[Chapter Size: 2500 Words.]
Third Person POV.
King's Landing.
...
...
The next day, Daemon was doing a light warm-up in the training yard. He had just finished his sparring match, and Sandor was beside him, kneeling on the ground and catching his breath after training with the king.
Unlike the large man, Daemon was completely relaxed as he adjusted the sleeve of his clothing and watched the newcomers.
Finally, two people approached him, accompanied by several guards from the Red Keep. The yard was as crowded as ever, after all, the place was still filled with nobles.
"You summoned us, Your Majesty?" asked the tall blonde woman, wearing armor and a sword at her waist like a knight.
Daemon nodded. "I heard you went after the Stark girls." He spoke calmly, while the woman frowned but nodded.
Daemon knew she was somewhat embarrassed, after all, it had resulted in nothing but frustration. She had only recently learned that Sansa had been taken from the Vale and had returned to King's Landing.
Her squire, or whatever he could be called, looked at Daemon with a certain amount of fear. By now, they already knew what he was capable of, and it seemed those two had some connection to the Lannister brothers.
Brienne of Tarth had stood beside Jaime Lannister for a time. Podrick Payne had served Tyrion Lannister for a while in the capital.
Both brothers had been destroyed by Daemon in different ways...
Daemon knew a bit of the story.
"Jaime Lannister was taken prisoner by you from the Northern army after Lady Stark had the brilliant idea of simply discarding the best prisoner her son had..." Daemon mocked that trout's ability to think.
"I wouldn't say that..." Brienne replied in a challenging tone. All the guards turned their eyes toward her, surprised and uneasy.
Daemon frowned, not because of her response, but because she was still defending her lady.
"You say that? I might even be surprised by your admirable loyalty to your lady, but tell me: what happened afterward? Did you achieve the result you expected, or did it ultimately become nothing more than a foolish decision?" Daemon turned back to her, pausing.
"She went against her own son's orders, weakened the army, and ended up provoking a betrayal. Do you still think it was an intelligent decision? In the end, she accomplished nothing." Daemon looked her straight in the eyes, waiting for her answer.
She seemed to grit her teeth but couldn't say a word.
"Then let me tell you." Daemon continued. "It was a foolish decision. And honestly, you may be sworn to your lady. Even though I dislike her, someone should still have seen that and tried to advise her. You did nothing to stop her. Why?" He stared at her.
In truth, Daemon wasn't interested in studying her skill with a weapon, though she seemed strong. What he wanted was to discover that woman's true potential. Her aura was still golden, but if she was so naïve that she would simply obey an order like that without question, then she would be an enormous waste.
Brienne was caught off guard by the question. "I swore to serve Lady Stark." That was her answer.
Daemon snorted. "I see." He spoke with obvious disappointment in his voice.
He didn't want a foolish Kingsguard. Brienne was left speechless. She truly didn't understand what the king wanted with all that conversation.
Daemon simply picked up a cloth and began wiping his hands when a servant brought over a tray with wine. He accepted it gladly, took a sip, and looked back at her.
"I imagine you intend to go to Winterfell to serve House Stark, correct?" She seemed to think for a moment before nodding.
'That's good.' Daemon thought. In the end, he wouldn't get anything useful from that woman.
"You may take a ship. Some lords, especially those from the Stormlands, your homeland, are still here waiting to depart for Storm's End. You can travel with them and continue directly to House Stark." Daemon said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Brienne replied gratefully.
With that, Daemon turned his attention to the other young man. "And you?"
"I am... Podrick Payne, Your Majesty." He answered, stammering.
"Don't be nervous, young Payne. Why are you two together? Are you some kind of squire?" he asked, since Brienne had not yet been knighted.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I... I'm still training to become a knight."
"I see. You're still very young. You have much to learn, from what I can see. I'm sure Lady Brienne can teach you many things in the North." Daemon paused briefly.
"But I'd like to tell you something. When you're ready, come to King's Landing. I want to see how you'll grow, because I see some potential in you." Daemon said, knowing that the golden aura surrounding the young man meant something.
Podrick was surprised but nodded.
"You may go." Once they had both departed, Daemon turned his attention to someone else, Tormund Giantsbane.
"Come here, you fool. Let's fight." He said before turning his attention to the red-bearded wildling who was entering the yard, already wearing a challenging expression.
"Of course, Dragon King! Let's go! It's time for me to kick your ass for the first time." Daemon heard the fool and smiled.
He was already used to his temperament. Even though he got thoroughly beaten every single time, he never stopped believing that one day he would defeat Daemon.
In any case, a large number of scribes and four maesters arrived at the Red Keep over the following days, coming from every corner of the Crownlands and even from the Riverlands and the Stormlands.
In just two weeks, they began working directly with the accounting books and records from every region of Westeros.
Daemon had instructed Marwyn to forbid them from bringing the books from their own holdings, since they might alter various tax records on behalf of their lords.
Daemon ordered them to gather all records from the past five years to analyze the production patterns of each region. Meanwhile, he continued dealing with various matters, as many things had happened during those two weeks.
The first shipments of resources were sent to the Wall. The noble lords remained held in the capital, with no one able to do anything about it.
Daemon was also considering what he should do with each of his captives.
He still had to decide how he would deal with Highgarden, Casterly Rock, and Sunspear.
There were also the smaller houses, House Westerling and House Frey, which had been wiped out, and someone needed to take over their castles.
There was also House Clegane. With Sandor now serving as a Kingsguard, Daemon had spoken with him. Since Sandor had no interest in marrying and taking over his family, Harrenhal also remained without a defined ruler. The same was true for the Iron Islands.
All of those territories would need new rulers. Daemon looked back at the map as he considered what he would do with those lands.
He would take Dragonstone for House Targaryen. Or rather, reclaim it.
He also intended to rebuild Summerhall, in the south of the Stormlands, which had been a Targaryen possession until King Egg tried to hatch dragons there. It was there that King Aegon V Targaryen died in the fire alongside his family.
On that very night, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall, rescued the pregnant Rhaella Targaryen and died for it... Rhaella gave birth to the baby Rhaegar, Daemon's father, outside the burning castle.
Tragic and poetic at the same time.
In any case, he intended to go beyond the traditional territories of House Targaryen. He would also take Harrenhal for his family, making it part of the Crownlands now that the Riverlands would lose part of their territory. That would be the punishment imposed by Daemon.
They had already expected it ever since they joined his cause. It was either accept it or become his enemies. After all, Daemon had been wiping out entire families since that time, as he had done with the Freys and the Greyjoys. His reputation was that of a merciless man. Even the story of the execution of the servants and guards had already spread throughout the Riverlands.
He would also take part of the Iron Islands for House Targaryen.
In any case, during those last two weeks, Daemon traveled to each of those places. He searched for cousins and blood relatives of the great houses, looking for people with golden auras who also would not disappoint him.
After all, even though Brienne possessed a golden aura, she had disappointed him. Although she could have brought him great loyalty and fortune in the future, that conversation had completely discouraged him, and he did not insist on keeping her in King's Landing.
His prejudice regarding Lady Stark's blind loyalty ended up causing him to dismiss her.
In any case, he left one of his trusted men in each of those castles.
He found high-ranking officers and castellans to administer the lands while they gathered resources from the villages and farms, since someone needed to oversee the requests to the North, command the men of each region, and prevent servants from looting the castles.
Some places were already suffering because of this, mainly because everyone knew the ruling families had been wiped out. Daemon also made sure that all resources found were sent to King's Landing, especially food.
At the same time, Margaery Tyrell, Myrcella Waters, Jeyne Westerling, and Lysa Arryn were handed over to the Silent Sisters, joining Barbrey Dustin, who had been sent there months earlier.
Daemon was not present, but he heard reports about the despair and curses those women screamed. They were women from great houses, some princesses and others who had ruled entire kingdoms.
Lysa was the most hysterical of them all. She had lost her lover, but losing her son was the worst blow, and she didn't even know that Robb had become a bastard, losing his position as heir because of it. She still clung to the hope that he would rescue her from the Silent Sisters.
In the end, things gradually began to calm down.
Daemon also began executing rebellious men over the following days, while other houses tried to negotiate the release of their relatives who remained imprisoned.
In any case, during the third week, the Redwyne fleet finally arrived at King's Landing, while the fleet of Ironborn ships left behind by Euron Greyjoy, which had been stationed on the western coast below the Wall, was also sailing south.
They were needed primarily to transport resources from the Reach, as they would be responsible for carrying an enormous amount of food to the Wall.
Daemon had already sent around ten thousand men to ensure that the Reach obeyed his orders, along with several lords he trusted to supervise the operation.
"So these lands will be mine?" Mance asked in surprise during an audience, looking at the map of the Bolton lands.
He pressed his lips together. After all, the castle, the Dreadfort, was in ruins, having been destroyed by Winter as one of Daemon's first actions after crossing the Wall with his Free Folk army.
It was also true that several smaller towers belonging to minor nobles in the region had been destroyed. Practically no one was left alive.
"If you want, you can take the Dustin lands instead..." Daemon shrugged, and Mance looked surprised.
"I just thought this would be the best region for you to acquire enough gold to rebuild the castle." After all, the Bolton lands held a better position than many of the other available territories.
"Very well. I'll accept the position." Mance finally said.
Daemon nodded. He wanted that man as a member of the Small Council, but he knew he couldn't ask too much. Still, he could help him in the beginning...
"But I have a proposal for you." Daemon insisted.
"Stay in King's Landing and serve on the Small Council while your men and workers rebuild the Bolton lands."
"It will also be good for Val." Daemon paused briefly.
"She's becoming quite upset from not seeing her mother and nephew for so long, and there's another reason..."
"How long do you want me to stay?" Lancel asked.
"At most ten years. By then, your castle should already be rebuilt, and you'll have lands to govern with your family..." Daemon replied.
"Besides, my main reason is that Val is pregnant." The news surprised Mance once again.
"It would be good to have your sister here. She's afraid, even though I've tried to reassure her."
"I understand... Very well. We'll do that." In the end, Mance agreed.
Daemon nodded in satisfaction, and another week passed.
The armies that had been in the Vale, the Riverlands, and the Stormlands under Brynden Tully's command finally arrived at King's Landing, while the Vale army, led by Yohn Royce and others, was advancing toward the North.
During that last moon, the lords of every house that had not participated in the battle at the Eyrie arrived in King's Landing to swear loyalty before the Iron Throne and prepare their troops for the North.
Daemon was pleased at the time and ordered them to return to their lands to gather every ship the Vale could provide, along with every kind of resource, especially clothing.
A small force would remain in the Vale, as the mountain clans still existed. Daemon would also deal with those fools if they started any major conflict in the Vale. Within a few hours, he could arrive with his dragons. For that reason, he would ask Bran to keep watch over the Vale, something he had already promised its lords.
As for his wife, she would remain in Winterfell even after the birth of their child, as it was the safest place for her. He would not trust leaving her in King's Landing without him present.
Then, the day finally arrived. The ships began departing for the North, while the resources were already being organized aboard other vessels.
Daemon was already tired after spending an entire moon handling all the administration of the realm.
At last, more than a thousand ships were gathered in King's Landing, loaded with supplies, men, and resources.
The Free Folk would have priority when boarding. At last, they too were growing weary. Although they didn't complain about the weather, they still found everything quite strange.
Mance also boarded, since someone still needed to lead the Free Folk in Daemon's place whenever he was unable to. Ygritte had to go with them, as she couldn't fly on a dragon like Val.
Thus, all those ships finally set sail toward the North.
Raccoon Here:
This fanfiction is practically coming to an end. The war against the Others will take place, the kingdom will be strengthened, and there will be a few epilogues about the royal family.
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