side of his field. "What was your House's words again... ah yes. 'Winter is coming,' right?"

Sansa nodded in confirmation.

"How apt," Archer chuckled to himself as he seem to relaxed a bit more in her presence.

"Archer," Sansa looked at the man worriedly. "What happened?"

"We are at war," Archer spoke softly as mist puffed from his mouth with every word. "We are at war on every conceivable level, a war so massive in scale that this-"

Archer motioned to all three of theirs reality marbles.

"-is merely the collateral damage from it."

"Where's Shirou?" Sansa asked, wondering why the other boy wasn't here. She began to look for him in his snow-covered Reality Marble.

"Don't worry about that idiot, I was coming to help him," Archer sighed exaggeratedly as if the very thought was a chore. "After all, my world is already lost."

"Stop speaking in riddles and explain yourself Archer!" Sansa shouted at the red clad man, tired of his cryptic responses.

Archer chuckled as he stood up and pointed at her. "I don't fully understand myself, so how can I explain myself to you?"

Sansa looked at the other side where Shirou's Dawn land still had its sun shining. "Then let me help you."

Archer shook his head. "I'm afraid that's my task alone for the time being, although I do have a message for you. Well, more like a warning from Alaya."

Sansa's eyes widened. Did Archer just said there was a warning for her from the Will of Humanity?

"The Long Night falls," Archer spoke before his mouth twisted distastefully. "I have no idea what that means, but I was made aware that it is on your world that the entire war would be decided."

"M-My world?" Sansa asked, more confused than before but Archer just shrugged, apparently having delivered his whole message.

"Hell if I know," Archer shrugged before giving her a long look. "Just do whatever it is you've been doing, these things tend to work themselves out… and as always, I'll be here to clean up the mess afterwards once everything is said and done."

"Archer..." Sansa confusedly replied. Suddenly she felt a hand on her head, its touch was cold. Looking up, she saw that Archer was now in her Meadow.

"Damn, it feels nice over here," Archer lip quirked as he beheld her inner world. "Has that womanly touch you kno- ugh!"

Sansa removed her fist from Archer's gut who had doubled over in pain from her shot. "Dumbass! Showing up, being all cryptic with your words and now doing this? Can't you give me a straight answer?"

"Just… be careful," Archer advised before he ruffled her hair and walked into his younger self's snowy land.

And then Sansa woke up.

It took Sansa a moment to get her bearings, but she found Arya next to her and the sun beaming through her windows. On either side of their bed were their two ever-growing direwolves, whose breathing came out in loud rumblings.

There was suddenly knocking at the door as her handmaiden, Shae, made her way in. Shae was a self-proclaimed traveler in pursuit of a better life than the one she had fled, and she just so happened to pay for said travels with her body rather than coin. Her whoring herself out had eventually taken her to the North, and it was there that she met Sansa, who had decided to give her what she wanted.

"My Lady, Lord Arthur bid me to inform you that today was the day of Lady Lorelei's arrival and that if you do not wish to be present, you do not have to." Shae spoke softly but had a frown on her face.

"It would be rude not to greet our newest resident." Sansa eventually told the woman, who merely nodded. The conversation stirred Arya awake as she blinked blearily before yawning. "Arya, would you like to come greet Lady Lorelei?"

Arya face twisted into a small frown. "Arthur really going through with it?"

"He is, and he has my support, don't forget that," Sansa spoke gravely to her sister to remind her that Arthur was not dishonoring her in anyway. "Mordred also agreed to it before she left."

When word came of Arthur's intentions for the young lady of House Lake, it had caused a bit of a scandal among the smallfolk. Ser Jory had wanted to report it to Lord Stark immediately, but Sansa had stayed his hand, saying that what happened in House Pendragon was their business and nobody else's.

"Why? I just don't understand you two. Why agree to share Arthur with another woman?" Arya asked, even as Shae began to lay out the dress and basin of water.

"Arya, we are at three right now," Sansa told her sister with an arch look. "What's one more? Beside, she's not a wife, she's a mistress, which in reality is little more than a glorified handmaid. Most noble lords have one anyway..."

"Not father!" Arya countered and Sansa agreed she had a point up until a certain extent.

"True, but he did raise Jon despite our mother's misgivings, and a lord raising their own bastard is even more uncommon in the Seven Kingdoms. Aside from Dorne, of course." Sansa rebutted and saw Arya face scrunch up, having never thought of it that way.

"Bah!" Arya huffed at losing this philosophical duel with her older sister. Again.

"When she gets here try not to be mean to her alright? Mordred and I have nothing against her, and she really has no choice in the matter," Sansa asked her sister who looked alarmed.

"Arthur is forcing himself on her?!" Arya asked in shock looking at her sister, wide eyed.

"No!" Sansa immediately corrected. No need to let a rumor of that sort spread. "No, she was going to married to a bad person, but instead will be living with Arthur now, who you must admit, is a good person."

Arya slowly nodded her head. "How bad was the man she was to marry?"

"Mordred informed Arthur that the man challenged her for her hand in marriage three times, the third time he tried to pay someone to lace her drink with a weakening agent." Sansa frowned at hearing the length that Harrold Hardyng would go to try to obtain Mordred's hand, though she inwardly smirked upon recalling how Mordred told her how she'd knowingly drank the poison – "to make it interesting" she'd said – and she had still trounced him handily.

"He didn't!" Arya looked properly scandalized. "But how did Mordred know?"

"Arthur didn't ask, and neither did I. But if I had to guess, she probably smelled the elixir," Sansa reasoned before a cough from Shae informed her that everything was ready. "Anyway, be NICE to Lady Lorelei, understand?"

Arya nodded before she went to her room to get dressed.

"It's still mighty generous of you," Shae spoke up suddenly as she began to help Sansa into her dress. "Most high ladies such as yourself would have just told their husband to visit a whore or fuck one of the maids and be done with it, not let them keep one of their toys around in their own home."

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Sansa spoke up before looking in the mirror as Shae began to brush her hair. "Beside, in this case, it was simply the right thing to do."

+++ Harrenhal Great Hall+++

Sansa strode into the great hall and was greeted by all the men present, which included Mordred's uncle, Ser Jaime Lannister. Jory was looking displeased but she had already told him not to make a scene. Ser Jaime's face was stormy and he kept glaring daggers at Arthur, but Mordred had probably had a talk with him as well.

"Lord Gwynn and Lady Lorelei of House Lake," Bran announced as he walked in, followed by the reddish haired man she had seen at Riverrun. It was his sister, however, wearing an ocean-blue dress that was captivating to behold. Long curly black hair, a small slim frame, pert red lips, blue crystal eyes, and a face that was pale and flawless without a single blemish.

All of the men were visibly affected by the girl's beauty, all save Arthur himself, who only looked at the lady of House Lake impassively.

"Lady Lorelei, I welcome you to Harrenhal." Arthur declared formally.

"Lord Pendragon," Lorelei spoke up as she gracefully curtsied. Sansa noted that even her voice sounded smooth and elegant. "I am humble to be in your presence."

"Allow me to introduce my wife, Lady Sansa of House Stark." Arthur introduced giving Sansa a fond smile.

Sansa made eye contact with the girl who was only two years her senior and saw a guilty look flash across her face. Mordred had taught her that perception was everything, even down to the smallest gesture.

"Lady Lorelei," Sansa spoke up with a smiled before she walk from her husband side much to everyone in attendance's surprise, and embraced the dark haired beauty. "I welcome you into my House without reservation. And know that this is now your home as well."

Sansa felt Lorelei tense but slowly returned the embraced. "My sister-wife, Mordred, is who you would be serving but I would like a chance to get to know you more, if it is not too much trouble."

"O-Of course Lady Sansa," Lorelei murmured in confusion. She looked to her brother and Lord Gywr who appeared to be as surprised as his sister was.

Sansa turned around to face her husband. "I am sure you can get to know Lady Lorelei better later, do you mind parting with her for a while?"

Arthur, who, while surprised but had hidden it better than most, nodded slowly. "If that is my wife's wish, how can I say no?"

"Then come, Lorelei, you don't mind if I just call you Lorelei do you?" Sansa asked, smiling at the reborn Knight of the Lake. It was hard to believe this was the legendary knight of King Arthur's Round Table.

"Not at all," Lorelei acquiesced immediately. Her eyes darted only once to Arthur when he was looking at Lord Gwynn before coming back to Sansa.

"Good, I always did hate formalities. You can just call me Sansa, and I am sure Mordred would prefer it if addressed her in the same manner once the two of you are properly acquainted." Sansa smiled as she grabbed the older girl by the arm and walked out the room.

She heard Arya's footsteps a moment later, who had decided to be friendly to the girl after all. Still... what was with Archer's warning? "Winter is coming," She knew that much of course, but what she had seen in her dream world... it was unnerving to say the very least.

+++ Benjen- Beyond the Wall+++

Benjen Stark, First Ranger of the Night's Watch knelt down and picked up a small black piece of cloth. Several of his brothers nearby stopped and looked at the object curiously.

"Don't that belong to Royce?" One of the younger Night's Watch's younger rangers, a man from House Haigh, asked as he looked at the piece of black cloth. Like the rest of his party, they were all wearing thick black clothing with light mail armor under it.

"Aye, it might." Benjen replied as he looked at the cloth.

"Fresh tracks here milord." Bolin Frey spoke up, unlike most of his family members who still waited at the Crossing for old man Walder to die, Bolin decided to do something honorable with his life and joined the Night's Watch. There was actually a jape among the men that if Walder sent all of his sons up to the Wall, they would be able to man the other castles.

Benjen tucked the piece of cloth away and look over to where Bolin was standing. Looking at the way the brush was broken, he frowned; whoever walked this way had been sloppy, it couldn't have been Royce. The lad may have been a tad arrogant, but he wasn't an idiot. He wouldn't have left such an obvious trail in wildling country. No ranger would.

"Ben, I found Gared's sword!" a ranger waved a blade he found that belonged to another man from Royce's group.

Benjen took the sword and unsheathed it, finding it to be clean.

"The trail leads deeper into the woods," the ranger pointed in the general north direction. For some reason, the woods felt off to Benjen, and the other men also seemed sensed as much.

"Do we follow?" one asked.

"We are men of the Night's Watch," Benjen intoned and looked at all the rangers in disapproval, shaming them. "We fear nothing."

Nodding, some of them reluctant, the men ventured deeper into the woods. Some had their bows ready, others theirs swords out. What were they ready to defend against? No one could be sure, just that there was a sense of danger. There were nine men in all including Benjen himself, and they fanned out slowly, looking for signs of an entrapment.

However, the men could be only on guard for so long, and after two hours with nothing happening, the men grew somewhat used to the eerie calm.

"Damn, still nothing," the brother from House Haigh spat as he finally had enough of the silence.

"Keep your voice down!" Benjen rebuke the taller man who merely shrugged.

"Benjen," Bolin whispered and motioned that he spotted possible enemies. Three of the brothers nocked their bows while the rest drew their swords.

Benjen, as leader of the group, took lead and moved silently where he saw fire embers down by a makeshift camp. However, it was the back of a Night's Watchman they saw made them alert.

"Wilding ambush?" Bolin asked looking to his leader for answers.

Ben motions for two archers to go left, and protect their flank, one to go right, while the rest would go straight down the middle. Slowly he crept, making sure to use the trees as cover. He looked to the archers in the distance who shook their head to indicate there were no signs of any enemy.

The man from Haigh took point and was the first one in the makeshift camp looking around alertly. "Ser Royce?"

Benjen and Bolin looked at one another and knew that something felt off.

"Waymar?" the Haigh man grabbed the shoulders of the still Night Watch and turned it around to face him. Immediately he gasped and so did the other five men in the party. It was Ser Waymar but he was dead. His face was blue showing that it was the cold that took him not any Wilding.

"Damn, any signs of Gared?" Bolin shook his head and said as swift prayer for Waymar's soul. Freezing to death was a fate he wouldn't wish on anybody.

"Not that I caagghhh!"

The sudden shout by the Haigh man drew the men's attention to him, only to see that the dead Waymar was very much alive as he had put his sword through the brother's throat, at least that what they thought until Waymar looked at them with his icy blue eyes.

"By the Seven!" Bolin gasped as three distinct screams could be heard in the woods making the men all turn in a panic expecting attacks and finding none. The second they took their eyes off of Waymar however, he disappeared, further unnerving the men. To make matters worse, the temperature around them noticeably dropped.

"Th-th-the- the- the Others!" One of the men gibbered in fear as he turned left and right skittishly. However, that was when Ser Waymar rose from the ground and lobbed off his head before charging at Bolin.

"For the Night Watch!" Bolin let loose his cry before he locked blades with the wight that had been Waymar.

The other men who had been trying to move in on the dead Waymar was suddenly attack by walking skeletons. Benjen hesitated only for a second before he fought a skeletal warrior.

"Aggggh!" Bolin's death scream galvanized the remaining men to fight harder. However it was useless, though the skeletal warriors could be broken, they didn't die. And more wights like Waymar with flesh still hanging on their corpses came from the trees, some dressed like Night's Watch brothers, many more like Wildings.

Eventually, it was only Benjen left who raised his sword in a guarding stance while trying to cover all his angles even as the monsters closed in on him.

"I am the sword in the darkness," Benjen began to recite his oaths to strengthen his resolves in his final moments. "I am the watcher on the walls."

Suddenly the wights stopped and parted, and a different creature made itself known.

This one had a skeletal figure with pale white hair and skin, and was covered in armor made of obsidian. However what stood out the most to him were the glowing blue eyes of the being along with a spear made of ice. Benjen knew in that moment that the ancient enemy have returned and the Seven Kingdoms would freeze at their touch.

The White Walker slowly walked to the corpse of the Haigh man and touched his head. A moment later the nobleman rose, his face expressionless as he turned his blue eyes to Benjen.

"I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleeper," Benjen resumed his chant once more as the White Walker brought the rest of his men back to life one by one until all of them had been turned into its slaves. It was toying with Benjen, showing the First Ranger the fate that would await him, tormenting him with the knowledge that he would find no peace in death.

"I am the shield that guards the realms of men."

The Whitewalker stood just outside of the range of Benjen's blade and looked at him impassively.

"Well, what are you waiting for you whoreson? Come at me!" Benjen growled as he got into a ready stance. He knew he didn't have even the chance of surviving. The legends claimed that only dragonglass or weapons made from a dragon's fire could hurt the Others. Well, he might as well see how much there was in those old stories.

"Die~!"

Before Benjen could attack the armored being, a loud horn sounded, making the White Walker and all the wights' eyes looks up. The next thing he knew, the sky above them lit up as arrows alight with fire landed on the wights, killing many in seconds. Benjen pushed his way through the undead, careful to avoid catching fire himself, and dodged the next set of arrows falling from the sky.

"RARRAGGGHHH!"

The loud screams of the living lifted Benjen spirits. Somehow, against all odds, the Night's Watch had come to his rescue.

Coming out of hiding, he watched as weapons of fire struck the wights. What shocked the most however, was the attacking army was not Night's Watchman but instead, armored Wildings.

At the head of the procession was an armored man wielding a spear with a grace he had never seen before. Every time he struck a skeleton warrior, it shattered like kindling. Every time he ran his spear through a wight, the monster would stiffen and collapse before even he pulled his blade out.

Waymar and some of his dead brothers attacked the armored spearman, but with a grace he didn't think even a master spearman of Dorne possessed, the man killed all five with ease. The Whitewalker which had been looking at the man simply turned away and melted into the surroundings, while the wights were all slaughtered by the man forces.

"RAGGH!" a living wildling slashed his axe at Benjen's head. Falling back on his training, he ducked under the attack and slid his sword into the wildling easily. Pulling the blade free he block another incoming attack.

"Ugh!" Benjen groaned as the spear wielder threw his weapon through his leg.

The attacking wilding raised his axe and made eye contact with Benjen, but hesitated upon seeing that he was alive.

"Finish him Thenn, don't be shy! It's just a dead Crow!" a wildling jeer from the side.

The Thenn – a clan that should have been much further north of the Wall than this – lowered his axe and pointed to Benjen. "That Crow is still alive, his eyes are normal."

The spearman stepped slowly up to Benjen and yanked the spear out of his leg none too gently. "Well, well, Crow, what are ye doing so far north of de Wall?"

Benjen's eyes widened in surprise as the voice that came through the hooded figure was soft like a woman's. A moment later, the spearman her hood and mask to revealed a pretty feminine face with reddish brown eyes.

"I know yer in awe of my beauty, but really, answer de question won't ye?" the woman japed in amusement.

"I… was looking for my missing men." Benjen replied politely. However his replied only seem to make the woman laughed harder.

"So didja find yer men?" The spearwoman asked while keeping the blade of her weapon up against Benjen's throat.

The First Ranger's eyes flickered to the dead Night's Watchmen around him and saw the woman's eyes light up in understanding.

"Ah see... well, then Crow, what should I do with you now?" the woman asked looking quite vexxed as she folded her arms around her breastplate. "It's not my preferred way of doing things to go killing a man in cold blood."

"You could always let me go?" Benjen ventured hopefully but the men's and more than a few women's voices laughed all around him.

"Right, let yer fly home to warn all yer other Crow brothers that we're out here," the woman said in an amused tone as she leaned against the spear. "Ygritte, take a group and scout near de Wall, see if anyone comes looking for dis here Crow."

Benjen had hoped the woman wouldn't think about that particular information that he'd just gleamed. He saw the men around him; Wildings to be sure, but armored differently, more organized. And if the rumors of this new Queen Beyond the Wall were true, how many thousands of these people comprised her army?

"Tell me Crow," the woman spoke up making Benjen focus back on her. "If I was to tell you we would like to offer an alliance with yer Crows, help you guard de wall and in return, all we asked is to settle in the land call the Gift, what do yer think your mighty Lord Commander Crowmont would say?"

Benjen blinked at the Wilding woman's offer, he was not sure how Lord Mormont would take the news, but the Wildings' offering of an alliance instead of attacking first… Such a thing had simply never happened before, or even been discussed for that matter.

"I, I don't know to be honest. Though I can't imagine that such an alliance would be well-received by the Night's Watch or the free folk; we've been killing each other for thousands of years, so it's not like we're all going to become friends just because the people in charge told us to."

"Shame, but true. Looks like we'll have to take it by force then," the spear woman sighed a bit sadly. She turned to a man next to her and motioned her head to Benjen. "Bind his wounds, we're taking him back with us. The Queen can decide his fate if she wants."

A larger man went near Benjen and struck him hard on the back of his head with the flat of his axe, and Benjen Stark was swallowed by darkness.

*** Mordred- Harrenhal***

Mordred Pendragon, formerly Baratheon – though technically it should have been Waters – gazed at the massive feat of engineering taking place. Already a whole tower had been knocked down and the road she was traveling on was proof of how quickly the road builders have been working from morning to night for the past six months.

Looking around she saw fields of greens with several large erected glass structures for Sansa's "greenhouses". Though in Mordred's opinion, her sister-wife needed to at least paint the wooden beams green so it would actually fit its own name. The two months she'd spent in King's Landing have been enlightening, along with rooting out the last of Varys' spy network and making them her own. Unlike Varys, she did not treat the children she found with unnecessary cruelty and even made a fair deal so long as they served her well. She might even let Arthur know about them someday. Still, when they came to report to her, Sansa would feed them and- well-therein lied the trap: Sansa's food.

"I'll send some riders ahead to announce our arrival," Brienne spoke up before motioning to two of the Warrior's Maidens, who Mordred had simply named Number One and Number Two in her head.

"No," Mordred countermanded with a soft shake of her head. "No need. As my husband says, it's pointless to have everyone in the castle running around like chickens with their heads cut off each time one of us returns home. What's next, a parade whenever I wipe my ass?"

"P-Princess!" Brienne said in a scandalized tone before snapping at One and Two to get back into formation when she noticed them snickering.

"Is- is that the lady princess?!" a man who had been carting some wagon on the road stop and stared at Mordred. Immediately he bowed as did numerous other travelers on the road.

Mordred had to smile and motion for the people to stand up and go about their business. Already, she noticed her guards tensing up, looking for any signs of hostility. However, she knew the look in the people's eyes; it was one of utter adoration. The same looks that had upon a time once been endlessly showered upon her father and all the knights who sat with him at the Round Table. Even her… before her rebellion.

Mordred quickly shook such thoughts from her head. That was a different time, a different life.

"Continue what you were doing good man." Mordred smiled at the stranger who had announced her presence to the others on the road, and noticed his blush before he held his head higher and went back to work, invigorated.

"They love you, my lady," Brienne said in an awed voice.

"They love Arthur, and his wives with him." Mordred corrected with a tiny smile. After all if it was not for the changes enacted by her fa- husband, the people would be having much more difficult lives. Then there was Sansa crafting better farming tools that was being taught to the smiths of House Pendragon. It certainly served to make the common people's lives much better, especially that new stone grinder Sansa invented. No longer did bread taste like rocks half the time because of crushed bits of stone getting mixed into the batter. Now it was actual flour that the people were eating. Harrenhal now laid claim to the softest bread south of the Neck.

They traveled leisurely on the road for another hour when a band of riders could bee seen in the distance. Brienne and her guards tense immediately, however they relaxed upon seeing the banner of House Pendragon flying proudly.

The riders nearly passed by them but stopped upon seeing her. The riders were a good hundred in number, and to Mordred's pleasant surprise, wearing the new armor design that Sansa had come up with.

"My lady! You've returned!" the captain, a bearded fellow in his late thirties that Mordred remembered as one of the Lannister men that had accompanied her to Harrenhal, stopped his horse and lowered his head, as did the rest of the company.

As Mordred looked at the other riders and saw a few more faces she recognized, the princess slowly realized that these were all men who had once worn the Lannister red and gold. And now they proudly wear the Pendragon blue and silver. She thought with a smile, which quickly became a frown as she remembered a little something.

"Ah, Captain, I remember you. How good to see a familiar face. I also remember that you and the rest of this lot were supposed to be at my husband's side, cleansing the Western frontier of bandits. So why are you here instead?"

The captain's eyes lit up with surprise and just a hint of fear. "My lady… Lord Pendragon… he has already settled the matter. Most brutally and efficiently, if I may say so" the captain replied a thoughtful look on his face.

"He wiped them out already?" Mordred was surprised, but it quickly faded once she thought about it. A battle with her fa-... husband could only end in brutal bloodshed for the opposing side regardless of who they were, and that went tenfold for untrained, undisciplined bandits. Also, given Arthur's determination to wipe out any and all such scourges, it was really no surprise that he'd destroyed or chased them all out so quickly. At the Battle of Camlann she had outnumbered her father's forces five to one, and yet still her army had ended up utterly annihilated, just barely managing to take her father's army with them. Arthur, when he was Arturia, had killed so many of her forces singlehandedly that by the end her father had been standing on a literal hill of men by the time Mordred confronted her, which had eventually resulted in their mutual demise.

"Not quite…" the Lannister captain hesitantly explained. "He offered those that would bend the knee to him mercy and a chance to serve him... and simply destroyed those who didn't. Some of the men are… a bit concerned that they might prove treacherous, but thus far they have been very… compliant."

Mordred had to grin at the captain's comment. "You need not worry, my husband is an excellent judge of character. If he given those men a chance to serve him, they will do so loyally."

Though it wouldn't hurt to have a few of her newly acquired little birds to keep the occasional eye on them, just in case.

Then again, Arthur always had possessed an uncanny knack for judging a man's worth. Lancelot a wandering knight, Gawain, Bedivere, even the men who followed him had once fought against his claim to be ruler of all Britannia. However, now all of these men served her loyally as well. Her, who had once betrayed Arthur in the worst way possible and brought about the destruction of everything he built.

She saw the Lannister captain and some of his men breathe a bit more easily and nod in acceptance of her words. While Arthur was new to them, they had served her for years and knew Mordred. So if she vouched for Arthur, then that was good enough for them. In time though, they would see Arthur for the glorious ruler that he was with their own two eyes.

"So where are you off to now?" Mordred gazed directly at the assembled men.

"One of the neighboring towns near the Crown's Land has petitioned Lord Pendragon for assistance. Their own lord has apparently neglected to address the surge of bear attacks they've been suffering from recently, so Lord Pendragon has decided to send us to offer assistance.

Mordred nodded. "I see. And your new armor?" This prompted a Lannister man in the back to shout an answer.

"We have the honor of being the first group to wear this to represent House Pendragon!" the man stated proudly, with the others nodding their agreement.

"Well in that case, make sure not to bring shame upon my House then." Mordred ordered sternly and saw the man looked aghast at the very notion of doing so.

"We won't my lady!" the entire company roared as one.

Mordred waved her hand to motion them to go and after yet another bow, the captain spurred his horse and rode away from her party with his men following suit. With in a year, no, maybe two, this part of the Seven Kingdoms would almost be like a new Camelot. She looked to Brienne and saw the woman was looking at her own armor and back at the men. Brienne's armor was her father's and as such still had the Tarth sigil on it.

"Do not worry Brienne, you will soon receive your own personalized armor, similar to a Kingsguard's." Mordred assured her reliable guard, and saw the woman's eyes widen in disbelief.

"Truly?" Brienne asked in wonder.

"Yes, and like the Kingsguard, I will have seven warriors serving as my protectors, and you will serve as their commander. Mordred declared. "Sansa will have her own as well, and Arthur will tell his sister Daenerys to choose her own, though most likely hers will consist of Eagle's stock."

"Me... the commander of your personal guard, Princess?" Brienne looked as if she was about to faint, even some of the women behind Mordred were looking alarmed. As things were now, the princess had twenty personal guards serving her, but Mordred had just declared that she would be reducing that number down to seven, a symbolic number in the Seven Kingdoms to say the very least.

"You don't want the positions?" Mordred asked innocently. "I guess I can give the position to-"

"I would be honored!" Brienne shouted before blushing at her own outburst.

Mordred grinned and slowed her horse down to pat the other woman's shoulders. "Well, it won't happen for a while yet, perhaps when Daenerys gets here. Who knows, maybe Sansa or Daenerys might want you for themselves."

"I am yours my lady, until my dying breath." Brienne fervently replied.

"Oh? Not Arthur's? He knighted you after all." Mordred teased, knowing the woman had a crush on her Lord Husband.

"Th-that goes without saying..." Brienne answered, red in the face once again. Oh, Mordred just knew she was going to have so much fun with this one!

"However unlike the celibate Kingsguard whose vows are taken for life, I have no intention of restricting my guards from perusing a life of their own outside of their duty." Mordred elaborated more on her plans that she and Sansa had already discussed in private. "Just make sure to train your replacement properly should you ever leave my service."

Brienne stayed silent before slowly nodding.

The group rode in silence for another half hour, seeing the road become crowded with more and more people as they approached the castle, almost all recognizing her on sight, and those who didn't easily learned from banner her guards were flying. It was when they entered the courtyard that she saw a lot of the men cease their training in order to bow to her.

"Princess Mordred!" Jory Cassel spoke up recognizing her immediately. "There was no word of your return!"

Jory glared at at the pages around him, trying to single out who could have bolloxed it all up.

"That's because I didn't send word. I, like my lord husband, find such pointless niceties tiresome and wasteful." Mordred stated before casually waving the man's scandalized look away.

"Mordred!"

Mordred turn around and got off her horse to greet her sister-wife, Sansa approaching. "Sansa! So good to see you again. Been keeping our husband's bed warm, I trust?"

Whatever Sansa had intended to say was completely forgotten as her face reddened enough for it to match her hair.

"M-Mordred..." Sansa let out a strained, shy tone.

"Well, it figures. With me gone, his male instinct would undoubtedly take over and he must have used you to sate them." Mordred verbally egged the flustered girl, who looked as if she was going to pass out from embarrassment. Deciding that that was enough for now, she hugged the younger girl.

"M-Mordred," Sansa embraced her quickly before breaking it and motioned to a beautiful woman standing to her right. "This is Lorelei Lake, our husband's newly arrived mistress."

So this is Lancelot reborn... Mordred drew herself to her full height and began to stalk around the new girl, taking in her looks; nice top-heavy breasts that could give her mother's a run for her money; black hair that fell down in natural curls around her shoulders, framing her face; pert, ruby-red lips; crystal blue eyes with a hint of sadness to it… that one was sure to drive men mad trying to bring joy to them; nice slim hips and smooth silky unblemished skin on a flawless face.

Lorelei was the realm's ultimate ideal lady alright. An ideal lady who had just became a mistress to a newly appointed lord. Harrold Hardyng wouldn't let this go easily; Mordred knew from experience just how stubborn that man was.

"My lady," Lorelei smoothly bowed before Mordred, keeping her eyes looking down at the floor. Her posture, her stance… everything about her was simply perfect, annoyingly so to the princess. "Lady Sansa tells me I have you to thank for allowing me to serve Lord Pendragon."

Mordred's face took on a chagrined look; even the girl's voice was perfect. If Mordred had not known this had been the mighty Lancelot in another life, she would have hated this girl with every fibre of her being. Still, now that she knew Lorelei was in fact Lancelot reincarnated, she would instead focus on what she enjoyed most: having some fun. After all, she had promised Gwynn her protection, not good behavior.

"And have you served our husband in any capacity yet, Lady Lorelei?"

"Princess?" Lorelei looked up in wide eye shocked blinking it prettily.

"Oh, who am I kidding, of course you have by now," Mordred said as she hooked her arm around Lorelei's. "Why, you must have taken Arthur's... lance an awful lot in order to keep him from feasting upon poor, Sansa here."

Lorelei began to hyperventilate before Mordred patted the other woman's arm as she tried to soothe her husband's mistress. "It's fine Lorelei. You have done a very noble deed and allowed Sansa some time to sleep so that she can focus on all of her projects instead being constantly ravished by our lord husband."

"I… I haven't-" Lorelei began as she got her breathing under control.

"Goodness, you mean you haven't been... eaten by the dragon yet?" Mordred eyes twinkled in amusement as she saw Lorelei slowly realize what she was hinting at and blushed even deeper.

"I don't think that Lord Pendragon… would do something so improper." Lorelei squeaked.

"Oh? Then you haven't been told?" Mordred smirked at the girl and looked to Sansa who's face was also red. "You haven't told her how the dragon ate us both on our wedding nights?"

"M-Mordred!" Sansa blushed hotly and turned away from Lorelei's disbelieving gaze.

"Oh yes, our husband is quite the beast in bed," Mordred bragged seeing Lorelei's eyes had yet to relax when she saw Sansa's reaction. "Why he's was so brutal I don't even really remember what he DID to me the night he claimed my maidenhead, and neither does Sansa."

"Surely… you couldn't have forgotten everything." Lorelei wondered, looking back and forth between the two sister-wives.

Mordred made a great show of being knowledgeable about this particular topic, but in truth she didn't remember much at all. However she had heard plenty of gossip from the Red Keep's maids as well as Harrenhal's that Arthur was quite... gifted.

"The only thing I do remember is that he was this big. Can you imagine trying to fit that monster inside you?" She held out her hand exaggeratedly and saw Lancelot reborn gape in incredulity.

"A-actually, you're off by a bit," Sansa blushed and took Mordred hand and extended them just a little bit more.

Mordred's eyes widened and looked at the picture Sansa has given her. By the Seven! That thing had been inside of her?!

The three girls stared at Mordred's spaced-apart hands. The two sister-wives both recollecting their wedding nights, but Mordred was mostly just happy to see that she had gotten the prim and perfect Lady Lorelei Lake flustered. Her husband was going to split the poor girl in half... Maybe she actually would have been better off with Harrold Hardyng.

"Mordred."

Hearing her husband's voice, Mordred turned around and was struck dumb by what she saw. It was as if she was once again Sir Mordred and was meeting the High King of Britannia for the first time all over again. Silver polished armor, blue padded clothing underneath, and a confident, utterly majestic aura about him as he simply stood there staring at her, assessing her worth.

The superimposed image was gone when Arthur moved again. Arthur Pendragon, formerly Targaryen, moved toward her with great strides and before she knew it, he had grabbed her by the waist and hugged her close to him, nuzzling his face in her hair.

"Your presence has been sorely missed, dear wife." Arthur murmured softly, his words for Mordred's ears alone, bringing a furious blush to her cheeks.

"We-well, I… I'm glad the armor fit you well, husband." Mordred replied, somewhat startled by the simple fact that Arthur had not released her from his gentle embrace.

"Yes, well I wanted to greet you in this armor," Arthur finally let her go, though she sensed that he was a bit reluctant to do so. "A little bird told me you'd like it."

Mordred turn to see Sansa grinning at her and promised she'd pay the girl back somehow. That had been told to her in confidence!

"Well Husband, I do qui-mmmphhh~~~~~!?" Mordred had started to reply but Arthur had silenced her by capturing her lips. There were loud cheers from the men in the yard including a lot of hooting and whistling.

Surprise gave way to contentment as Mordred melted into his kiss before he broke it, leaving her slightly dazed. Was that a dragon she saw in the distance?

"Welcome home, wife." Arthur greeted her with a gentle look.

For the first time since leaving Harrenhal, Mordred was struck silent. No clever comebacks, no sly remarks. Only leaning slightly against Arthur's armor and enjoying the feel of his arms around her.

"I do believe the dragon got the princess' tongue in that last kiss." An amused voice struggled to japed amidst the speaker's fits of laughter. A statement that had everyone within earshot erupt in complete hilarity, with even Lady Lorelei softly holding a hand over her mouth to carefully conceal a giggle.

Okay, that was it. Forget everything else she'd been planning. Mordred was going to kill Gwynn.

Slowly.

TBC

AN: :D So I got a bit stalled on the tracks! Sue me! But ^_^ Thanks to all of those that gave wonderful feedback and support for this fic ^_^. I appreciate it! This chapter might have taken a long time but got hit with the triple whammy. Work, Life and bills! Muwhaha. Yes so :D It's been kinda like that. Again glad for those that left a review, you guys give me that vitamin to crank out yet another chapter!

As always C+C welcome reviews appreciated!