[3rd POV]
Walking into the lands of the true Castle of Winterfell, Lucifer instantly noticed the difference between the castle and the lands outside. The lands inside of the castle seemed to give off an ancient energy, very very old.
It was thousands of years old, and a lot of the wear and tear regarding the castle was showing. Lucifer could feel and see the ancient runes inscribed around the castle, unseen to those that did not know anything about what they were looking at.
Lucifer also noticed that they were being watched. The guards of House Stark were watching her and Alice like hawks, making sure that neither of them did anything....foolish.
"So this is Winterfell? It's a bit...underwhelming, isn't it?" Alice asked, as Lucifer couldn't help but agree. The castle was pretty unassuming besides the ancient runes and the fact that the castle itself was older than most of the other families that currently had so much power over Westeros.
"It is. But it does have it's...charm. Ancient as it may be" Lucifer replied with a small smile, as Daenerys was also looking around. She had noticed the walls were falling apart, and one of the towers was actively falling apart.
It was pretty clear that the castle was not running very well, and it was only a matter of time before it would start to become too much to ignore.
Continuing to glance around the place for a bit longer, Lucifer soon turned to a figure that was walking towards them. The figure in question made her eyebrow raise, as she realized who the man was.
It was Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, and Warden of the North.
She had not been expecting him to come to her himself, and was fully expecting that she would have to go out of her way in order to talk with him. She needed to speak with him about the way his wife has been treating his nephew/adopted son.
She also needed to speak with the man about the Nights Watch, and perhaps help the North a little with some of their glaring issues. Like the fact that they're so poor that they could barely run their own lands.
And they were heavily reliant on the South for food. Something that would continue to be a bigger and bigger issue, especially once another War breaks out between the North and the South. The main one that was an issue should this come to be, was of course, the Reach.
They sold a majority of their food to the North, and it was the North that they made most of their riches from. They literally profited off of the desperation of the North, and charged exorbitant amounts. It was honestly a miracle that the North was still surviving at this point, with the lack of food and proper infrastructure.
"Lord Stark, it is an honor to meet you" Lucifer said, giving the man a small nod. The man, who had been approaching, stilled when he heard her words. He looked surprised that she knew who he was.
"Surprised I know who you are?" Lucifer asked, as the man stood in front of her before speaking.
"Aye, Miss..." "Lucifer, you may call me Lucifer" "Aye Miss Lucifer" Eddard replied, getting confirmation on her name.
"And this is Alice, my companion. As well as the little one, whose name is Dany" Lucifer said, introducing the man to her wife and the child. The two of them did a similar motion to what Lucifer had done, while also giving him greetings.
Daenerys was a lot more tense than Alice had been, as she had a bright smile on her face upon looking at the man. Eddard looked a little uncomfortable with a smile, before turning to Lucifer.
"What are you doing here, Lady Lucifer? My men have told me that you have been standing about?" Eddard asked, staring at the woman. He would normally have them deal with it, but something about this was...different.
The guards spoke of her in almost fearful manners, as if they were instinctively afraid of Lucifer. And in this case, they quite literally were.
"I actually am here to speak with you! Well, that and see one of the most ancient castles in Westeros in person, of course" Lucifer replied, her smile still cleanly on her face. No discomfort shown at all.
Eddard raised an eyebrow at the response.
"And may I ask what you wished to speak with me about? It is unusual for common folk to wish to speak with a Lord in such a manner" Eddard asked. Had this been any other Lord from farther South, they would have likely already punished her for the casual speak.
But Eddard was not from the South, and thus, had self control.
"Who said that I am a common folk? In fact, I am a bit of a...Lord of sorts, from Essos. And I have come here to speak of investing in the North" Lucifer answered the man, who looked at her with even more surprise.
"Invest? Perhaps...we should take this to my cellar" Eddard responded, realizing that if this was truly about investing, then it needed to be kept quiet.
"Until then, Lady Alice and Lady Dany can explore the castle. I just ask that you keep out of the Godswood" Eddard continued, not missing the flash of excitement in Alice's eyes as she beamed.
"Thank you Lord Stark! And we'll make sure to stay away from there" Alice said, as she felt Daenerys's hand still gripping her own, albeit tighter. It would seem that she was a bit uncomfortable still, unused to being near one of the people that were responsible for the fall of her family.
Even if he was the least guilty of them all, and did not deserve any of the blame, as what he did was valid.
"Thank you, Lord Stark. You two can go ahead and explore while Lord Stark and I go and talk about some business" Lucifer said, turning to the two as Alice and Daenerys nodded. Alice's excitement was clear, while Daenerys was a bit more reserved in her interest.
With that, she watched the two run off, while she followed after Ned.
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Within Ned's office, she sat across from the man.
"You wish to invest...why?" Ned asked, looking up at her. This was the first thing he said since they got into the room, and was far and away the easiest question to answer.
"Because the North has potential, Lord Stark. It has monumental amounts of potential that have been completely and utterly underutilized. You have by far the largest lands in Westeros, and therefore, have the most resources. It is only due to your lack of proper infrastructure and development that you have not far surpassed the others" Lucifer explained, as she brought out a piece of paper from her pocket.
It was one she had just made with ease.
She slid the paper over to a confused Ned, as he looked it over, realizing it was a map. And on the map was the entirety of the North, expertly painted. He had to admit that it was incredible, and he also noticed the markers on the map.
They were all x's, but each were a different color.
"The x's are the markers for mineable areas. Each x has a different color. Yellow is a Gold mine, the white is for silver, the grey is for iron. The x's with multiple colors are mines with multiple types inside. And the black x's are ones that are gem mines and not a metal" Lucifer explained, the mans eyes shooting wide at the explanation.
"T-That cannot be! There must be dozens, if not hundreds of mines. And not a single one is the existing mines we have. How did you get this information? How can I know it is legitimate" Ned asked, staring at her.
"You can't know it's legitimate, you'll just have to trust me on that. But trust me, with all of those possible mines, you'll have the ability to surpass the Lannisters in no time at all" Lucifer replied with a calm smile on her face.
"...What does this have to do with investing?"
"It's simple. I will provide you with the money needed and the workers needed in order to begin mining. And before you ask, no, these workers are not slaves. They are experts at mining and areas in relation" Lucifer answered, inwardly grinning as she saw the look on Ned's face.
It was a face of acceptance. And while she didn't even really need the money this could makes her, it would still be fun!
With that in mind, Lucifer looked back at the man intently, and spoke.
"So...how about we make a deal?"
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That's the end of the chapter!
Anyways, have a good day!