Chapter 14

========== Chapter 14 ==========

Vel lay on the bed in her assigned room. It had been a couple hours since the battle had ended, and sleep still hadn't come, despite her exhaustion, both physical and mental. Four of her five companions with whom the girl had crossed the Wall had died. Ura - who had been Vel's close friend - among them.

The Northern Lord had rewarded all the surviving warriors with shiny gold coins: six pieces each. The girl didn't know if it was a lot or a little - she didn't care at that moment. Although it was probably quite a lot, considering that it was a reward for those who had protected the lord's family.

The girl heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Strangely, she only paid attention to them now. Wildling did not rule out the possibility that the footsteps had indeed been silent until a certain point. There were many strange and even otherworldly things to be found beyond the Wall. It would be foolish to think that there were none on this side of the Wall. There was a knock on the door, and an appeal came from the other side:

- Vel, are you awake?

- No," she answered, recognizing the voice of the speaker. - Come in, John.

Snow entered the room, still as pale as during the battle, a candlestick with a burning candle in his hand, and a raven perched on his shoulder. The boy placed the candlestick on the table and sat down on the other edge of the bed. The wildling assumed a sitting position, pulling up the pelt she had been covering herself with.

- How are you feeling? - He asked.

- Not as well as I'd like. Why did you come here? Especially in the middle of the night.

- To ask you something.

- What's that?

- For starters, to get out from under that skin.

- The boy came to get what's his? - the girl smiled back with a full mouth.

- Depends on what I see," he smiled almost exactly the same way.

- Why should I honor your request?

- I've already stolen you anyway...

Vel got out from under the hide and stood in front of John, completely naked. She used to sleep in the castle in her everyday clothes, but after the battle they had become unusable, so she had to go to bed naked. Not all the wealthy people south of the Wall could afford a nightgown of fine fabric, so it was foolish to expect a free woman to have one.

The girl appeared in all her naked glory. She was even more beautiful without her many skins. Slender, with a flat stomach and the largest breasts John had ever seen in this world. There were a couple of small marks on her belly from old cut wounds, including a recent one, but they didn't spoil the girl at all, on the contrary, they gave her a certain exotic beauty. The girl's nipples are dark pink with large areolae, and there is a thick bush of blonde hair down her belly. This girl is definitely the most beautiful girl John has ever seen. But that's not why he asked her to undress.

- Are you happy with what you saw? - Vel smiled again.

- You're very beautiful.

- Tell me something I don't know," the girl snorted.

John held out his palm to her, and for a moment it glowed a faint blue light. The same glow traveled all over the girl's body. In the school of restoration there are also diagnostic charms, which allow to concretize the wounds. Of course, it is possible to cure a person without using them, you just need to pour a certain amount of magical energy into the healing charms, often more than is really necessary. This is most often done: after all, in the heat of battle to find out what exactly a person has suffered, there is no time. But in any other situation with the help of diagnostic charms you can accurately determine the injury and cure it without wasting energy. The less clothes a person has on, the less energy the diagnostics uses, and John had a catastrophic shortage of it right now.

- You have four cracked ribs, two contusions on your left leg, and one on your right arm. In addition to the abdominal wound, there's a similar one under your shoulder blade, but they're both non-threatening to your health. No fractures. You can get back under the hide, it's cold.

- I'll freeze naked in this room later than you with clothes on.

- I agree with you, but get back into bed.

- Why did you do all that?

- So you'd remember what I just told you and tell the Maester.

- Why?

- He'll need to see you tomorrow, he'll ask you to undress. I doubt you'll agree.

- He didn't steal me, I won't show up naked in front of him, rather I'll break something.

- And the castle master won't like that, so just tell the Maester what I said, tell him I've already examined you, and don't respond to the request to be naked.

- I don't think the bear would react any differently than I would to such a request.

- Don't worry, I examined her too.

- She wasn't shy and said yes?

- I've known her for five years. I've seen her naked many times, and so have I. There's nothing there I haven't seen before.

- Did you use magic to determine our injuries?

- Sort of. I'll recover by tomorrow night and heal you and her.

- Telling me about your magic is silly, Jon Snow. It's not as if you're afraid I'll tell the others.

- I'm considered a seer, so I'll just say I saw your wounds in a dream. Especially since a lot of people saw what happened in the castle courtyard. You won't surprise anyone with that statement. You can think of revealing this "secret" as a kind of test.

- A test? - Vel didn't understand.

- Yes, you didn't tell me I stole you, like I asked you to. Don't talk about that, too, and I'll trust you more.

- That makes sense, but I thought you were originally here to take me," the girl began to grumble.

- We won't have much fun in this condition, so let's wait until we're fully recovered from our wounds," she said, agreeing to postpone this conversation until later, which was much easier than refusing the stubborn, free-spirited woman.

- All right," the girl agreed grudgingly.

- Good night, then," Snow turned and strode toward the door.

- Wait.

Before Jon could turn around fully, Vel was already at his side. Her lips dug into his, and her arms wrapped around the boy's neck. Acting on instinct, as he had in so many similar situations with Daisy, he slid his hands down her buttocks and pulled her against him. The breeches became tight. The raven cawed indignantly and flew out of the room through the window.

Kissing Vel wasn't bad, it was different. Yes, "different" was the right word. If kissing Daisy was like some sort of tongue wrestling for supremacy, kissing Vel was all-out war. John needed to prove his superiority and supremacy over her here and there. John's tongue gradually explored the girl's mouth, and she slowly but surely yielded to him and obeyed. They finally pulled away from each other and were able to catch their breath. Two pairs of lust clouded gray eyes looked at each other and could not tear themselves away.

- There, now I'm satisfied," the girl said, out of breath.

- I'm glad," John smiled against her lips.

Before she could say anything in response, Snow had already drawn her into the kiss, more gentle and slow this time. Jon slowly moved his palm upward, from her buttock to her breasts, then squeezed the latter. Vel moaned softly into his mouth. They kissed for the next few minutes without taking their eyes off each other. With his last strength John managed to pull himself together and break away from such a pleasurable activity.

- I think that's enough for today," he mumbled, and the girl looked at him with a hazy look and nodded.

- See you tomorrow, Ser John.

- See you tomorrow, Vel.

***

John's awakening that evening was not a pleasant one, he was still recovering from the effects of the magic exhaustion and the use of Equilibrium, and his body was aching. The maid who had been in the room noticed his awakening and ran out, sounding like she was calling for someone. A little over ten minutes later, Lord Jorah entered his room along with Dacey and Lyra. The latter was defiantly sulking.

- How long have I been asleep?

- It's already evening, so almost two days,' Mormont answered him.

- What about those who were badly wounded?

- Dead.

- Fuck.

- I'm not happy about their deaths either, but they had almost no chance of surviving the night at least.

- At least this raid situation is resolved.

- You'll be examined by a Maester, and then I want to talk to you.

- Good.

- Then I'll leave you two alone.

John, Dacey and Lyra spent the hour after John's examination talking. The guy had gotten the latest news and spent most of the conversation trying to earn Lyra's 'forgiveness'. A little later, Vel joined the company as well.

The wildling seemed to have bonded with Dacey and had become her friend while John was recovering, and Lyra didn't look askance at the blond girl. Vel and Dacey had already made jokes that only they could understand. Snow could only marvel at the speed at which female friendships were growing. Lord Stark had often said that true friends were found on the battlefield. Maybe fighting Ironborn shoulder to shoulder was the reason for that, or maybe it was the shared worries about Jon.

- You're an important Ser Knight now," Daisy said in a serious tone.

- What does that mean? - Vel asked.

- It means that I'm better off now than I was before.

- Was it bad?

- Bastards have it pretty bad, and I'm a bastard.

- Stupid Southerners, there are no bastards north of the Wall.

- Nor on Bear Island," Dacey backed her up. - But you're an important man now, and you need a banner with a personal crest.

- Do you have any suggestions? - John asked.

- Usually bastards take their father's banner and swap the colors.

- It's corny," John grumbled. - But the direwolf is a formidable beast, so I think we can keep him, any other suggestions?

- Let it have a bloody mouth," Vel suggested.

- And let it protect someone," Lyra added.

They spent the next couple of hours discussing the matter, occasionally interrupted by jokes and stories. By the end of the conversation, the decision was finalized. John's banner would bear a white direwolf with a bloody mouth and the same red eyes. Behind his back will stand a girl dressed in ring gear and armed with a spear. The banner itself would be dark blue, slightly brighter than the blade of Jon's sword. By the end of this discussion, Lyra had finally stopped sulking, and the whole company seemed to have bonded even more.

- Wolfie, we're going to have a feast on the island in honor of your knighthood.

- We?" John clarified.

- Well, I'll organize it, and you'll pay for it," Daisy smiled.

- Your mother won't be happy with a lot of strangers drinking at the manor.

- Was the tavern built for nothing?

- I suppose I have no choice anyway.

- You're a smart one," Dacey smiled.

- When you get your knighthood, you'll be showing off, too," John threatened her.

- I will, but girls don't get knighthoods.

- You forget that my father's best friend is the king. I think he might agree just for the fun of it.

- Fuck," Dacey said, and everyone else laughed.

They spent a couple more days at the castle, John recovered to the end and healed Dacey and Vel as promised. After that Jon was expected to talk to the northern lords and finalize matters with Euron's carcass. The soldiers who had survived the battle now looked at Jon with a look that mingled awe and reverence.

The oath-breaker's head was sent to the capital with two letters. The first was a detailed explanation of the situation in the North, its resolution and consequences - a similar one had been sent to Lord Stark earlier. The second was more succinct and one-line: "The rebellion has been put down for good." Greyjoy's remains were sent to Pyke, and the Mormonts finally sailed to their island.

***

Bear Island, a few days later.

The tavern that had been built near the harbor was a three-story wooden structure. The first floor was predictably a tavern with a kitchen, while the top two floors were completely dedicated to rooms for rent.

The tavern also had a small one-story annex that housed the only small brothel on the island. There were relatively few fallen women working there: no more than two dozen, all of them from outside the island. Still, visitors to the island often have a need for whores, and the islanders clearly had no intention of satisfying it.

Many of the island's natives, however, have "bear-born" children, and this is considered perfectly normal and does not cause any censure or condemnation from society, and the children themselves will never carry the nickname "Snow". Bear children do not make these women fallen, ready to spread their legs to anyone, that is the mentality of the islanders. It has to do with a number of factors. Men do not always come back alive from a long fishing trip in the bay, and the raids of pirates and feral raiders do their job, and very often there are not enough men worthy to become fathers.

There are even men on the island who live under the same roof with more than one woman, that's not discouraged either. The harsh times when women are left widowed without ever knowing the joy of motherhood can lead to more than that. Some just want protection and confidence in the future, so it is quite normal to be the "second" wife of a skillful warrior, hunter or craftsman.

But we've gotten distracted from the main narrative, so let's get back to it. This evening there was a small celebration in the tavern. The celebration was, as you might guess, the knighting of a young bastard. There were people John had grown close to during his stay on the island. Servants and soldiers, laborers, fishermen and guardsmen, and almost all of Lady Mage's daughters, with the exception of little Lyanna.

People were drinking, shouting toasts and congratulations, and loudly humming songs, mostly lewd. The tables were bursting with all sorts of food and drink. Wine, ale, and even large quantities of honey from the meadery - Snow was not stingy.

- To Ser Jon Snow! - shouted someone, raising a wine cup.

- To the Nightmare Wolf! - The others joined in.

- To the murderer of fucking Greyjoy! Maybe the Ironborn won't go North for fear of the direwolf now!

The crowd cheered with a thunderous roar, accompanied by stomping feet on the floor and banging on tables, both with their hands and drinking bowls. A man who had clearly had too much to drink climbed onto one of the tables and shouted the most relevant toast for the people in the tavern:

- To the one who gives us all a drink! - This shout was supported most strongly.

John himself, a little embarrassed, also got up from his seat, the attention of almost everyone in the tavern was focused on him.

- And here's to Bear Island, which breeds and raises the best warriors in all the North!

Then there were stories about adventures on the continent, smoothly passed into dancing and dancing, not without drunken fights, but only fist fights, so the stabbing was avoided. Still, a holiday in the North is not a holiday without a good fight.

Snow danced with every girl who came near him, whether they were Lady Mage's daughters, maids, or whores, of which there was no shortage. The most dancing was with Dacey and Vel, whom he'd persuaded to wear the dress, the wildling clearly not comfortable in it, but she kept silent. The boy felt at ease, the party and the company were just what he'd been missing. He couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed so much during the day.

The bard hummed a new song, "The Bastard of Winterfell."

Across the northern expanse wandering in the snows,

Warm inside with honey, a menacing cry on his lips,

The Bastard of Winterfell, unrecognized by fate.

I sympathize with anyone who fights with him,

And if you meet his gray eyes with a glare,

Watch for the glint of a dagger in the shadows.

The direwolf shines on the dark blue banner,

Always ready to do his lady's duty.

On the dark blue banner, the direwolf shines,

The boy knows how to kill the enemies of the North!

He protects the weak, his blade is sharp,

A knight at the age of thirteen, this boy has become a knight.

His eye is always sharp and his raven is always with him,

The Bastard of Winterfell, let us cheer him on.

And if the boy looks at your daughter,

It's a merry night for your sweetheart,

It's the night that lies in wait for your daughter.

On the dark blue banner, the direwolf shines,

Always ready to do his lady's duty.

On the dark blue banner, the direwolf shines,

The boy knows how to kill the enemies of the North!

Toward the end of the night and the approach of dawn, the festivities began to wane. There was no more music, no more dancing, the food had run out, and there was still plenty of alcohol, but there was no one left to drink it. People began to slowly scatter in different directions. Some went home, some went to the nearest whore, some fell asleep in the hall. There was almost no one left to stay awake, and the first floor of the tavern was almost empty.

Jon sat on one of the benches with Dacey on his lap. Young Mormont was arguing with Vel about which of them was the better kisser. The test, naturally, was on John. Dacey demanded time after time that Vel kiss her John, constantly claiming that there were two of them on the bench. Later, they retired to the third floor, taking a couple jugs of wine with them. Thus came the end of the holiday in question.

...

Snow awoke several hours later. He didn't recognize the room he was in, but he remembered that he had decided not to go to the manor, because it was a long way away, and he wasn't in any condition to carry Daisy there. He was probably in the tavern now, in one of the guest rooms.

A warm, soft, obviously girlish body lay to his right, throwing her leg over his and giving him warmth. John turned his head slowly and sighed in relief, recognizing the black-haired head of the eldest of the Mormont sisters. No sooner had the first thought formed in his head than he felt a hot breath on his neck, it was already coming from the opposite side. In that side, the guy saw the owner of the blonde hair.

For the next couple of minutes the guy remembered the events of the previous night. He remembered the feast, the dancing, the silly rivalry, and how they had gone upstairs to play a game that made you drink if the person you were talking to made a correct assumption about you. Snow remembered few facts from that game, but he did learn that Vel had a sister, that the first time Dacey was with a servant boy, and a couple other little facts. The end of the night brought the three of them to sleep in the same bed. They were all wearing clothes, albeit badly wrinkled, so they probably hadn't been lewd - the condition didn't allow it. Although a confrontation to see which girl was the better kisser might be considered lewd. Drinking in Skyrim didn't end up like that.

- The seventh scorcher," John muttered quietly, and started to climb out of bed, trying not to disturb the girls who were clinging to him on either side. It was quick enough.

Snow sat down on the bed, taking his time getting to his feet. The aftermath of the feast was making itself felt, and his carcass was clearly not happy to be out of bed. Remembering that the school of recovery has a wonderful spell, the effect of which partially offset the effects of drinking, John hurriedly applied it to both himself and the girls.

They clearly felt the effects of the spell, but did not wake up. Their faces flashed with the indignation of missing John's carcass nearby, and the girls' hands scrambled around the bed to find the missing person. Vel was the first to find someone, so the wildling wrapped her arms around Daisy and pulled her close, then nuzzled her face into her chest. Daisy hugged Vel back. Eventually the rustling on the bed stopped, and the girls fell back to sleep. The "missing" carcass beside them was eliminated, so they could finish their sleep.

John finally came to his senses, well, as much as he could in this situation, and left the room to go to the bathroom. Despite the spell, the feast hadn't gone off without a trace - he was still staggering and had a headache. When he came back, he saw a very interesting picture.

...

Dacey began to wake up slowly, gradually the sleep and the consequences of last night were fading away, and the girl felt better and better. After a moment she realized that she was hugging a warm body. Her palm slid upward and ended up on her cheek, helping her to bring her face closer to the stranger's. On the third attempt, Dacey found herself on the stranger's lips with her own, the kiss was answered. The kiss was hot and somehow familiar. Mormont smiled blissfully into the stranger's lips, and a single word escaped her lips:

- John," Dacey almost sang.

Dacey slowly opened her eyes and found herself looking into another pair of gray eyes. No, pale gray eyes to be exact. The thought that they were not John's eyes came slowly. The girl finally looked at the person she shared the bed with and realized it was Vel, not John.

- The seventh scorcher! - Dacey growled, pulling away sharply.

Her face rapidly turned scarlet, and all sleep was quickly erased. The young Mormont's face was a mixture of feelings: shame, fear, a flicker of lust, and something new and unfamiliar.

- Did you think I was John? - Vel asked slowly, wiping her eyes.

- Yes," the answer was barely audible.

- So did I.

- I'm sorry, I'm sorry now about....

- Am I such a bad kisser? - Vel snorted, the question throwing Daisy into a stupor.

- Well, yeah, I mean, no. It's just that I thought I was kissing John, and you're not John, and...

There was a peal of laughter from the wildling, joined by another from the doorway. Mormont turned around and saw John in his wrinkled clothes, a devilish grin on his face and devils in his eyes. Daisy was horrified, though she couldn't understand why. Snow looked at her and spoke in a very serious tone:

- Dacey, I have an important question for you, and the future of our relationship will depend on your answer. Are you ready?

- I am.

- Who's a better kisser: me or Vel? - John asked, parodying Dacy's behavior from yesterday. Then both he and the wildling burst into laughter at the incredibly serious look on the young Mormont's face. She finally realized she was being teased.

- Go to the furnace, Snow! - she shouted and threw a pillow at Jon.

***

Not much of interest happened on the island during Jon and Daisy's absence. Alysanne had spent all her available strength fighting off the septons who had arrived on the island. For the most part, she did it quite successfully. But only until they started shouting in the streets of the town that the Old Gods were heresy. Later, they started calling for people to chop down char trees, and it ended badly. A scuffle broke out, in the process of which the blasphemous Northmen beat up some of the septon defenders, those who dared to stand in the way of their righteous anger. The septons themselves were also beaten and forced to leave the island.

According to rumors, Vera is now urging the Lords not to do business with the "vile blasphemers" of Bear Island. This will definitely need to be dealt with.

After returning, another important and noteworthy event was the arrival on the island of a large merchant ship from Volantis, escorted by four other ships. This made almost everyone on the island very excited. The leader of this small fleet was the same "fat merchant" John had talked to earlier. He asked to stay the night, but refused to take a room in the tavern. I had to make concessions, but thanks to him, the prices of spices and rice purchased from Volantis were extremely favorable.

The merchant agreed to a number of conditions, according to which he could take no more than four guards and two servants to the manor, and the warships would sail far away, so as not to make the locals nervous.

In honor of the important overseas guest, a small feast was thrown at the manor, as large as the current capabilities of House Mormont allowed. The guest's appetite seemed to be irrepressible, with honey and walrus meat being his favorites. The merchant spoke of his homeland, and Jon was the interpreter for most of the feast: he had already mastered the Volantian language, though the meanings of some words had to be clarified. Toward the middle of the night, the merchant became interested in new northern curiosities. More specifically, amber, skins, furs, walrus tusks, and other things familiar to the North and rare to the East. He was given a pair of tusks and promised to get more for his next arrival.

In the morning the merchant left the island, leaving as a gift for his hospitality a kaiwassa board of ebony, ornamented with skillful carvings and ivory pieces. To the master of the house he gave a more "pleasant" gift. The "gift" turned out to be a young tall girl with a wasp waist and Valyrian looks. From the look on Lord Jorah's face, Jon realized that the bear was hopelessly in love. Since there is no slavery in the North, the girl was "freed" and put to work on the estate. Snow was wary at first and had a raven watch her, but she never did anything suspicious. Looking at the glances Lord Mormont cast in the direction of the new maid, one could only bet on how soon he would remarry. Well, at least Jorah's new lady-in-waiting doesn't have to be a star in the sky.

***

Life on the island was back to normal. Snow was busy training and learning again. The bastard was practicing more and more to fight with two swords and against multiple opponents. One must be prepared for anything, especially given recent events. The Greyjoys might want to avenge a relative, or old man Hoster might remember the threat to his grandson's ascendancy, or even fervent religious fanatics might want to punish the insolent youth. Ser Jon expected another assassination attempt.

Vel was now officially listed as Jon's personal maid, though she had no actual maid's duties. The older Mormonts looked at her, but said nothing. The Wildling, as promised, taught Jon the language of the First Men and their runes, and Vel herself was taught by Jon to read and write in the common tongue, as well as to dance and behave properly so as not to be beheaded. The classes were often attended by Dacey as well. Knowledge of the culture of the free people could come in handy, for knowing how the enemy lived made it easier to defeat them.

At first, Vel was very negative about the classes, thinking that they were unnecessary and a waste of time. John persuaded her to continue them, pointing out that he didn't require her to wear a dress, dance, write and speak politely all the time. He just needs her to be able to do all of those things when necessary. Oh, and the argument that he stole her anyway was hard to argue against.

The other surviving wildling had taken up residence in one of the empty cabins and was learning pottery, she hadn't compromised herself in her time on the island so far, and one of the islanders had even started courting her before he even realized what he'd gotten himself into.

John needed to make his own banner with his personal coat of arms, he was a knight after all, and he could use some armor. A quality banner is not cheap and requires a number of expensive materials, such as expensive fabric, threads, dyes, and it should be decorated with embroidery and fringe. The island doesn't produce any of these things, so they have to be procured in Lannisport, which will be expensive, but John has the money.

Relationships within the Jon-Dacey-Vel company were unusual, if they could be called that. Wildling had guessed that John was sleeping with the daisy, and Dacey knew that Vel had a thing for her man. A sort of parity had developed between the girls as they were both interested in Jon. There was an unspoken agreement that as long as one of them did not intend to take over the bastard completely, the other would not become her enemy and would not confront her openly. In addition, each has "time with Jon" during which the other girl does not bother them. Jon has enough time and attention for both of them, and he gives it to them roughly equally, even if he's still not sleeping with Vel. In the wildling culture, as well as in the islander culture, there are instances of a strong man "stealing" two women, albeit not as often.

***

King's Landing, Red Castle, small council meeting.

The members of the small council gathered for a regular meeting in the tower of the right hand. In addition to them, the Queen and her brother were there, and for the first time in a long time the King himself had decided to honor the council with his presence. It was not every day that the head of a noble traitor who had escaped punishment, and with a very interesting story of death, was sent to the Red Castle.

In addition to the usual wine, there was also honey from Bear Island on the table, the king drank the stronger, the queen the softer. The gimmick was still popular. The Hand reread the letters that had come with the traitor's head, and his former apprentice sent another, no less informative one.

- What news from the North, Lord Varys? - he asked.

- The Northerners are almost finished building a fleet to defend the western coast. There is growing discontent among the lords of the Iron Islands, and they are demanding a royal decree to limit the size of the northern fleet in the Sunset Sea.

- The fucking islanders are to stay quiet and keep their heads down! If they stick their necks out again, I'll break some spines with my hammer! - the king bellowed, hitting the table.

- What of the Ironborn fleet? - Arryn asked.

- The Greyjoys are building ships, but it will take time to rebuild their numbers.

- What of its numbers?

- If you combine the new Northern fleet, the Redwyne fleet, and the rebuilt Western Lords' fleet together, they would outnumber the current Ironborn fleet by a little more than half.

- After nearly a thousand years, the Northmen have remembered to keep a fleet in the Sunset Sea," the queen snorted, ignored.

- How did Balon Greyjoy react to the latest news?

- Birds whispered to me that he was genuinely glad his brother was dead, and he wrote a letter assuring me that the incident in the North was the personal initiative of a couple of captains he didn't know about and would have punished. The letter itself should arrive by raven any day now.

- The treacherous bastard, it's only to his advantage," Stannis gritted his teeth.

- Anything else?

- There's a new knight in the North as a result of all this turmoil, Ser Jon Snow, the Nightmare Wolf. As far as I know, he's the son of your former apprentice, Lord Stark.

- The boy has shown promise. I offered him to be my page at one time," Lord Stannis added.

That last phrase managed to distract the king from his honey drinking and focus his attention on the current discussion.

- Tell me about Ned's son, Spider. I remember him as an eight-year-old pup.

- The North is a remote region, and interesting rumors from there are rare and vague. They say that the boy is a sorcerer and a seer....

- Nonsense," Lord Renly laughed and stopped him from continuing.

- I wouldn't say that," Stannis interjected. - The boy predicted the sabotage at the siege of Pyke and he was right.

- I remember that night!" the king shouted cheerfully. - I was complaining of boredom in my tent, and then he comes in and tells me I can kill squids tonight!

- Go on, Lord Varys.

- Since the boy went to Bear Island, House Mormont's fortunes have taken a sharp turn for the better, they are stronger and richer than ever, they now have several trading ships and trade on the west coast, probably quite lucrative, many people buy their honey. But I think Lord Baelish will tell it better.

- The figures don't lie, Your Grace. The Mormonts have paid more in taxes in recent years than they did in the couple decades before that," the Master grinned at the coin.

- It's a shame it doesn't improve the state of the treasury," Stannis said with a quip.

- You think it's all thanks to the boy and his 'sorcery'? - Lord Arryn narrowed his eyes.

- I'm merely comparing facts. The boy has become famous in the North, word travels fast, a song has been composed about him, and now you can hear it not only in the North but in the port taverns as well.

- Should we invite Ned's son to court? - the king asked a question.

- It is not necessary, the boy is still a pupil and must be taken care of. He would be better off in the North than here," the queen spoke again, she had no intention of having a bastard at court.

- Well, let's get back to other questions. What about the dragons?

 Hi! Join my Patreon, there are many additional chapters here: patreon.com/fanfiction_TV