From Westeros to Essos : The Crusader King

When his nephew came to him with this job for him, Andar almost laughed at how daring and seemly impossible it was, but after Konrad explained to him how despite their numbers, Nyssa was in shape able to train enough men and women for another seven ships and so, the best course of action was to sell the ships.

Gods be god, he knew just how much money those six ships could earn them, but sadly for them that bloody slimy bastard was the master of Coin and there was no chance they could sell the ships anywhere other than North or Dorne.

Dorne, for all the beautiful women living there, had no love for stags, wolves, or falcons and so, the only viable alternative was the North. Contrary to what those south of the Neck said about those northern lords, Andar knew even before putting foot there that was just the south way of making themselves get hard in bed.

As a Royce of Runestone, Andar was a believer of the old gods, and because of that and his father's reputation, most of the northerners accepted him and his entourage quite warmly, especially lord Wyman Manderly, who despite growing old and fat, was still a good judge of character.

A man who could lead one of the few cities in Westeros to prosperity was anything but a fool, and yet not even now, almost a week after leaving White Harbor could he understand why the man had almost thew his granddaughter at him so that he could marry her when he made his purpose know. He would lie if he were to say that the girl wasn't cute, but by the seven she was well eight-name days old while he was already a young adult.

Sadly for him, the man that his nephew and Tyrek put in charge of his protection was none other than the bloody sellsword he fought side by side on the demon road. The moment, Bronn heard that the fat lord wanted him to wed his granddaughter to him, he could barely stop laughing.

It took him almost an entire day to make the sellsword stop teasing him in public about this, but that had not in any shape or form made Bronn less annoyed about his jokes and teasing aimed at him.

Leaving White Harbor had been another surprise to Andar, as Lord Wyman Manderly had his son escort him and his small entourage of twenty-five men to Winterfell to discuss the actual acquisition of ships with the Lord Paramount of the North. Ser Wylis Manderly was a stout and courteous man, who seemed genuinely interested in Andar's business and his family. He also had a keen eye for the lands and people they passed by, pointing out the various villages, castles, and landmarks along the way. Something that Andar was grateful for.

His father told him a lot about the north and how harsh the life of the people who share the same ancestors as them was before he was forced to flee the Vale, but until now, he hadn't had the pleasure of visiting the largest of the seven kingdoms. And to his surprise, the people were more resilient than anyone he had seen before, and honest something that both he and Bronn seemed to have enjoyed, especially the sellsword who got himself one or two women to warm his bed at night. Alas if a certain person in charge of their fleet were to hear from a little bird about this… maybe Bronn would stop tormenting the future lord of Runestone.

Nevertheless, after a week of traveling, the tall walls of Winterfell came into view, and for the first time in his life, Andar was caught off guard by the size of the castle. Winterfell was a massive and ancient fortress, built by the legendary Bran the Builder thousands of years ago. It was the seat of the Kings of Winter, and later the Lords of Winterfell and Wardens of the North.

When he and his entourage walked through the gates, he was greeted by a large crowd of people, who had gathered to welcome him and his companions. In all honesty, this did make him feel … well important, but maybe, Lord Stark should have had welcomed him normally and like he was the bloody king.

Andar and his men dismounted and once everyone was on their feet Andar followed by Bronn walked towards Lord Stark.

"Welcome to Winterfell and the North, Lord Andar. Please eat of my bread and salt and drink of my wine and know only safety under my roof as an honored guest. This is my vow to you as your Host"

Now this was not something he had expected to hear, then again considering that both he and his nephew had disappeared out of nowhere years ago, Lord Stark was definitely worried for his well-being, meanwhile, Ned performed the full formal welcome for Andar and his party, making sure that everyone knew that they were under his protection.

While he had to act like a proper lord, Andar couldn't help himself from smiling at the man he grew up with in the Vale.

"I thank you, Lord Stark, for the protection of your house. As your honored guest, I, Andar Royce swore on my honor not to disturb the peace in your home."

Once the formalities were finished, Ned relaxed and greeted the future lord of Runestone personally. "Lord Andar, welcome to Winterfell. I'm pleased to see you in good health, but I have to admit, my lord, I wasn't expecting this sudden visit."

For a second Andar thought hard about his response, before remembering that the man in front of him was the most honorable man alive.

"Believe me, my lord, neither did I think I would find myself in Westeros so soon and in the north nevertheless."

Lord Stark nodded before introducing his family to Andar, starting with his oldest son Robb who was six-name days old. "This is Robb, my heir and the future Lord of Winterfell."

As soon as his father introduced him, Robb bowed his head respectfully and smiled at the eldest son of Lord Royce.

Next, Ned gestured to his oldest daughter Sansa who was four name days old. "This is Sansa, my sweet and gentle girl."

Like a proper little lady, Sansa curtsied gracefully before blushing slightly at Andar.

Finally, Ned moved to his wife and the babe in his wife's arms, their youngest daughter Arya. "And this is my wife, Lady Catelyn Stark, the Lady of Winterfell. She is the mother of my children and the love of my life."

As a response, Catelyn smiled warmly at the young knight before Ned continued. "And this little one is Arya, our youngest daughter. She is almost one name days old, and by the old gods she is already too active for my wife's liking." Ned said with a smile just as Arya gurgled and reached out her tiny hand towards the visitor.

 "I hope you will enjoy your stay in Winterfell, Lord Andar. Your father is a good friend of mine, and I am glad to see you again after so long." He embraced Andar warmly and clapped him on the back. "Come, let us go inside and talk. There is much to discuss, and I am sure you are hungry and tired from your journey."

Once inside, Andar found himself sitting next to Ned and his family while Bronn and the others were with the common folk, not that the sellsword or his men had anything against the northerners. As for him, he was being "interrogated" by the Quiet Wolf right next to the man's wife, something that for some reason made him feel like he was being scolded by a father.

With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Andar explained to Ned how his life was in the past couple of years raising his nephew alongside Ser Tyrek Lannister, who had also disappeared with him and Jon Arryn's son. He told him how they had traveled across Essos, running from assassins and fighting against any that came to kill his nephew.

It was by far a good life, but for Andar, it did not matter at all. He had his nephew with him and his duty to protect his sister's son, his blood. But the more he said, the more he realized that mayhaps the great hall was not exactly the best place to talk about such matters.

"Ned, I can see that you have many questions for me, and I don't blame you. But this is not the place to discuss them. There are too many ears and eyes here, and some of them may not be friendly."

"I agree, Andar. There is much we need to talk about, and I don't want to risk whatever plan you have. Come, follow me to my solar. We can talk there more comfortably and securely."

Dragging his body from the bed, Oberyn turned for a second and watched as his paramour was sleeping peacefully beside two girls from the summer isles, making the prince smile as he remembered the last night.

And yet despite his escapades, Oberyn was a man who would do anything for his family and so, over the past moon or so he waited patiently for those cross-sellswords to make themselves known again after disappearing once they won the battle and took care of the aftermath. While he had no love for Lannisters, Oberyn had to admit that for a lion, Tyrek Lannister was not like his uncle, after when had Tywin Lannister ever cared about the dead?

Only a week ago one of his men had overheard some of the merchants talking about how soon they would earn quite a few from the very same people he was trying to find. Every moon or so, a group led by a certain boy who had covered his entire body came to the city and bought as much as possible before leaving.

As quietly as he could, Oberyn dressed himself in a simple tunic and cloak, leaving behind his usual ornate robes and jewelry. He did not want to attract too much attention or reveal his identity as a prince of Dorne until he met the boy and his men. Once he was ready, he slipped out of the room, leaving a note for his lover that he would be back soon. As someone who was quite adept at blending in with the crowd, Oberyn made his way through the streets of Volantis, avoiding most of the crowds and especially all of the children who seemed to beg on the street. The spider had his eyes on the young lord, that much was clear with how many little birds were around, but even then, the Red Viper knew that if Varys knew where the young lord was, he wouldn't have sent so many of his birds around the docks.

Luckily for him, by the time he reached the docks, a ship sailing under a white flag with a black cross on it just docked itself as tens of men and women disembarked from it. The ship was nothing spectacular, that much even he could observe, but there was something on board it that made the prince of Dorne confused, to say the least.

If his memory served him right on the forecastle of the ship was mounted a ballista, something the prince hadn't seen be used in a naval battle yet. Then he saw him. A boy, no older than his second daughter, Nymeria, covered in some light clothing style hiding his entire body other than his eyes, walked down from the ship flanked by two weird armored men and a giant of a savage who from the look on his face was anything but happy to walk into the city.

Seeing what Oberyn could only describe as a decent-sized bodyguard surrounding the boy, he was about to move away from the docks and try his luck later that day when he felt a sword resting on his shoulder.

"Ah, at last, someone had the balls to sneak behind me." Oberyn joked ignoring the fact that he was in danger.

But to his surprise, the voice that answered him was one he knew very well from the time his dear sister was a princess of the seven kingdoms.

"I would have never imagined that your brother would have sent you here, Oberyn."

Despite not seeing the man for over five years, Oberyn recognized the voice of his sister's friend.

"Lannister! Did your uncle send you here too? Is he scared of another child?"

Oberyn was about to reach for his dagger when Tyrek spoke again, this time though even someone like Oberyn could hear the bitterness and regret in Lannister's voice.

"Curse my uncle, Oberyn. He is the one who let that monster live after he killed a child, Targaryen or not. Curse him for the childslayer he is." Tyrek paused as he lowered his sword from Oberyn's shoulder. "If you don't remember, that's the same man who sent away a one and ten-name days old boy from Casterly Rock, because he thought I was spending too much time with my cousin Tyrion. He forced me to the capital where then once again, I was forced to join the Kingsguard. A boy who was barely old enough to wield a sword, Oberyn. Do you know what that means? It meant I had to swear away my life, my family, everything. For what? For a lord who doesn't care about me. I was nothing but a pawn in his game, Oberyn. A pawn that he can sacrifice at any moment. If not for my younger cousin, Jaime… I would have been the one forced to kill the Mad King so that the old lion would sit his rotted daughter on the Usurper's dick."

Ever since his nephew was brutally murdered by the Lannisters, he bore them no love, he had never even thought of sacrificing his family like those bastards seem to have done.

"The world is going to end if I'm to actually believe a Lannister... But contrary to what many say about me, I'm not a fool and I can see now why my sister cared for you. You are not like the other Lannisters. You have a heart and a conscience. But do help, the brother of your friend understand why in the seven hells have you abandoned her? Why?"

The moment he said that Oberyn almost regrated as he found himself once again being stared at by an angry-looking Lannister, one who was struggling to approach the blade any closer to his neck.

"Rhaegar, for all the madness that took over him in his past years, was a good man, one that only wanted what was best for the real. He didn't love Elia, that we all know, but he loved his children. I don't know what was between him and the She-wolf, but I can assure you, she wanted nothing with that cursed piece of metal. She and Rhaegar got close at Harrenhall, but I don't know much about it. As for why I am here… shortly before the war, the prince had a vision or a dream. He saw a young pale boy, being butchered by men, leaving one of the kingdoms without a good heir to rule."

The more he listened, the more Oberyn understood what the Lann…no, Tyrek had done. The bloody ex-king's guard had traveled to the Eyrie and saved the Usurper's foster father's heir and raised him far away from whoever wanted him dead.

"Elia would have …"

"Don't Oberyn, I don't need your pity. I didn't do it for Rhaegar's sake at all. I did for a boy, one that was forced to flee his home, a home where he was raised by servants as his father was busy helping a fucking king who turned a childslayer into a knight!"

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