-Chapter 189-

-Chapter 189-

-POV Brandon Stark-

'It’s been several days since he was supposed to be here' I thought as I scanned the sky, searching for Aegon’s dragon.

"Your brother will come, don’t doubt that," Leaf said, startling me because I hadn’t noticed her approach behind me.

"I don’t doubt that he’ll come, but I’m simply impatient and worried that something might have happened to him."

"Don’t worry about him. There are few things in this world, from what I’ve seen in my visions, that could truly give him trouble," Leaf said calmly, without a trace of concern, as if she already knew what was going to happen.

DRAGON ROAR

"Speak of the devil," Leaf said upon hearing the roar of my brother’s dragon, named Rhaegal after his true father, Rhaegar Targaryen.

I saw the green dragon circling above the woods before landing in a clearing quite close to where we were.

Leaf, without any fear, mounted her direwolf and went to meet him.

Although I knew my brother’s dragon wouldn’t attack me, I was still a little afraid of being so close to him.

However, I couldn’t back out when I saw that all the children of the forest had chosen to follow Leaf without her needing to say anything.

---

-POV 3rd-

As Emperor Aegon landed in the clearing, he began to unbuckle his straps to free himself for movement.

The leader of the children of the forest, Leaf, approached with her kin until they were within ten meters of the enormous beast, which now measured over 150 feet.

The battles, blood magic, and the complete freedom granted by his partner made Rhaegal grow at an unmatched pace.

Once he had finished unbuckling, the Emperor jumped from his saddle and landed before the young woman, who also dismounted her steed as a sign of respect.

"I had a hard time imagining you."

"Are you disappointed by what you see before you?"

"No, I’m more curious than pleased or disappointed."

"Curious about what?"

"About the magic you can wield and will teach me."

"Who says we’ll teach you anything?"

"I understood that you need my help."

"We don’t need your help. We only requested this audience to discuss a possible alliance with you."

"With me… the king, well not anymore… the Emperor of the entire continent, now united under one banner, the only man on this continent who can grant you and your people the right to live."

Leaf narrowed her eyes, and before she could say anything, Bran intervened and said:

"I’ve already had visions of what would happen to us by coming here. Leaf has taught me to control my powers, and if we don’t unite, we won’t be able to face what’s coming."

Aegon smiled at Leaf without bothering to look at his little brother, then said:

"See this? You’re able to teach Bran but not me. I wonder why… Is it because he’s a naïve little boy, easily manipulated, or simply because you think you have the power to decide anything in this conversation?"

"I came in good faith so that we could decide together the best way to stop the Others, not to be threatened by a child," Leaf said in a neutral and indifferent tone.

Aegon smiled upon hearing this, and as the children of the forest turned to leave, Rhaegal roared with all his might before breathing fire to block their path.

"Jon!" Bran shouted to his brother, making him twitch, as the latter looked at him with a frown.

Leaf furrowed her brow and said, "What does this mean?"

"It means you’ve invaded my territory, and without sufficient explanations, I’ll be forced to roast you alive," Aegon said, drawing his sword and planting it slightly in the ground before resting both hands on the hilt.

The wolves began to growl, but Aegon didn’t flinch, nor did Rhaegal, who roared even louder, baring his teeth, which didn’t seem to intimidate the children of the forest.

Leaf thought for a few seconds before finally sighing: "Very well, since you want to negotiate, I want the Isle of Faces to be our land."

"Under the authority of the imperial crown, of course," Aegon added.

Leaf nodded, then she said: "I will only teach you what you’re capable of learning, which is to say virtue; the rest, I won’t teach you."

"Very well, and what about your allegiance in times of war?" Aegon asked.

Leaf nodded, fully understanding what the monarch wanted, and she said: "We will be at your command; in return, we want all the children of the forest to be protected."

"No man will touch your people without facing Rhaegal’s fire," Aegon vowed without delay, before sheathing his sword and extending his hand toward the small leader of the children of the forest, who herself looked like a child.

As soon as the verbal agreement between the two parties was sealed, Bran allowed himself a sigh of relief, while the leader of the children of the forest handed a burlap sack to Aegon.

"These are the last belongings of the Three-Eyed Crow; he wanted me to give them to you," she said.

Aegon opened the sack, smiled, and quickly closed it again: "I will remember the favor you have done for my House."

"We are now in the same boat, Your Majesty," Leaf said.

---

-POV Olenna Tyrell-

"Duke Stark," I said as I crossed paths with Duke Stark.

"Lady Olenna," Ned Stark said before trying to slip away, an act I found quite endearing.

I placed a hand on his arm and asked, "Would you be so kind as to escort an old lady to her quarters?"

Ned Stark took a moment to consider before offering me his arm without saying a word; he didn’t want to talk to me more than necessary, so I started the conversation by saying:

"I heard that in your absence, it’s your son Robb Stark, whom you named in honor of your deceased friend, who governs at Winterfell."

"A Stark must always remain at Winterfell," he replied concisely and austerely, as usual.

I smiled, then I said: "He’s not married yet, if I understand correctly."

Ned Stark didn’t reply, so I continued without taking offense at his discourteous behavior:

"Margaery would make a great Lady Stark."

A small mocking smile crossed Ned Stark’s face before he regained his neutral expression and said : "Aegon wouldn’t allow that; everyone knows he asked you to keep her for himself with an eye toward a potential marriage."

‘I should have kept my mouth shut at that moment,’ I thought, for at the time, I had been so proud of that that to regain control over our increasingly unruly vassals, I had to shock them with a rumor I believed to be true at the time.

‘But everyone already knows it’s just an illusion; Margaery will never be Empress,’ I told myself inwardly.

"Anyway, the Lady of Winterfell will have to share the beliefs and faith of House Stark; I’ll choose a woman from the North for my son," he said, his eyes becoming slightly melancholic.

"Hmm, I see, you don’t want him to make the same mistakes as you," I said, pretending to understand.

"Cat is not a mistake," he said in a cold tone.

"But you would have preferred that she understand you, or at least try to," I said, not reacting to the tone he used.

To this, he said nothing, and I realized I had approached the issue in the wrong way:

"If you’ll allow me to be transparent with you, as the mother of the Duke of Highgarden and grandmother of the heir, I must do everything in my power to ensure the House weathers the troubled times ahead."

"I’ve had long discussions with the Emperor, my nephew, and learned men in my service as well as in the service of House Tyrell. I’ve come to the conclusion that if dragons aren’t legends, that blood magic, fire magic, wargs, and forgotten peoples like the giants aren’t inventions straight from the imagination of our ancestors, then that would mean that the White Walkers may not be either, as the Emperor confirmed in one of our discussions."

"That’s common knowledge," said Ned Stark, unimpressed.

"Yes, but few people truly believe it’s real," I said.

"And what does that have to do with our families?" he asked.

"An alliance between House Tyrell and House Stark would serve us no purpose unless the Emperor is half Stark," I said, deciding to lay all my cards on the table, hoping that honesty would soften him a bit.

"True, but we are not on the best of terms, as you’ve probably noticed."

"The Emperor loves his brothers and sisters, but he is no longer Jon Snow. It’s been some time since he became Aegon Targaryen, heir to the Seven Kingdoms, then king, and now he has reached the position of Emperor. His actions are scrutinized by all, and he has few moments to express that love, which he surely buries deep in his heart, but which persists."

The icy expression of Ned Stark, still on guard, began to thaw slowly. So I continued by saying:

"By uniting our two families, my grandchildren would be the Emperor’s nephews and part of his family."

"I understand, but as I’ve already said..."

"I’m not talking about your son; I understand very well that you want a Northern woman to raise the future heirs of Winterfell."

Ned Stark furrowed his brow, and without giving him time to think, I said :

"We both know that, even though Margaery and Sansa both dream of becoming Empress, the Emperor already has enough heirs and has just become engaged to his aunt, with whom he could have other heirs, not to mention Cersei, who is doing everything she can to have another child. So, I would like my son Willas to be betrothed to your eldest daughter."

Ned said nothing and simply walked for a few seconds, pondering the question, before abruptly stopping and looking at me: "Have you made a decision…"

"You’ve arrived. Have a great day," he said before striding away with an inscrutable expression.

I stood on my doorstep, surprised by the turn of events, before smiling and saying: "Left, follow me. Right, go fetch my grandson; I need to speak with him."

‘Who said the Starks didn’t know how to play the game? It seems he learned well from Cersei, even if she wasn’t the most skilled player at the time,’ I thought.