Chapter 95 - Negotiations with Free Folk (II)

Chapter 95 - 95 - Negotiations with Free Folk (II)"The crown is just a prettier leash, it remains to be seen whether you really want to be a good monarch or simply ignore the weight of it and become a mediocre monarch." Aenar Targaryen.

----------

"Prince Aenar!" Just as Aenar was ready to enter his room with Leda, he heard a young, delicate girl's voice.

Looking down, he saw a red-haired girl with big blue eyes.

"Sansa, you've grown up a lot. You're becoming more and more beautiful." Stroking Sansa's hair, Aenar greeted the girl with a gentle smile. Unlike Arya, Sansa accepted his new identity with ease. The girl had really grown in the months he had been away.

"I saw your dragon landing outside Winterfell, he's super giant!" Sansa felt the caresses in her hair and smiled sweetly. She looked at Aenar with her blue eyes and spoke with a tone full of admiration.

"Well, Caraxes is really big." Aenar replied with a laugh. However, remembering a fragment from the future, where there was a crimson dragon feeding on an entire planet, he thought that the current Caraxes was still a bit small...

"Do you want me to take you flying?" Aenar asked with an amused tone, his eyes looking at Sansa with a hint of teasing.

Sansa's face turned pale at the mention of flying on a dragon. She quickly shook her head and denied it without any hesitation. "No! I'd rather stay on the ground, where I can feel safe."

Aenar wasn't surprised; in a world where people couldn't fly by plane, the fear of flying on a dragon was really great. In his past world, many people were afraid to fly, let alone in this medieval world.

"Then let's go horseback riding another time, little redhead." Aenar said amusedly as he entered his room with Leda.



Sansa pouted when she saw Aenar enter the room, but she wasn't disappointed; she knew he had just returned from a trip and was probably tired. Taking another look at his room, she left with lighter steps and a happy smile on her lips.

Despite having changed her identity, she felt that Aenar and Jon were the same person, only one was a bastard and the other a prince. But they both exuded a prince-like aura.

"Your Grace is very popular with the women." Leda commented with a respectful tone as she helped Aenar out of his clothes to bathe.

Aenar rolled his eyes; he was no fool and could see the look in Sansa's eyes, but he had no romantic feelings for her. She was his sister. But specifically, Sansa was his sister, without the Targaryen part involved!

Aenar couldn't help but laugh when he realized the difference in circumstances between Rhaenys and Sansa, but then again, he really only saw Sansa as a cute little sister who likes attention.

"How's your power growth?" Dipping into the barrel containing hot water, Aenar asked as he leaned his arms on the barrel.

Leda helped Aenar clean her hair and replied. "I can lift a horse with some difficulty. Run a hundred meters in five seconds. My sword can cut through a tree trunk with one blow. Lightning manipulation is also growing; I can cover all five of my fingers with lightning."

Aenar couldn't help but show a satisfied smile; Leda's growth was greater than he had expected, which showed that his blood had become even more special after taking the Water of Life.

"How was your conversation with Eddard? Enlightening or embarrassing?" Aenar asked in an amused tone, betting on the second option, knowing Leda and Eddard's personalities. They were both generally thoughtful and quiet people.

"Awkward." Leda replied with a touch of helplessness. Talking to Eddard, even about something insignificant, was difficult. "But I can see why my mother fell in love with him. He's a foolish and honorable man, which is rare."

"You think being honorable is foolish?" Aenar asked, eyes closed, enjoying Leda's hands on his hair.

"If this were a peaceful world, being honorable would be a good thing, but after I saw a good man die at the hands of a thief, whom he himself helped, I realized that good people die early and bad people live longer." Leda replied in a calm, deep tone.

"Do you wish me to be evil or honorable?" Aenar whispered to Leda, with a deep look in her eyes.

"A monarch should not be good or bad, but do what is necessary to bring peace to his people and kingdom." Leda replied with an indifferent tone. She knew that Aenar was honorable, but the circumstances didn't allow him to act honorably, especially with the Long Night approaching.

"The crown is a beautiful collar studded with precious stones." Aenar laughed and spoke.

Leda said nothing and continued to help Aenar bathe.

...



The night passed quietly and the next day Aenar was ready to start his journey to the Wall.

"Brother, you said you'd train with me." Arya commented with a sad tone, looking at Aenar with her gray eyes.


"I'm sorry, Arya, but I have important things to take care of at the Wall." Aenar stroked Arya's hair and apologized with a sincere tone.

Although reluctant, Arya nodded.

"Robb, do you want to go to the Wall on a dragon or on horseback?" Aenar turned to Robb, who was dressed dignifiedly in black clothes and a white wolf cape over his shoulders.

"Horse!" Robb didn't hesitate to reply; there was no chance of him riding a dragon in his lifetime!

Hearing this, Arya's eyes lit up with excitement. She glanced discreetly at the carriages bringing food and weapons, and a mysterious smile appeared on her lips.

Aenar rolled her eyes at Robb's cowardice, but said nothing, since the Heir of Winterfell would be accompanied by more than two hundred guards.

"Then I'll see you at the Wall." Aenar spoke with a serious tone. He knew that these negotiations would be a headache.

If the Northern Lords were considered hard-headed, the Wildlings earned the title of the most stubborn people in Westeros.

"Be careful and don't trust the Wildlings too much." Eddard advised his nephew in a serious tone. Not once or twice had he cut off the heads of Wildlings and he knew exactly how they behaved.

Aenar nodded, but wasn't too worried. Apart from the cannibal tribes, he was confident of subduing all the other tribes and making them bend the knee.

Taking his leave, Aenar walked towards the exit of Winterfell, with Leda following behind him.

Eddard looked at his daughter and couldn't help but speak. "Be careful, Leda."

Leda stopped walking for a moment, but soon rejoined Aenar, nodding in his direction.

"Like father, like daughter." Aenar murmured in an amused tone.

Soon, under the eyes of everyone in Winterfell, the gigantic crimson dragon took to the skies, causing exclamation and shock. Even though it wasn't the first time they had seen Caraxes flying, the surprise was no less than the first time.



Seeing that everyone was focused on the dragon's flight, Arya quickly snuck up and climbed onto one of the food carts, hiding behind a barrel crammed with preserved dried meat.

"When I get back to Winterfell I'll be grounded for eternity, but how can I miss such a rare opportunity to see the Wall and watch the Wildlings bend the knee to Aenar?" Arya murmured, with a glint in her eye, eager to see the scene that would probably be written about in the Westeros books.

Robb and Eddard didn't notice Arya leave. The Lord of Winterfell looked at his heir and spoke with an emotional tone. "Be careful and stay by Aenar's side, don't hesitate to express your opinions and if anyone causes trouble, cut someone's hand off first and then ask."

Robb pursed his lips at his father's somewhat savage words, but nodded, showing a determined expression.

Eddard watched his son accompanied by two hundred guards with a slightly emotional look on his face, he was almost Robb's age when he went to war for the first time and his son would unfortunately follow in his footsteps.

"Don't worry Robb, when I'm alive, you won't have to go to the battlefield." Eddard muttered with a determined look on his face.

He also had to prepare for war, especially finishing the last touches on the Moat Cailin, making it a real war fortress.

------

Read more than advanced Chapters in my Patre on!

Read Chapters ahead on Patreon. Two Chapters are updated every day except Sunday.

P-atreon.com/GOTSW

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)