[Chapter Size: 2400 Words.]
Third Person POV.
Riverrun.
...
...
"I never imagined I would find you here. Lady Stark… but I must say you are not as beautiful as before," Daemon said simply.
The group grew completely tense, and the woman's first action was to take a step back. Val and Ygritte looked at Daemon in surprise, then their eyes turned to the hooded woman, trying to identify that figure who should have been dead, since the information about her had not gone unnoticed after Daemon had told them his story in Winterfell.
Someone stepped forward; he had an eyepatch. "She is no longer Lady Stark, Your Majesty," the man said carefully, seeming afraid of what Daemon might do to her. But Daemon ignored him.
"She is still there, somewhere inside this walking corpse. She is still Catelyn Stark, I can feel her," Daemon said simply.
"Please, my lord, I beg you not to harm her. She has already died..." The man known as Thoros of Myr stepped forward, practically pleading. He knew they could not deal with that monster.
Ygritte prepared her bow, Lafy and Val grabbed their swords, but Daemon raised his hand for them to stand down. Then he dismounted his horse and advanced with calm steps.
"I will not kill her. I do not intend to do that," Daemon said, never taking his eyes off Lady Stoneheart. He stopped at a certain distance, and the group did not seem to calm because of it. The tension in the air filled the entire clearing. The men looked at one another, uncertain of what to do, while Daemon merely stared at the woman, who could not bring herself to look him in the eyes.
"Hm? Lady Stark, do not be a coward now. Face me as you used to when I was just a child, the way you looked at me as if I were the worst plague in the world..." Daemon said. Even if she was some kind of zombie, he would finally have the chance to say what he had thought ever since his childhood in Winterfell.
The woman could not respond. This sparked a flash of anger in Daemon, and not even she managed to face him.
Without warning, he raised his hand. In the next moment, the woman was ripped from the ground, choked by her own neck, an invisible force pulling her upward as she let out a sound of surprise and choking. Everyone took a step back when they saw her begin to float in the air.
"It is disappointing that you now begin to act like a coward. Face me now, Lady Stark. I am disappointed that you cannot even do that, even after you have become a dreadful zombie... It is disappointing that you are still a coward who lacks the courage to face your own actions in life," Daemon said, while the woman continued to make choking sounds, seeming to suffocate.
"Please, do not kill her..." the men around murmured, but none of them had the courage to raise their weapons to stop Daemon.
Daemon remained for a few more seconds before releasing her, with Lady Stoneheart crashing to the ground with a thud and beginning to cough, making strange sounds because of the cut in her throat, inflicted at the moment of her death.
She lifted her gaze, and that was when Daemon met her eyes. That alone told him she was still there, somewhere.
"In the end, you became a pathetic creature," Daemon mocked. He could have a thousand ways to deal with her: kill her cruelly, steal her soul, or even summon a prince and ask him to torture her for eternity. He was sure some would be more than willing to do so for the right price.
But he, analyzing that woman — or rather, that thing — knew she was in a horrific state, so why wouldn't he let her continue living as that monster?
That was everything Lady Stark repudiated in her memories: a grotesque, magical, and dark creature. The beauty of the former Lady Stark had become nothing more than an old memory when looking at that being, the corpse of a woman who had rotted for days before being resurrected with necromantic powers. An abomination of nature and against everything she had believed in during life. Any servant of the Seven would condemn her as the worst kind of monster in existence.
Why should he interrupt that by granting her a quick death? She had treated him like trash, but she also did not deserve to have her soul denied. Daemon reserved that kind of punishment for worse people.
Lord Stark and Lady Stark had always been something personal to him. Being cold, being hungry, being rejected, being denied… it was a horrible feeling. Daemon would remember that for the rest of his life. But he was already condemning those responsible, and now the last of them did not even truly need his condemnation; she had found it on her own.
"I will not kill you," Daemon said. "But remember this. Remember every moment you enjoyed humiliating and mistreating the child you believed to be illegitimate in Winterfell. How you enjoyed making his life a living hell." Daemon spoke in a dry tone. "You found the perfect punishment for yourself: crawling across this land as the horrible creature you are. I must admit your appearance now better matches your actions in life. Your own gods turned you into this."
Daemon continued, speaking openly, while the creature seemed frightened, and the men around looked uncomfortable with each of his words.
His eyes then turned to the group for the first time, since he had not taken them off Lady Stark since he arrived.
"And what do we have here? Who are you, and what do you fight for?" Daemon asked calmly, as Lady Stark began to rise.
That man with the eyepatch spoke again. "My name is Beric Dondarrion. And we are the Brotherhood Without Banners. We came to the Riverlands to stop the Mountain and his lackeys, summoned by Lord Stark, Hand of the King at the time,"
"While we were trying to track down the Mountain and prevent a war between the Lannisters and the Starks, we heard the news that the giant had fallen… a man who could turn into a wolf." Obviously, he was referring to Daemon himself.
"The same man who brought down the Mountain later defeated Robb Stark with fifty men, then destroyed two castles, stole the treasuries of the Citadel and the Lannisters, disappeared… and now returned as Daemon Targaryen, with an army beyond the Wall. He conquered the North, destroyed the Greyjoys, executed Balon Greyjoy, and now rules the Riverlands," he said.
Daemon merely nodded. "You are well informed," he said calmly, but with an ironic tone, as if it were not difficult information to obtain.
"And now, what do you fight for?" Daemon asked again.
"The flames showed me a war of ice and fire," Thoros began.
"So you are one of those damned worshippers of this world's Fire God," Daemon said, remembering that woman in red who had desperately tried to kill him.
The man flinched, but Daemon continued.
"I know the war you are talking about. You are speaking of the war against the White Walkers, or the Long Night, if you prefer to call it that. I have seen the size of their army. Either way, that same army is marching toward the Wall. I am gathering all the kingdoms to fight this enemy, through my right to the Throne and the right of my wife."
"Either way, I know you were trying to get in touch with us, but did not know how to approach the army. That is why you are so close to Riverrun," Daemon began. "If you wish to take part in this war, go North. I will not force you to join me here in the south."
Daemon did not find that group of men particularly interesting. Still, if they wished to go to the Wall to help, men with honor were needed there. More than three thousand had recently been added after losses in battles against Daemon, not to mention the Ironborn who would also be sent after the fall of Pyke.
Daemon simply turned away. "We have nothing more to do here," he said, but stopped, glancing sideways, his face turned toward Lady Stark, who was now standing.
"I want you to live your life, Lady Stark, miserable as it may be, remembering your mistakes. I could kill you, I could take your soul and do things far worse, but seeing you like this is already enough for me. Your cruelty led you to this. I want you to remember that and continue being this creature crawling across this land."
Daemon did not hide the resentment he held for her and simply returned to his horse, mounting it and turning around. His companions did the same, despite uncertain looks and the desire to say something. No one spoke, and they departed with Daemon leading.
It was only when they reached Riverrun again that Ygritte finally broke the group's silence.
"You left her like that? That woman almost killed you when you were a child. You hated her," Ygritte asked.
"That is true. But death is not always the answer to everything. Killing her would be like freeing her from what she became, and I am quite satisfied seeing her as the kind of monster she turned into."
Obviously, it did not end there. Daemon said this without showing any further expression, but he also gave no more explanations.
Upon arriving at the castle, Daemon summoned Lord Stark and his son and said that he had found the woman's corpse wandering through the forest, resurrected by the Fire God through a red priest. This left both of them stunned, and they quickly departed for the location he had marked on the map.
It was late in the day when Lord Stark returned. The euphoria had turned into a downcast expression, his eyes filled with regret. Daemon said nothing about it, merely shrugged. He had done his part by warning them; the suffering that this would cause Catelyn's husband and son was not his problem.
Lord Stark did not exchange a single word with anyone that night. Robb seemed deeply disturbed. Daemon knew that they had done nothing to Lady Stark, but they had a very emotional encounter. He followed them with his eyes in other forms and saw when she became frightened and fled upon seeing Lord Stark. Even so, he went after her. There was only shame and fear in the creature's eyes.
If there was any punishment greater than that — the shame and fear of facing the people she had loved in life and seeing herself transformed into that creature — Daemon did not know it. That was far better than anything else he had in mind to deal with her. In any case, another night had passed in Riverrun, and Daemon gathered everyone the next day.
It was time to begin organizing to march in the coming days.
"The time has come for us to start acting. I will go to Stannis and others tomorrow to speak personally about our plans and also about the new threat. In the meantime, I want Val leading the free folk to the West, and Lord Stark will lead the Northmen. I will also leave Mance in charge of the men marching south through the Riverlands before we advance on King's Landing."
Daemon spoke. The strategy was simple: two sieges advancing on King's Landing, one from the north and one from the east. Meanwhile, the West would also receive two sieges: one coming by ship at sea, with seven thousand men attacking along the coast, while others would destroy the Golden Tooth with Daemon's help and march to take the Lannister lands.
Daemon would fly between the armies, able to move easily thanks to his dragon. He would travel fast and would not fear the southern army coming with Blackfyre.
He could easily reach wherever the attack would come from, and he was monitoring everyone through his warg abilities. Daemon was the most powerful warg alive at the moment, capable of controlling up to a hundred birds. Bran could surpass him, but only in the future.
With that, Daemon would have real-time information, watching and listening to all his enemies as he wished. It was an ability he certainly wished he had developed in Skyrim; he remembered how much it would have made many things easier. Having spies in the eyes of birds would avoid ambushes, map the territory, and even allow him to overhear the enemies' plans.
The meeting ended, and the lords were given some time to rest, while the soldiers handled logistics, preparing to depart.
Daemon went to Stannis, spoke with him, and explained the situation. Stannis nodded along with his advisors about the status quo. Daemon spoke about the scout camps that were positioned at a distance, pointing each one out on the map after having mapped them with his birds.
Stannis only needed to send groups to eliminate them, denying any information to the Lannisters, who must already have been growing nervous with each passing moment.
House Blackwood, House Mallister, House Bracken, House Piper, House Vance of Atranta, House Vance of Wayfarer's Rest, and House Darry also sent their men, and all knelt upon arriving at the castle; all were in favor of Daemon as king. Jon gathered another six thousand riverlanders to march with the North toward King's Landing.
Daemon received Brynden's response, and he had no choice but to join Lord Stark in marching against King's Landing with other lords of the realm who had joined the cause, if he wished to save his family. Daemon was even willing to give the castle of Riverrun to Bran, and he would do so if Edmure did not come out of this conflict alive.
Rickon could also take control of the Stormlands, marrying Shireen. The family still shared his blood, and Daemon was inclined to believe in their loyalty, even with the father going to the Wall, still spared when Daemon could have killed him.
In this way, he would be able to stabilize most of the realms and destroy those who deserved it. Daemon could stabilize the North, the Riverlands, and the Stormlands with this. He still did not know what to think of the Vale; he would have to see personally why it remained so neutral amid so many wars. But he was certain about what to do with the West, the Reach, and Dorne.
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