Chapter 7: The Feast, a Chat, and the Start of the Hunt
"And so, when the Werecat jumped at me, it practically impaled itself on my sword," I chuckled, remembering the first time I ever fought a Therianthrope.
Hearing me, even despite the raucous feast surrounding us, Arya excitedly clapped her hands, her smile as wide as it could possibly go. Sansa looked a bit pale at the details but the admiration in her eyes was hard not to see.
"What kind of sword do you use, Damien?!" Arya excitedly asked, not bothering to use any titles, much to my relief.
It was kinda stifling being called prince all the time. Or Ser.
Sansa didn't seem to think the same thing as she looked appalled as she glared at her younger sister, "Arya! Show some respect!" she said, seemingly scared off my being offended and not liking the two of them. Or her, mainly.
Waving my hand, I laughed, "It's fine, it's fine. I'd rather be called Damien, honestly. Though, I wonder if you'd allow me to call you without titles as well, in return? As a show of friendship, I mean," I smiled, wanting to advance my friendship with two people who were pretty important in this world. Plus, they were nice people anyway.
Arya was excitable about things you would normal associate with a girl, in a fantasy setting at least, and she had a refreshing habit of not being too fond about rules and etiquette. She was like a mischievous little sister type character.
Sansa, on the other hand, was nice, gentle, and respectful. But not too respectful - she danced the line beautifully. And when you got past the facade of hers where she tried to act more like a princess than a teenage girl, she was a nice, fun girl to talk to.
Hearing what I said, Arya nodded with happiness, while Sansa blushed and smiled, looking down and attempting to look coy, "Of course...Damien," she said, her voice happy and sweet.
Ignoring her sister's attempts at flirting, Arya asked her earlier question again, "What kind of sword do you use, Damien?"
"A claymore bigger than you, Arya," I joked, getting a laugh from the little Stark who was like a fountain of questions. But as she went to ask her next question, she got weirdly serious. More serious than I'd ever seen her in the short time I'd known her.
"Earlier you didn't answer my question...do you think I could become a good fighter who could battle monsters, if I train enough?" she asked, biting her lip a little, in anxiousness.
Thinking for a second, I gave her a smile before answering, "I'd say you could become a good fighter if you trained enough - anyone can, as long as they stick to it - but I wouldn't recommend fighting monsters," I said, and her shoulders deflated somewhat, though I carried on, "But I'm sure if I gave you a few tips, you'd have an advantage over other fighters when it comes to fighting monsters," I jokingly said, and Arya's face did a complete 180 from the earlier disappointment, to a happy and relieved smile.
"Yes! Please!" she said loudly, getting in my face, "Can you teach me how to use a sword as well?!" she asked impatiently, and I could only wryly smile.
"I don't think my type of sword fighting is a good fit for you, but I can give you some tips, sure," I said with a serious face, wanting to instill in her that I couldn't teach her everything and for the most part, she'd have to make her own way.
She looked over the moon at what I was saying, but before she could answer, she heard her name being called by her brother, Robb, and after saying a quick goodbye and thanks, she ran off to him.
This left me and Sansa, sitting there. It went quiet for a few seconds before I initiated the conversation.
I asked her about her life growing up in Winterfell, she asked me about Kings Landing and growing up in the royal family. We spoke about hobbies, about our likes and dislikes. She found out that I liked cooking, which she found surprising, while I found out that she had a near-addiction of lemon cakes, which I offered to cook her if I ever got the chance.
The feast progressed and so did my friendship with Sansa.
She was a nice girl. A sincerely nice girl. It was hard to find someone so unfit for a world like this, yet here was an example, right in front of me. My younger siblings Tommen and Myrcella are the same, yet I always know that mother will protect them no matter what, and so will I. I won't let them fade away like they did the in show.
But Sansa...she'd soon have no one to protect her. She'd be alone in Kings Landing. I...I wanted to try and lessen that soon-to-come loneliness.
It'd also give me a chance to work on my skill at making desserts. Shame that cooking didn't come up as a skill in the system. Probably because it's got nothing to do with monster hunting.
...It did annoy me that Robert would probably marry Joffrey to Sansa like in the show. All because he would be King, and that's where the bloodlines should be connected. I don't regret my choice of becoming a Knight, as being King just wasn't for me. I didn't have any talent in ruling, just in fighting. But I had to be honest...right now I came very close to regret.
Gods, this is all annoying.
I would definitely oppose the marriage, for both her and my sake.
"Damien?" Sansa asked with a slightly worried look on her face, "Are you okay? You went quiet for a minute or so..." she asked, her worry getting stronger when she saw how my eyes were slightly grim.
Smiling, I suppressed such things before answering, "I'm fine, Sansa. But thanks for worrying about me," I winked at her, trying to push away her worry and replace it with flustering, so she didn't pick up on anything, "I was just thinking about things. Nothing much."
Just as I finished, I saw something rocketing through the air toward Sansa's face. Looking at where it came from, I saw a mischievous Arya struggling not to laugh. Luckily for Sansa, I could see the projectile moving in slow motion, so I put my hand in front of it and caught the mixture of meat and porridge that Arya had sent via spoon catapult at Sansa, aiming to embarrass her in front of me or the crowd as a whole.
The mixture splatted against my hand and Arya looked at me with shock which soon changed to awe, while Sansa looked confused at why my hand was in front of her face. But when I lowered my hand and wiped off the mixture, her eyes went wide before she looked thankfully at me.
But when that thankfulness passed, she turned to Arya, her eyes squinted and filled with anger.
Seeing what had happened, Ned looked toward Robb, who was next to Arya, "Take your sister up to bed. It seems she needs some rest," he said, his voice stern and not leaving anyway for either Robb or Arya to disagree.
As Sansa's mood was dropping as she glared at her little sister, who walked away with a little smile of victory on her face. But before that could happen, I wiped my hand completely clean before standing up and offering hand to Sansa, "This feast is getting a bit...rowdy. Would you do me the honor of going on a walk with me?" I asked, a princely smile on my face.
Even with my reaction speed, Sansa's mood changed incredibly quickly, and her hand very soon lightly grabbed onto mine, letting me pull her up.
As I was standing there with her hand in mine, I turned to her parents with a polite and respectful smile, "Lord Eddard, Lady Catelyn, I hope you will allow me to take your daughter on a walk around Winterfell?" I asked, knowing that if I just left a feast for us, the royal family, with their daughter in tow, it would be the very definition of a slap to their face.
Ned smiled, and after seeing how hopeful Sansa looked, Catelyn smiled as well, before Ned nodded his head, "Of course that would be fine, Prince Damien. Please, have a lovely walk. I'm sure Sansa will be a brilliant host," he said, looking at Sansa with a smile, yet a serious gaze.
Something seemed to have been said between the two of them but I couldn't quite decipher what it was. Oh well, I could guess all night, but there's no point to it.
Turning to mother, I spoke again, "After this, I'll be getting some sleep. So this is goodnight, mother," I said before smiling and nodding to her and turning to leave.
. . .
"Damien..." Sansa started just as we got out of the hall where the feast was being held, "You said one of you main hobbies was cooking...how did you find out you liked it? Surely you didn't have to cook for yourself on a daily basis?"
Thinking back to how I discovered my love for cooking, I let out a chuckle before my mouth curved into a sincere and reminiscent smile, "Well, it started off as a part of my survival training - I wouldn't always have a royal cook with me when I was outside of Kings Landing and in the wild, now would I?" I questioned jokingly, getting a smile from Sansa, "So, I took up cooking lessons under the head chef in the Red Keep. He taught me how to make something edible out of little to nothing, and along the way, I discovered that cooking was...calming in a way," I said, looking ahead, my smile fading for a more serious face, "It was unlike training or fighting. But it had the same effect. If training and fighting trained my body and helped me work out stress, then cooking helped me develop my mind and creativity, while also letting me relax and finally, enjoy my cooking after I'd done it."
I said this before turning to Sansa who was just smilingly looking at me, and upon realizing I was looking back at her, let out an embarrassed laugh, "That's...very nice, Damien. I...I don't have many hobbies like that," she paused before starting again, her face looking a bit down, "I know embroidery because that's expected of me, but, I'll tell you the truth, I don't quite like it!" she said, her face flushed as if she'd just said something very daring, making me laugh at how cute she was being.
But I did get where she was coming from. Such a skill/hobby was expected of noble ladies, and for one of them to say she didn't like it, was quite daring. At least in this world.
"Well, there must be something you like, Sansa. Do you like singing, or any instruments?" I asked.
She shook her head, her cheeks a little red, "I like singing but I don't think I'm very good. I like the Lute as well, but mother doesn't like me playing it. She says it's an instrument for bards who play for drunkards...Though I still play the Cello* whenever I can," she seemed slightly embarrassed as she spoke but I didn't mind that and answered her with a smile.
(*A/N - Don't know if there's actually a Cello in GoT. But there are instruments that look like a Cello used during the Red Wedding. Even if there isn't, just take it as it being added by whatever force put a Witcher in GoT.)
"Well, if you don't think you're very good at singing, or if you don't want to sing, how about I sing while you play the lute? I'm sure we'd made a brilliant duo!" I said, wanting to make her feel like she didn't need to feel embarrassed around me. Not about such silly stuff.
She looked surprised for a second before questioning me, "You can sing, Damien?"
"Of course. I was pretty much forced to take lessons alongside dancing and etiquette lessons. I wouldn't say I'm the best but I'm good enough," I shrugged, not wanting to seem like I was bragging.
Sansa seemed to want to ask something, but was stopping herself. But she seemed to grab some courage and asked anyway.
"Could...could you sing a song for me?" she anxiously asked, her eyes averted from me, seemingly scared of seeing rejection on my face.
But why would I reject such a simple request?
"Sure, I can do that. Though I won't promise that it will sound too good," I laughed, before clearing my throat and bringing back my memories of all my lessons.
(A/N - I'll put a link in the comments for the instrumental of the song he's singing. Would recommend to listen to it while reading the singing part~)
"And who are you, the proud Lord said, that I must bow so low~?
Only a cat of a different coat, that's all the truth I know~
In a coat of gold or a coat of red, a Lion still has claws~
And mine are long and sharp, my Lord, as long and sharp as yours~"
I sang, making sure to make it smooth and nice to the ears, and from the slightly dazed look in Sansa's eyes, I was doing pretty good. None of it was because of technique or skill, just that my voice was naturally smooth and good at singing.
"And so he spoke, and so he spoke, that Lord of Castamere~
But now the rains weep o'er his hall, with no one there to hear~
Yes, now the rains weep o'er his hall,
And not a soul to hear~"
I came to a finish, smiling at the still dazed Sansa who was looking at me. But she soon came out of that, and clapped her hands with a smile on her beautiful face, her eyes filled with surprise and quickly developing fondness. "That was...that was amazing, Damien!" she eagerly said, "I doubt my instrument playing could match your voice," she said, seemingly lacking some self-esteem.
"Ah, I'm sure it could. Though you have to promise to play for me one day soon," I said, feigning seriousness.
"Mhm," Sansa nodded her head, happy, before she raised an eyebrow at me, "That was 'Rains of Castamere', right, Damien?"
"Yep," I nodded, looking up at the stars above, "It was. The story about House Reyne who tried to rebel against the Lannisters and were wiped out because of it. I feel there's a proper lesson in the song - don't get overconfident and pick fights you can't win," I shrugged before continuing, "But enough about that, why don't you show me some interesting places in Winterfell?" I asked with a smile, wanting to explore the Castle I wouldn't see much of in the future.
. . .
Walking into an opening near a river, Ned turned to me and pointed to a spot where the grass and vegetation was still flattened, "This is where the pups were found by us, Prince Damien," he said, his face serious.
Walking toward the spot, I took a deep breath of air and all I got was the rancid smell of rotten eggs.
"Yep, it's a Troll..." I said, before squatting down next to some tracks and focusing my eyes into their slit-pupil version, increasing my clarity and overall vision, "And judging from the size of the footprint, it's a young Adult Troll. Which is around the age when they're most violent. It came back here within the last week or two to take the rest of the Direwolf as well..." I said as I sniffed out the scent a few more times, getting a definite direction to where it went, along with the crushed flora it had trampled over.
Pointing deeper into the forest, I smiled, letting my eyes go back to normal before looking over at Ned, "Lord Stark, get your men ready - The hunt's begun!"
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