CH-3: Back to Bear Island

<><><>

The dress fell on the table and his wife, was there in her nameday suit, waiting to be taken. Jorah, his smile equally wicked, locked the doors, and his wife moved closer, her allure captivating.

"Take me, my husband!"

Jorah required no further encouragement. He swiftly embraced his passionate wife, leaving the empty table behind as they indulged in a different kind of supper.

Latest chapters only on patreon.com/ayrus2011

<><><>

"This dress looks good on me, right Jorah?" Annara Mormont, who was panicking at the sight of the docks asked her husband the same question she had asked for the last hour.

In response, the Bear Lord kissed her wife on the cheek and whispered.

"You are the Lady of Bear Islands. You need not look pretty but strong. The bears can smell fear, my love. So, calm your heart down and bring back the fire you had last night when you get off the boat."

"Hmmm…." The lady responded with a deep breath and a smile.

The sight of such a large warship was the first for the men at the docks and they were not even sure if the docks can support it. Thankfully, there was no accident, and the ship finally found a place.

"It seems my nephew decided to bring more than just a large ship," Lady Maege Mormont, who had been handling the island affairs in the absence of their 'army;', whispered to herself.

She had been waiting at the docks for her nephew ever since the large ship came into sight and she was not disappointed with the prize her nephew brought. However, the sight of a beautiful woman, coming down from the ship, holding Jorah's hand was disappointing, to say the least.

However, Jorah also was also surprised at the sight of a baby girl in his Aunt's arms. Aunt Maege never got married and she didn't even have a lover, at least he didn't hear about one when father was here.

"Aunty!" Jorah immediately let out a hearty smile and hugged his Aunt lightly.

"Aunt, let me introduce you to my wife and Lady of bear islands, Lady Annara Farring, from the House Farring of Crownlands." Jorah introduced his wife to his aunt, Lady Maege who managed to let out a smile on the introduction.

"A beautiful woman, worthy of you. Here, this is my daughter, Dacey."

"Just Dacey?!" Jorah couldn't control himself but blurt out stupidly. The last name is the proof of the father and a legal marriage. Unless the child is a bastard, he/she must have a last name.

Feeling a strange atmosphere, Lady Annara immediately spoke and greeted the strong woman.

"Okay. I believe the lady is tired from the long journey and she needs rest. Rodrick will take them to the quarters along with her maids. You must come with me for the time being." Lady Maege immediately gave her orders and handed over her daughter to the servants while they escorted Lady Annara straight to the castle.

Before jumping on the horse, Lady Annara, with a turbulent heart looked back at her husband and found him looking back at her with a strong smile. It was the smile that calmed her heart down in the foreign lands.

"My Lady, we won't be sent to prisons, right?" A young maid worriedly asked Lady Annara.

"Shut up, Noora. Trust my husband and your new lord. If he can come alone to ask for my hand from my father, he will never treat me unfairly."

"Oh yes, I thought your brothers would cut him down when he asked for your hand," the girl Noora spoke with a red face.

"Well, he was dressed in plain clothes and barged his way through the guards. Who could blame them? But yes, such a man won't fail my heart. Now, calm down and tell me, how does the place feel?"

While Lady Annara was being escorted back to the bear castle, Lady Maege was giving an earful to her nephew.

"How could you do this? Did we not decide it was better for you to marry the girl from House Glover?"

"No. I never did. You decided that with father. But I never agreed and told you I will bring a girl worthy of our islands."

"How is she worthy of our islands? Her house is in barren lands and so far from us that they offer no support in anything. Do they have dragons that are going to fly all the way from crownlands to bear islands during any war?"

"No. They won't be of any help in our wars, and I don't expect them to be of any use in the next five-six years. But after that, they might prove to be a key help."

"How? Give me the reason Jorah not an empty statement," Lady Maege asked angrily.

"Trade routes and connection to the Royal Fleet. Royal Fleet is under Stannis and Stannis would need soldiers and squire boys. Where will they come from? He must use the house Farring and with that, we will have a direct link with him." Jorah Mormont spoke his reasons.

"Plus, look at her. Compared to the girl from House Glover, she is better in looks and way more charming. Yet, she is dressed in nothing better than the rags we are wearing. Poor family but connections, good looks and a great mind. I see her as the perfect match for myself and our house."

Jorah finished his monologue and then looked at his Aunt with a questioning face.

"Are we not going to talk about your daughter, aunt?"

"Nothing to talk about there. Daisy is my child and she doesn't need a last name. If you want to meet the man, I don't have a problem with that."

(Lady Maege refused to speak more about Daisy or her lover/husband and Jorah didn't know what to say.)

"I saw the way the girl looked at you. She loves you. Sometimes, that is better than all other reasons." Lady Maege finally chose to accept the girl with a heavy heart.

Changing the topic, Lady Maege decided to break the suffocating silence.

"Don't worry. I will talk to Lord Glover. Father and he were friends and I'm not ready to break the friendship anytime soon."

"Good. Then you handle the mess you created. Also, what are we to do with this warship? You could have bought 10 merchant ships at the same price. What's the plan there?"

"It's not like I had a choice. Our three warships are gone and we need a warship here in case the Ironborns attack. This is the best I could get from our dear Lord Stannis and it's pretty cheap."

"What about the trade ships? What about the grand dreams you promised?"

"They must be reaching soon. I have sent men along with the gold to buy the ships directly from different ports along with the resources we need."

"Then, they should have come ages ago! Do you think Ironborn did something?"