Chapter 8 - Sun and Moon - part 2

Rhaenys' face paled as she looked at me, storing the knife Varys gave to her, and timidly tottered over to me after she finished changing.

A message with terms of service agreement appeared before me.

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED A PARTY MEMBER!]

Numerous terms and conditions were listed.

I skimmed through it, checking the companion icon next to the window entry and setting the result for betrayal to be immediate expulsion from my party.

It seemed like I could change the specifications however I wanted, but I'll read it closely later.

I commanded Rhaenys to follow through the secret passages of the Red Keep, and she trailed behind me with an expression of uncertainty.

Holding her hand, I led her through some regions as my Mental Map informed me of how to avoid Varys' young spies.

Rhaenys looked at the hand which held hers.

"I rather keep the Spider unaware of my presence in his territory." I told her, answering the question she hadn't voiced out. "So should you."

On our way towards the Flea Bottom, I noticed some stores and street stalls along the side road which continued stretching into the horizon.

While Rhaenys held my hand and walked beside me, she glanced around the town restlessly.

Although the food stalls in this region were releasing an unpalatable aroma, Rhaenys belly was apparently a bit empty.

When hungry belly noises were heard, she averted her gaze with a cute pout. "It's nothing."

I guess her version of my System doesn't give her a Game Body like mine.

As she tried to deny what just happened, I wondered why she was holding back.

Right now, if she doesn't have the strength to fight enemies, then I will be just wasting my time with her.

She won't be able to muster any strength when she's hungry.

A dull knife was useless to me.

I retrieved some food from my INVENTORY, feeling that it was still warm thanks to the stasis condition of my storage, and handed it to her.

Rhaenys stared at me with clear astonishment. "Wha-why?"

"Hm?" I lowered my gaze towards her after hearing her voice.

She was staring up at me with a face full of wonder.

"You looked hungry, no? Or is it too unrefined for your standards?"

Rhaenys shook her head so fast that a bustling sound could be heard from the movement.

This was quite a delicate topic for her it seems.

"Anyways, eat some food and get some nutrition. You'll die if you're too skinny and weak to fight, you know. Do they feed you properly?"

"They do… it's just that… sometimes I don't feel like eating what they offer me."

"Smart. Although my caretaker doesn't seem the type to cause me harm, I too don't truly trust what someone might put in my meal."

She timidly began eating, her face contorting a bit upon hearing my reply.

"Did you make this?"

"Yeah. But it's only leftovers from the castle kitchen and some bread, though."

"For leftovers, it's quite good! And safer." Rhaenys chuckled for the first time in quite a while before savoring each and every morsel of her lunch, almost as if she had never tasted a Smashedburger before.

Well… she most likely didn't.

Regardless, after her lunch, I handed her my unfinished copy of a Soda before we moved on.

"It may be scary at first, but I will protect you from danger."

She tilted her head upon hearing my words.

"C'mon, these small fries can't hide from us."

Her eyes popped out when she saw my twin Valyrian Steel Gladius.

"Valyrian Steel?" She somehow recognized immediately.

"So you know? Mind to explain?" I asked with a nod, not showing my surprise.

Rhaenys timidly nodded. "I-it's my legacy…That old fart, Pycelle, had a chain link slightly similar."

"I see…For the time being, tonight's task will be the two of us hunting criminals in the city. I'll seize them, make them vulnerable and you'll deliver the killing blow."

She nodded obediently.

I opted for beginning small, surprising a small group of low level thugs I made sure to properly introduce her to the concept of taking a life.

Unlike me, everyone else didn't know it was like a Video Game.

Her face contorted as she firmly gripped her weapon, firmly steeling her will to kill as I raised the Bandit's head, exposing his throat to her.

The man swore and cursed, making the ritual the more unpleasant he could, but Rhaenys backed up her previous words with actual action.

For the first time, a text box popped up and indicated that my ally had defeated an enemy.

Now panting and covered in blood, Rhaenys remarked with an uneven expression. "S-sorry, D-durrandon… b-but can we stop for…"

She actually puked right there on the cobblestone floor.

"Good, you did well." I said, giving her room to breathe before patting her and cleaning her with Thaumaturgy.

She then looked up at me with a mystified expression and clear admiration at my magic.

"Your face is a little red." I noticed. "Do you have a fever?"

"No." She replied awkwardly. "I never get sick."

"Good, let's move on."

Henceforth, whenever we encountered enemies roaming the slum, we'd always use the common tactic where I disabled them with my superior speed before Rhaenys went in for the kill.

Slowly making her get used to bloodshed and seeing men shitting themselves.

I even lectured her about how to properly avoid the Gold Cloaks.

"That's weak! Put in some more effort!" I told her, strangling another Bandit from behind.

Startled, Rhaenys recoiled back for a moment and immediately used the momentum, she once again charged at the vulnerable criminal with great force, piercing the man's eye firmly with her Castle-forged steel dagger.

It was then that another window caught my attention.

[COMPANION LEVELED UP!]

Smiling at the speed she was progressing, I told her. "Good, from now on, just keep fighting like this; let's go."

Following my orders, Rhaenys stored her weapon in her own INVENTORY again before obediently following me.

=================================

A few days later…

We took to the roofs.

It was a drizzling night, so the few people now remaining on the street never bothered to look up.

As long as we were quiet, we should be safe enough from unwanted attention.

And it was thanks to her that I finally managed to grind my Message cantrip with someone else besides Shadow.

Speaking of her, she was actually aiding us, meowing to us if anyone attempted to sneak on us.

Like Varys did with his little birds, I had trained my Cats, rats and pigeons to do my bidding.

My first command was to clean the city in whatever way they could, either by extracting the poop out of the sewers or borrowing whatever miscellaneous they happened to come across.

The second one was aiding my Wisdom and Acolytes with locating and securing any hidden jar of Wildfire spread around King's Landing.

Unfortunately I couldn't send my man of the Alchemist Guild to tread on Varys' territory on the Red Keep without having him hear about that particular song.

Back to my Night Raids with Rhaenys…

I've chosen our vantage point well.

A large flat roof two stories up.

We had ready access to other buildings in three directions and a single ladder extending down in the back.

Arriving just in time as we almost missed the crooked merchant leaving, he was accompanied by eight guards with neither of them looking up.

Stupid move.

Not that they would see us.

We were both small and squashed into a tiny alcove, not to mention I had casted a Minor Illusion to make us even hard to spot.

My Goldenheart wood bow shot was perfect, right in between the eyes.

No saving him now.

"Are you sure?" I asked Rhaenys, already aware of her OBSERVE skill's current limitations.

"Y-yes! None of the guards have ranged weapons with them!" She replied with a focused stare.

Contrary to mine, her OBSERVE didn't pop a window for her, she had to actually interpret what her sight was showing her.

Rhaenys took her shot with one of the crossbows I gave her, taking down the guard trying to drag the merchant away.

She aimed for his back, intending to dissuade him.

The crossbow wasn't even that strong, but it still punched deep into him, through his riveted mail armor.

Proper armor really is rare in this society, but at least it better than those awful and stupid Studded Leather Armors.

I keep forgetting about that fact.

That and how easy it was to kill someone.

Oh look, they started looking for us.

Oops, some do have crossbows, albeit lighter ones.

I stare back at Rhaenys only to see her squirm apologetically.

This will teach her to be aware of her limits and incentivize her to improve..

"Wait here." Before Rhaenys grabbed another bolt from her INVENTORY and attempted to reload, I shot twice with my bow before jumping down.

There was a guard under me trying to track us.

Summoning a regular sword and leaving it buried in the man's skull, I took off, hearing the rest of the guards giving chase as I dodged some of their shots.

Wonder if it's only because they can see that I'm just a kid?

Or perhaps they were after some sort of compensation for capturing/eliminating the ȧssassin of their contract.

I had prepared myself for this instance.

Running through the alley, leap twice over the boxes I quickly placed from my INVENTORY and then duck under the last I placed at ċhėst height for an ȧduŀt.

Sliding to a halt and pulling my Goldenheart Bow's string as I heard the guards swearing, climbing over the boxes, I eliminated them with quick yet precise moves.

I placed a pillar underneath me to reach the rooftop of the building beside me and ran back over the roof to Rhaenys, noticing she had decided to engage the man that had stayed to guard the crooked merchant's body.

I step off the roof, this time pulling out a pair of knives.

Heh.

I actually managed to halt my fall by stabbing him, very Assassin's Creed of me.

Perhaps I might even pull off a Leap of Faith if I time it well.

Regardless, I start shooting before the rest of the guards realize I was back to where I attacked them.

One.

Two.

Thr..

Damn, missed, the last guard ducked past my third shot.

Gotta keep leveling up my Ranged Mastery skill, my use of the bow wasn't as good as my performance with the Crossbow.

I could see the remaining man looking around and struggling to accept that we were just children.

He screamed in anger and tried to charge.

I almost felt sorry for him.

Especially when I tore a hole in his armored ċhėst with my Eldritch Blast.

And done.

Not bad.

After blowing the tip of my index finger, as if it was a smoking gun, I quickly stuffed all the bodies in my INVENTORY and smacked Rhaenys in the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" She questioned while scratching her head. "I swear, I didn't know they had crossbows."

"Correcting mistakes like that is why I brought you here with me. But I told you to stay put and you disobeyed." I replied. "Disobey my orders again and our partnership is done."

"What?!" Rhaenys all but shouted, not willing to give up everything we've been doing for the past days. "But I was… I had it…" She tried coming up with some justification for her action, but my cold stare silenced her immediately.

After receiving a nod, we continued.

"Nice shot, by the way." I told her without looking back. "Gotta work on your reload time, though."

And despite her not showing it, Rhaenys got happy with my compliment.

=================================

Midway through the month, we eventually encountered enemies other than the common Bandits.

"Meow!" Shadow warned me.

"Look out!" I shouted, pulling Rhaenys close to me as a whistling Crossbow's bolt almost struck her, instead only grazing her shoulder, where her armor was thinner.

"Ah…thanks!" She replied, wincing in pain as a bit of blood came out of her superficial scratch.

I nodded, immediately casting Thaumaturgy to clean her wound. "Don't mention, just be even more careful."

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this." Said the one who just attacked us to someone following him.

And it was then, for the first time, I met an actual Assassin.

[ORWEN - HIRED ASSASSIN]

LEVEL: 25

POWER: 23

END: 20

MOB: 25

INT: 18

STL: 26

DEF: 15* (Padded Armor)

{Trained in the use of poison, ȧssassins are remorseless killers who work for Nobles, Guild masters, Sovereigns, and anyone else who can afford them. Orwen is a veteran ȧssassin that, along with his brother, has a nasty disposition to poison his blades with a messy concoction of poisons so that even if he fails, an antidote would be hard to find for his victims. He and his brother, Brarton, have accepted a contract to get rid of the vigilante frightening the criminal underworld at the capital city of Westeros.}

And…

[BRARTON - HIRED ASSASSIN]

LEVEL: 24

POWER: 21

END: 19

MOB: 23

INT: 15

STL: 24

DEF: 15* (Padded Armor)

With a pretty similar description…

Guess the rumors of someone impersonating The Stranger were bound to result in this, but to know that I'm actually making criminals afraid of me was really satisfying.

Varys must be puzzled beyond belief for not being able to know my identity, especially since I was this close to him.

"Girl, try to observe him again, this time the way I taught you. Look for anything that might help you know about his weakness and strengths." I ordered Rhaenys as I intimidated the ȧssassins with my trick of summoning a sword out of nowhere.

"What in the seven hells!?" One of the ȧssassins spat.

"No wonder I missed, these two are freaks!" The other argued.

"A-alright." Rhaenys replied to my previous command before narrowing her eyes for a moment, only to hold out a snicker. "Wait, their names are Orwen and Brarton? Really?!"

I nodded, keeping the Hired Assassin at bay, glad at how far she had progressed, accessing the best way to face him.

"He's strong, fast, tough and pretty sneaky." She remarked. "Though not that bright."

"Well done." I smirked, casting my Eldritch Blast and getting rid of both enemies with my recently acquired secondary beam.

Noticing Rhaenys covering her ears I reminded myself of how loud the crackling beams actually were.

I keep forgetting it somehow.

"What a mess." I said using OBSERVE on Rhaenys and noticing she had acquired the Poisoned status.

Thankfully it wasn't as aggressive as it would've been had I not quickly cleaned her wound.

Retrieving from my INVENTORY a special antidote, that I had crafted as a countermeasure against the Magical Dungeon, I hand it to Rhaenys. "Drink this."

"Wh- I mean, yes." She was about to question my order, but immediately corrected herself.

Although the respect she had for me was bȧrėly enough to keep her from almost spitting the antidote with a disgusted expression.

"Ew, so bitter!" She argued.

"Good antidote tastes bitter." I told her, making her understand the reason I gave it to her. "Just drink it all already."

"Gul…" Rhaenys almost puked as a result.

But her Poisoned status went away.

"Here, store it for when you need it. If you don't like how it tastes, make sure to not be poisoned again." I handed to her everything I had, and as she put it all on her INVENTORY, I casted Mend on her wound, leaving behind not even a scar.

The Perk Healer had some impressive secondary features, which made actions like these all the more easy to me.

"Let's keep moving." I ordered, using my Mage Hand to retrieve the Assassins loot, which was basically more poisons and weapons.

"Yes!" She replied, observing the mess that I left behind. "Are you leaving them like this to send a message?"

I turned to gaze at her, prompting her to flinch as a result, and nodded.

=================================

Well, looks like the time for hiding was past.

I placed a box near the door and placed a chair next to it, since Rhaenys needed the height for what would come next.

I took out a greatsword and handed it over to Rhaenys.

"Remember to stick it with the pointy end this time." I joked.

"B-but… I already told you it was an accident." She blurted ashamed of her comical mistake. "I thought I've already proven to you that it won't happen again."

I just tilted my head with a provocative smirk in response.

Thankfully, she knew better than to question me any further and stored it in her basic INVENTORY.

I would make a convincing distraction for her.

Besides, I've been training her for over a month now, so she might actually help.

Or at least shouldn't hurt to try.

By now, I could hear footsteps, so it looked like time was up.

As soon as the door was open, Rhaenys took motion.

She stepped off a chair onto the box, a leap later and she was in the air.

The target didn't see her, too busy staring at me wielding a sword threateningly at him.

Perfect.

Right before she reached the target, Rhaenys summoned the sword I handed her.

Compared to her, it was giant, a full greatsword, but she didn't have any problems summoning it, thanks to the game physics I believe.

With a solid thunk the sword buried itself in our target's skull.

I quickly looted him with my Mage Hand and we advanced.

We were both small and fast, and had the surprise factor on our side.

I summoned a dagger and buried it in someone's foot as I dived under the table.

Everyone began cursing and yelling as a result.

I look around.

Nine left, one of them hurt.

One of them bent down to reach for Rhaenys.

She darted forward and summoned her trusty dagger with the point immediately burying itself in his eye.

It was stuck for a moment, but by storing it again she freed it from the corpse.

Three of them headed towards me.

Time to take a chance.

I sprinted forward at them, noticing that they were wary, taking me seriously.

They swung as I got near, but I shifted my head to the side, ignoring it.

The following triple strike that I purposefully took staggered me, but as expected by now, there wasn't any real pain, just a slight irritation, like any other common bruises or shallow cuts.

The health they took off was manageable thanks to my current armor, improved thanks to Tobho Mott's guidance and my Health Bar.

After a brief moment, I felt a surge of energy and glanced at my health.

Full.

I almost stumbled in shock.

Luckily, it seemed to have stunned my opponents more as the noticeable cuts healed themselves at impossible speeds.

Yeah, I'm on my way to become just like Wolverine.

I immediately summoned my Valyrian Steel swords and slashed their legs, in their shock they didn't even attempt to try to dodge.

Funnily enough, I actually cut their legs off.

Need to keep that in mind.

Although I could deal with superficial damage, I might not actually be capable of regenerating my own limbs.

Perhaps just mending them back.

But what about vital and specialized organs?

Rather not live as a one-eyed man, much less a completely blind one.

Switching to one of my sharpest knives, I immediately climbed on top of them.

To be fair, they tried to stop me rather competently, but after my multiple quick slashes they were unable to grab me without their fingers.

Swift cuts later and I got them bleeding out from their throats cut open.

Six left.

Rhaenys shot one of the Crossbows I gave her with deadly precision, and took down another.

Five.

She faced the one I had injured first.

Obviously, she was not even skilled nor strong enough to face a grown man in a fair combat.

I might've trained her well, but she was still eight.

She doesn't waste the advantage I gave her though.

Circling around after dodging the man's strikes, Rhaenys swung and cut across the back of both of her opponent's legs.

When her target fell to the ground, she stepped onto his back and stabbed him.

Meanwhile, I quickly got rid of the other four with different methods and skills.

Not allowing them time to reconsider their initial response to fight us and force me to pursue them through the streets.

That encounter was really annoying.

Regardless, after we finished our job, I tore apart the house, looting everything I could.

Tearing up the bedding and using my inventory yielded plenty of string for me to use.

Too bad I couldn't really make any traps for now.

The Wildfire weren't fit to be used inside a slum like Flea Bottom without causing a catastrophic tragedy.

Something to work on later with Mott and Hallyne, I guess, after they completed my current projects.

I was, though, capable of crafting longbows of great quality since wood wasn't that much of a trouble for me to acquire.

Now I just needed a trusty supply of materials to mass produce arrows.

Though I could scavenge a few quills here and there, I still needed a reliable source of flint.

Damn it.

I could even flake bolts and arrowheads from obsidian if I could find any chips large enough.

Looks like I will have to wait for the proper opportunity to mine Dragonstone.

As I sigh and stare down at one of the bodies, I am reminded of something.

He was armed with a bow, and had metal arrowheads before I looted him.

I used OBSERVE on them and held my breath.

Amazing, just as it had worked with food before, I gained the recipe for crafting objects like metal bolts and arrowheads.

An ingot, stick, feather and I got a set of ammunition.

I considered the bodies for a moment, then shrugged and tried placing one of them in my INVENTORY.

Huh.

That worked.

With a new option as a result.

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO BREAK IT DOWN?]

[YES/NO]

After selecting to break it down, it granted me several Bones and a lot of Human Meat chunks.

Well now I know how to avoid anything similar in the future.

That was really neat.

My INVENTORY could automatically process bodies.

That was definitely going to be incredibly useful since I would undoubtedly continue to kill lots of people.

I quickly stored and broke down the other bodies before ordering Rhaenys to leave with me.

A trail of fresh blood still tainted everywhere as I walked around.

Using Thaumaturgy, my legend as The Stranger would continue to freak the criminals of King's Landing.

You see, leaving behind a trail of carnage would lead me only to completely scare away my prey.

But the absence of proof in the places I raided would make it mysterious enough to scare the small fries while leaving the higher ranked criminals to either work by boldly exploring the vacuum I was leaving, or actively attempting to hunt me back.

I spared a moment to check if my follower was fine.

Rhaenys was very exhausted, but nothing beyond that.

I had sustained some injuries mostly to Level Up my Damage and Pain Tolerance skill, but not much though, with a quick bite I could heal right up anything too severe since I didn't want to make Rhaenys too worried about me.

The XP I gained by killing in the real world was totally worth the endeavor, completely compensating for the lack of XP in the Magical Dungeon on the Red Keep.

"In case I haven't emphasized it enough, on Planetos, it's might that makes one right." I said, giving her another piece of knowledge for her to internalize.

Rhaenys nodded, by now being completely loyal to me.

I suddenly noticed something different about her.

Sniffing the air around her, I ask. "You're smelling different."

"I-I do?" She stuttered a little.

"Yes, but it doesn't seem to be perfume." I pointed it out, having been around Cersei for enough time to know basically everything about it.

"Oh! It's part of my training." Rhaenys recalled. "Varys taught me how to produce something to hide my natural smell from simple materials. It's supposed to help me with disguising myself."

"I see. Speaking of it, how's your training with the Spider progressing?" I finally asked about the first solo mission I gave her.

"Well enough." She replied. "He trusts me enough to explain how he managed to raise and operate his own network of spies."

"Good. And what about his interest in me?" I questioned, knowing that Varys had noticed that we began talking to one another during our lessons with Pycelle.

"He's intrigued by how I manage to draw your attention." Rhaenys revealed. "Being a little worried that I was beginning to grow… attached to you."

"Truly? He must be worried that I might influence you to not follow the mummer's Dragon." I mused with a small pause she had grown used to, believing it was my way of showing interest.

"Yes."

"And what was your response?" I asked, already knowing the answer since I've been stalking most of her meetings with the Spider.

"I-I lied to him, telling him that I was befriending you in order to manipulate you to side with me when the time comes." She spoke honestly.

"I see. Good thinking." I told her, patting her on the head.

"T-thanks." Rhaenys replied, trying her best to hide the small blush from appearing on her dark skinned cheeks.

=================================

"So you were having nightmares?" I questioned with a whisper after casting Message and pointing at her.

Handing her another one of my special meals through a subtle use of Mage Hand, as she awaited on the other rooftop from the other side of the street, I awaited her answer.

"I wouldn't call it a nightmare. It wasn't frightening or unpleasant, just… intense." Rhaenys told me while staring at her hands. "At first, my hands shook at the mere thought of taking a life. Almost as if I was murdering my own mother."

I nodded in understanding, scratching Shadow's head as she purred before handing to her a small fish I had stored.

"Then, I got eager to improve, having bad dreams about failing to defend her. Only thinking about killing the Mountain whenever I get the chance." Rhaenys continued, her eyes now gleaming with seriousness.

"Planning on taking his life as soon as he comes to King's Landing?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.

Rhaenys shook her head. "Only if you command me to. You see… before knowing you, I had so many stupid ideas for my future. Worst part was that, somewhere deep inside me, I knew they were stupid, even if I did not admitted. Can you understand? Not having a dream… not being needed by anyone that did not really care for you?… the pain of merely being alive."

"Can't say that I have." I answered honestly.

"At first I thought my little brother needed me, and that Varys would lead me to him." She inspected the knife Varys gave to her and recalled all the lessons she had taken from the eunuch. "But even if that boy being raised in Essos was really him, I can't be sure he would remember me, much less actually care for me."

I remained silent, giving her room to voice all her thoughts while keeping Message casted.

"You, Durrandon… you are someone precious to me now. I want to make your dreams come true. And for that I will become as strong as you need me to be." Rhaenys told me, her face clearly showing how serious she was.

I jumped towards the rooftop where she was standing, and opened my arms for a hug. "Oh my sweet, Rhaenys. You're not a tool to me. I care about your dreams as well."

My words to her were so effective that tears began falling from her eyes as she rushed to hug me.

Funnily enough, this kind of moment wasn't meaningless nor out of place for us amidst the constant bloodbaths we found ourselves in.

=================================

289 AFTER AEGON'S CONQUEST

As I dedicated myself to finally make a breakthrough with the scrolls the Alchemists Guild had provided me, struggling a little to understand its clever and complex use of ancient alphabets, with a tricky numerical substitution and language shifts, someone knocked on my door.

"Yes?" I asked for the soldiers guarding my bedroom's door.

"It's Lady Arryn, my Prince." One of the soldiers announced.

"Let her in." I said, organizing my messy table before rearranging the scrolls in piles establishing my progress.

"Don…" Alysse said coming through the door. "Yesterday you spent the day exercising on the training yard, now you're shutting yourself up here again?"

"Oh, you got me." I smiled at her, knowing it has been a while since we haven't spent some time together. "I was just handling some interesting paperwork I've happened to come across. I still have a lot of work to do."

Walking near me, Alysse saw that I was speaking the truth. Over my table she saw the encrypted journals of previous Grand Masters of the Guild, their words lost since before Aegon's Conquest.

"Are you eating enough?" She asked, genuinely worried about me as she massaged my shoulder. "Sleeping enough?"

"As much as my body requires." I replied, not exactly lying to her despite not actually needing both things, I still benefited greatly from the former's buffs and the latter as a meditation break. "I ate two hours ago and took a fifteen-minute nap."

Shifting my head to look at her standing besides me, I noticed that she had a cute blush due to the proximity of our faces.

"T-that's fine, then." Alysse stuttered a little as she stopped to massage my shoulders. Clearing her throat, she finally revealed the reason she had come to visit me. "Here's something Pycelle requested me to deliver to you."

"Oh, thanks…" I took the small scroll, noticing it was what I had asked him to get me from the Citadel. Nothing too important to either be denied or making anyone suspicious, but extremely helpful to decipher the long forgotten Alchemist code. "Pycelle didn't need to make you walk all the way here. If he had just sent Shadow with a note, I would've come to get it."

"So you say, but would you really have come?" Alysse said with a sad expression. "You've bȧrėly come to visit us this month, so I asked Pycelle to allow me to come check on you."

"I'm glad you did." I replied looking her in the eyes, immediately making her blush.

You see, when we first met, Alysse already thought my hair and eyes were cute, but now she could bȧrėly resist me when looking at me.

As she moved to open the curtains of my room, I asked remembering about something.

"How's the festival looking?" I questioned from my seat.

"Your father seems to be going all out, he has ȧssigned the Master of Coin to make everything ready for the tourney during your name day."

"At least I can count on him to take the opportunity to make a lavish party." I chuckled before thinking. 'Even though celebrating my name day is hardly part of his top priorities by now.'

"If you forgive me, I fear he might me spending too much with his tourneys." Alysse pointed out, not knowing that was exactly what I was thinking.

"Indeed." I replied before baiting her. "Good thing the Master of Coin is such a competent and loyal servant of the Crown, otherwise I doubt my father would be getting his festivals, especially with the entire world still not completely recovered from the sudden change of the seasons. Did you know his family has roots from Braavos, just like my Fencer instructor?"

"Yes… competent." Alysse repeated my first words while getting lost in her thoughts.

Although we hadn't been spending enough time together, I acted from the shadows and led her to begin suspecting about her Stepmother and Baelish's secret affair.

I had even made her notice some shady things the Master of Coin has been doing, like beginning to make loans to my Father's name twice as expensive as what he had been providing the Crown with.

In other words, overbilling it and slowly but surely burying the Iron Throne in debt to my Grandfather and the Iron Bank of Braavos.

"Hey Alysse, with the festivities of my Name Day coming, I wondered, would you accept to join my Party?"

Not my most subtle choice of words, I know, but still very effective once I heard her reply.

"Yes, of course I would." Alysse said, a little confused.

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED A PARTY MEMBER!]

"You should take a break for the next few days and enjoy your coming Name Day." Alysse finally came out of her confusion and suggested it to me.

"Will do." I ȧssured her.

"Alright then." She gave me a polite bow and made a move to leave, disappointment clear on her face.

"Alysse?" I called her name, prompting her to quickly turn to face me.

"Y-yes?"

"Would you mind lending me a hand with putting my siblings to sleep?"

She smiled gently. "Not at all!"

=================================

At the Red Keep, inside my half-siblings' bedchamber.

Alysse laughed at how tightly Joanna hugged me. "She really likes you."

"You think?" I chuckled, kissing my little Joanna on the cheek, making her smile.

"Another song, Don." Alysse asked with a happy face as I admired her sky blue eyes.

"Yes, please." Lann joined in, still enjoying the story I've told them, regardless of how he attempted to hide it.

"Another?" I questioned, having spent almost an hour trying to put the twins to sleep.

"Pretty please." Joanna used her infamous cute face to convince me.

"Alright, alright." I smiled. "But after that you two will rest."

"Deal." Lann answered, being adamant about keeping his word.

Both Joanna and Allyse nodded, the latter forgetting that she came to aid me.

"Okay…" I said before playing my lute, turning to look at Lann I sang. "Heeey broother, there's a endless road to be discovered."

I saw that my young half-brother was glad at my words.

"Heeeey sister, know that water is sweet but blood is thicker."

Joanna was mesmerized by my words.

Now shifting to look at both of them. "Ooooh, if the sky comes falling down, for you…" I smiled at them. "…there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do."

Joanna actually clapped for me.

"Heeeey brother, do you still believe in one another?"

"Hey sister, do you still believe in love I wonder?"

"Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do!"

Now rockin the fingerstyle, I continue. "What if I'm far from home? Oh, brother, I will hear you call! What if you lose it all? Oh, sister, I will help you out.

I signaled for them to sing this time, with Alysse following along, to Joanna's slight annoyance.

"Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do."

I now join them with a more up beat rhythm.

"Hey brother, there's an endless road to rediscover. Hey sister, do you still believe in love I wonder? Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do."

Signaling for them to go to bed, I continued with a more delicate melody, almost cheering in success after seeing them finally yawning.

"What if you're far from home? Oh, brother, I will hear your call. What if you lose it all? Oh, sister, I will help you out. Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do!"

Smiling from ear to ear, I pulled both of my half-siblings' blankets and left their room with Alysse without making a sound.

As I closed the door, I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at Alysse. "Thanks for the help back there."

The daughter of the hand gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Don. I was just having such a good time hearing your wonderful tales and songs. You're so creative, I'm sure most artists couldn't Hope to compare to you."

"You flatter me, Lady Arryn." I replied with a casual bow. "I was expecting to await a few more years, but with your words of encouragement, I will be hitting the road to entertain the masses by dawn."

"Oh stop it." Alysse rolled her eyes with a gentle smile. "I've known you long enough to know that you aren't a boy that would compromise with a single path. I know you love both fighting and studying."

"Passion shouldn't be mistaken with love, my dear. While the sword and book you often see in my hands could be mistaken as my arm and head, it is the art that helps my heart to continue beating." I teased her with the poetry I knew would leave her breathless for a brief moment.

"Oh, Don, it's a good life we lead." She said, bringing her hands together and lowering her head. "I mean, you and me, here in this castle."

"The best." I grasp her shoulders to sweep her off her feet. "Although I'm sure it's bound to change, I hope it never changes us. Don't you agree?"

"Y-yes… I do." Alysse replied with a sweet expression.

"It's already late." I finally said before kissing her hand. "Good night, my lady."

"Good night for you too, my Prince."

I leave her with a charming smile that even Chataya said was really hard to resist, and I'm positive that's saying something.

=================================

Meanwhile, since Varys wasn't the only one to notice my recent proximity with Rhaenys, everyone began telling me to be wary of her.

The thing father disliked even more than my Valyrian features was the possibility of having the daughter of his hated enemy, become Queen.

Even mother joined Robert's side, now finally supporting my initial request of becoming ward to Tywin Lannister after my sixth name day.

Cersei was hopeful that I would eventually become more willing to marry someone from House Lannister, possibly one of the daughters of Lord Stafford, Lord of Lannisport.

As for the other players, they knew our proximity was something to be cautious about.

Thanks to Rhaenys, Varys wouldn't be much of an obstacle for now, though I knew the same couldn't be said for the Master of Coin.

Petyr Baelish thrived amidst conflict, and the Crown Prince becoming friends with one member of the previous ruling house wouldn't allow him to climb his chaotic ladder.

If not for his unpredictability, I would have considered keeping him as an indirect ally similar to Varys.

Perhaps having him mentoring Alysse just like he did with the original Sansa.

But contrary to the redhead Stark, the gentle Arryn wasn't gentle because of naivety.

Despite some external influence attempting to turn her against me, even going as far as to suggest that Rhaenys was stealing me from her, Alysse remained loyal while reassuring that she only wanted me to be happy.

Quite noble for a twelve years old.

If not a little indicative of self-esteem issues beneath her overlaying personality, seeing herself as inferior to others in both appearance and personality.

That led me to the idea of dropping hints without interfering for Alysse about Baelish and Lyssa's secret affair, and his schemes.

Something that would serve as a grindstone to help sharpen her cunning and fuel to make her enjoy The Game of Thrones.

The term applied to the politics and machinations of the nobles and rulers of Westeros.

Politics here were an incredibly complicated "game" or "dance" of intrigue, seduction, ambition and scandal, an approach to politics, high culture and morality that was quintessential to Westerosi culture.

The political and familial infighting that characterized the Game of Thrones was as if they were donning masks and playing their roles: indeed, this habit was also an intrinsic part of the Game of Thrones in its most metaphorical form.

Westeros presented a veneer of opulence, but the aristocracy were committed to a System of social one-upmanship.

Sprawling receptions delight friend and foe, while the players struck from the shadows with manipulation, larceny, and even ȧssassination, to the dismay of their targets.

Jon Arryn and Ned Stark are good and honorable men, but they disdain the Game and those who play it.

Individuals like Tyrion and Cersei actually enjoyed it, but none played it better than both Littlefinger and The Spider.

Since I was shaping Rhaenys to eventually become a better Spymaster than Varys, I sowed the seeds for Alysse to grow into a better player than Baelish could ever hope to be.

My Sun and Moon, if you will.

…

Gotta come up with some awesome nicknames for them, before lame ones caught on.

While I taught Rhaenys everything Syrio taught me about the Braavosi Water Dance, flowing masterfully between movements, as it befits a descendant of the Rhoynar, I made sure Alysse memorized everything I got from Pycelle and all the other Maesters he called to tutor me on specific subjects.

This was not only possible because of my high level TEACH skill, but thanks to how the System worked for making them part of my Party.

Curiously, the Party System also worked retrospectively to reward all the hard work she had put on learning everything I taught her, making her and Rhaenys almost equal in their overall level.

Which perfectly suited my following plans for her.

=================================

TITLE : Durrandon Baratheon (Crown Prince)

LEVEL: 20 (1267/2000)

HP: 200/200

SP: 200/200

MP: 20/20*

MANA CONTROL: 100%

ALLEGIANCE: The Iron Throne

PWR: <25>

END: <27>

MOB: <28>

INT: <30>

STL: <25>

DEF: 25* (Castle-Forged Brigandine)

MAG: 20*

STAT POINTS: 0

PERK POINTS: 6

SKILLS: ~open list~

PERKS: ~ list~ [Player's Mind/ Mental Map/ Healer/ Linguist/ Observant/ Sleep is for the Dead]

TIME PLAYED: 5 years

MONEY: 18,015 GOLD/ 867 SILVER/ 1,056 COPPER/ 1000 nc

($) MARKET

———————————————————

(04/10/2021)

*Hope this chapter is of your liking.

Anything you wish to ask, feel free to do so.

Check out my auxiliary chapter if you still haven't.

Thanks as always for your attention and please be safe.

Any problems with my writing, just point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible.