Chapter 205: Returning Home
Bolton Lands, Lundenhold
POV of Domeric Bolton
Domeric and his retinue finally arrived in Lundenhold. The city with the greatest amount of ambiance magic in the world.
With all the Heart Trees in and around, he was sure that the ambiance magic in the city would overtake the ambiance magic back in Hogwarts in only a few short years.
"It's good to be home at last." He said as he rode his horse through the portcullis that covered the large moat surrounding the city wall and entered through the tall gates.
"As if you don't come back to the city 'every night'" Lyra said with a sensual giggle from beside him. Thankfully, she said that at a low enough voice that no one else would hear, but talking about his magical powers so openly still irked him.
He threw her an unimpressed glance, and she only giggled even more.
She, along with his 'small council' members and half a hundred guards, had come to escort him some five kilometers from the city.
Getting such a warm welcome would be nice if he didn't know that Lyra was just trying to impress him so that she could get into his pants and get a bastard or two from him.
Becoming his mistress and his lover had been her greatest desire ever since he gave her the taste of true power, and he couldn't even blame her for it.
"Anything important I should know?" he asked.
"Well… I did tell you that Tyrion came back safe and sound after setting up a mining operation in Dragonstone, didn't I?"
"You did. Some two months ago." He replied.
"Well… he met up with his… 'wife' after that." She said, "It was not pleasant. But they're together now… however that happened. Tyrion took her with him to Regalis, where he is now making some changes to make the port more prosperous. He's also making some changes to our merchant fleet routes. He claims that it'll increase our revenue from our fleet by two to three times. He and Tysha still sleep in separate bedrooms and haven't had sex yet, but it seems like he is intent on correcting his past mistakes, and he is courting her once again. Tyrion had also taken Tysha's bastard son as his own and seemed to genuinely love the boy, so that went to sweeten things between them by a great deal as well."
He felt like reprimanding her for spying on someone else's sex life. But she was his spy mistress, and it was her job to know these kinds of things. So, he couldn't do that.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"Yes." She replied, "In the 5 months that you were gone, Lord Tywin held the Greatest Tourney in the history of Westeros, as it was being called now. Lords and knights from all across the kingdoms came to Westerlands to participate."
"How did it go?" he asked.
"Dreadfully boring." She replied, "The prince stole no daughters. There was no great scandal except a few smaller ones that went mostly unnoticed. Ser Loras Tyrell won the joust and crowned his sister the queen of love and beauty. Though I wonder if it would have been scandalous enough if he had crowned his true lover with the crown."
He shook his head, "Homosexuality is looked down upon by the lords of these lands."
"You don't look down upon it?" she asked, genuinely curious this time. Or maybe she was just this good at manipulating her own emotions. He didn't care to use Legilimency to know.
"No. I don't really care about such things." He replied, "If a man wants to fuck another man or even his own goat, why should I care about it. Why should the world care about it, for that matter? It is an internal matter about the man and his goat after all."
The minx giggled at his words, "My lord… You seem so naive sometimes." Then she burst out into another fit of giggles.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"Tywin Lannister has built a golden statue of himself and has erected it in the middle of the front courtyard as a great show of Lannister wealth. He also sent you a letter, asking you to hand Tyrion to him, or the rain will weep over your halls and all that crap."
He rolled his eyes.
"Why don't you kill him?" Lyra suddenly asked.
He turned to look at her, and she asked once again.
"Why don't you kill Tywin? I know you're capable of doing it. And he seems intent on making himself your enemy. Why don't you remove him?"
"I will." He replied, "When the time is right and when people would not be suspicious of me for his murder."
"As you wish, my lord." She replied, bowing and giving him another look at her bountiful breast.
Merlin! This woman will be the death of him.
"There's another piece of news, my lord." She said, and he looked at her.
"The merchant you told me to keep an eye on, Illyrio Mopatis, who is sheltering the Targaryen children. He seems to have contacted Khal Drogo with the offer of a marriage between the Khal and the Targaryen girl."
"Khal Drogo? What does he want from Dothraki?"
"It seems the beggar prince wants to bring the Dothraki army across the Narrow Sea and take the Iron Throne."
He wondered how to react to such an absurd plan. No, it did not even deserve to be called a plan.
"The Dothraki have never crossed the Narrow Sea." He said, "They are afraid of the Seas and hate the boats. It is unlikely that this Khal Drogo would ever come to Westeros."
"A rather poorly thought-out union," Lyra said in agreement.
"Still… Stranger things have happened before. And after the return of the White Walkers… I don't want the realm to be any more unstable than it already is." He said, "Keep an eye on this Khal Drogo and the Targaryen siblings. It is more than likely that the siblings would fade into obscurity. But if Khal ever wants to cross the Narrow Sea, inform me."
"What will you do, my lord?" She asked.
"I'll sink them to the bottom of the sea before they even reach Westeros." He said, then asked. "By the way, the Targaryen girl, her name was Daenerys, right? Is she after the Iron Throne like her brother?"
"Her full name is Daenerys 'Stormborn' Targaryen, my lord. Her brother calls her Dany for short. She seems like she wants to live a normal life. One where she doesn't have to flee or be hidden from assassins sent by King Robert, and where she can live normally without suffering in her own home. She doesn't seem to desire the Iron Throne, but she doesn't dare to defy her brother or run away, so she'll likely do whatever Viserys Targaryen says." She informed Domeric.
"Hmmm," Domeric muttered.
"Do you have any interest in the girl, my lord?" Lyra asked curiously, but Domeric managed to detect a hint of jealousy in her tone this time.
"I can't say I'm fully interested. I'm considering her as a candidate for Project Gemini." He said.
"Oh… I see… Why that girl, my lord?" she asked with pure curiosity this time.
"Because I need to test the project to see how well it works eventually. Otherwise, I might be forced to use this project in the future, and I don't want to rely on something whose results I don't know fully, if possible." Domeric said and continued speaking after a moment of thought.
"Daenerys Targaryen is a very good candidate for Project Gemini, and if everything goes as planned, all parties will be happy. But for now, this is just a thought. I want you to keep a close eye on her and be ready to activate Project Gemini at any moment."
Domeric commanded, and Lyra replied, "As you wish, my lord."
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Ch.206: The King Attends the Small Council Meeting
Ch.207: Jon Arryn's Personal Problem