Asha Greyjoy POV
"And this is your room." Melisandre said as she opened the door and presented the room to her.
She observed the room and noted that it was larger than the one that she had in Pyke or Ten Towers. While Dragonstone wasn't the largest castle in Westeros by any measure, it once used to be the home of the Targaryens, and that showed.
The room had a hearth, a bed, a table and chair, a chamber pot at the corner, a wardrobe, and a few other amenities.
It was to be her golden cage.
"It'll do." She said and Melisandre nodded in acknowledgement.
"The room beside yours is mine. And the room beside that one belongs to Prince Stephen. If you require anything else then you may contact either of us. Additionally, you'll receive an allowance of 10 gold dragons every moon. Use it wisely."
"10 gold dragons." She uttered in disbelief before she managed to retain her composure.
10 gold dragons was a lot of money. Back in Harlaw, her uncle provided her with 2 gold dragons every moon. And in Pyke, her father gave her only 1 gold dragon. Ironic, considering how her father, the King, was poorer and more miserly than her uncle.
Nevertheless… if she saved all her allowance, then she'll have enough gold to buy a rusty old cog and escape this place by the end of the year.
'And go where?' A part of her asked and she inwardly sighed as she realised that she really had nowhere else to go.
Westeros would be barred for her. And she knew very little about Essos to be successful there. In fact, she would be lucky if her crew didn't betray her and sell her to the slavers the first chance they got, and that's, if she could even assemble a crew in the first place.
In the Iron Islands, she was a princess. People back there knew and respected her. She would've faced little problem in gathering enough people to men a ship back there.
However, the situation was not the same here. These people didn't know her, and those who knew her, looked down upon her heritage. Furthermore, she was a woman, 'a lady', the weaker sex, and the people here would be hesitant in following her.
No, escaping this place would not be easy, if even possible. So for now… she'll just have to find a way to tolerate these people.
"It'll do." She told Melisandre who had an amused look on her face. As if the woman was able to read her mind and surmise her intentions. It left her feeing rather uncomfortable.
And was it just her or did that shadow in the corner of the room just moved? …must've been her imagination.
"I'll have the servants send your luggage to this room." Melisandre said as she turned to leave before she paused. "You may rest if you want but don't sleep for too long. A feast is being held this evening. And as a new ward of Lord Stannis, you'll be expected to attend."
With those words, Melisandre finally left and she was able to let out a sigh of relief.
The woman made her uneasy for some reason. But now that she was gone, she could finally lay down on the bed and relax.
—
"No." She said, looking at the frilly, colourful, ladylike dress and the female servant sighed.
"My lady. You cannot remain here through the night. This feast is held for your welcome as much as it is for Lord Stannis."
"First of all, I'm not a lady. Second. Still not wearing it."
Spoiler:Asha Greyjoy in her preferred clothes
The servant sighed. "You're being difficult Lady Asha."
"Thank you. That's the sweetest thing you've said to me this night."
"My lady." The servant said, slowly and putting more force in each word this time. "If you do not wear this dress, then I'll have no choice but to tell lady Selyse of your conduct. Do you want her to come here and discipline you?"
A part of seethed with anger at the notion of that screwed-up old bint coming here to 'discipline' her. She was Asha Greyjoy damnit. No one 'disciplined' her.
But another part of her recognised that she was now the Ward of Lord Stannis. And as Stannis' wife, the woman had every right to punish her for any behaviour she deemed 'inappropriate'.
And like hell she'll give give Lady Bitch the satisfaction.
"Fine! Give that thing here." She said and the servant let out a relieved sigh before handing the dress to her.
The gown was large, fluffed out, with no armour padding, and would probably make it hard to move around.
By the drowned gods. Why can't these ladies wear something more practical? Oh, right, because they love to play the damsel in distress so that their 'knights' can come and save them. Fucking damn it!
"Do you need me to help you wearing the gown, my lady?" The servant asked and she scowled.
"I know how to wear my own clothes." She wasn't some useless greenlander brat who didn't know how to wear her own clothes.
"That particular dress is very hard to wear my lady. Are you sure."
"Yes, I'm sure. Now get out." She said, reaching the ends of her patience.
The servant gave her a skeptical look but nodded. "I'll be outside for when you need my help, my lady. Just give me a call." With that the servant left her room and let out an internal scream.
Gods, even the servants here were pompous assholes. Thinking that she'll fail before she'd even begun.
…
Half an hour later, she had to call the servant. Mostly because in trying to wear the dress on her own, she had fallen to the side and ripped it in half.
The servant looked rather unamused at her folly and didn't fail to inform her that the dress was a rather expensive import from Essos.
Regardless, the servant went and brought another dress for her, though this one didn't look as fancy as the previous one.
And this time, she wore it with the servant's help, without any complaints.
And then, she was finally off to join the welcoming feast held in Lord Stannis and her honour.
She hoped that the feast won't turn out to be as much of a disaster as wearing that dress had turned out to be.
—
The feast was a disaster.
The dress was even more uncomfortable to walk around in than she'd previously thought. It constricted her movements, made breathing hard, and she had to walk funny in order to make sure that she doesn't fall face first in front of these greenlanders and embarrass herself.
Despite their initial differences, the female servant had been rather kind to her. She had combed her hair and put some make up on her face to make her more presentable for the feast.
Despite all that, Lady Selyse and her ladies-in-waiting had looked at her like she was kind of amusing animal. A donkey, stomping around while disguising as a lady.
She certainly felt that way.
Some of them had even laughed at her. And it was all she could do to hold back her tears and not run back to her chamber. Like hell she'll give these bitches the satisfaction.
The ladies-in-waiting (who even were these women?) then proceeded to ask her various questions. Some curious, others humiliating.
Like… why the fuck would anyone in their right mind think that the Ironborn mated with seals and dolphins?
She was eventually saved by the arrival of Melisandre who took one look at her, declared her adequate, and asked her to come along.
She had spent the rest of the evening following Melisandre around like a lost duck, and realised just how much influence and power the Red Priestess held in this castle.
Guards and servants moved aside and bowed to the women any time she passed by. And not just the shallow kind of bow that they usually gave to other people. Or the reluctant kind they gave her. But one that was filled with respect and reverence.
The Red Priestess talked with various people who'd arrived to attend the feast. Lords, ladies, ship captains, guild masters, merchants envoys from the Free Cities, and even a Magister of Myr who'd come here to meet Prince Stephen for some reason.
It was a humbling experience for her and gave her a new role model to chase after.
Before this, she never really had a female role model for herself. The only one who even came close was Nymeria Martell who she'd read about in a book in her uncle's library. But now she knew that she wanted to be just as respected as the Red Priestess.
She wanted to talk with lords and ladies and other important people with as much confidence and ease as Melisandre.
She'll probably never be as good as the Red Priestess, but she didn't need to be. She only needed to be competent enough to accomplish her dream. Ultimately, she desired nothing more than to have her own crew, command the ship of her choosing, and navigate the open waters to whatever destination she pleased.
Half an hour after her arrival, Lord Stannis arrived as well, and the feast finally started.
She was seated in the main table, on the left side of Lord Stannis and Lady Selyse. Or Lord Stannis' right side sat the magister who'd come here to make a trade deal of some sort. And beside her was the Red Priestess who seemed like she 'belonged' in the main table, unlike herself.
The food itself was unlike anything she'd ever seen before in her life.
A good portion of the dishes were made of sea food. But it was nothing like what she'd eaten back in the Iron Islands.
The dishes were heavily seasoned with all manner of spices. While the other guests seemed to enjoy the meal, she found the dishes to be excessively spicy for her taste.
The non-seafood dishes were also unique in their own ways. Pizza, hamburgers, noodles, and half a dozen other dishes that she'd never seen or heard of before.
They all tasted rather good, and it wasn't long before her hunger returned with vengeance and she started eating all the food she wanted.
It wasn't until Lady Bitch gave her a disgusted look that she realised she was doing something wrong. Though, she was a little confused about what the old bint expected from her now.
Melisandre came to her rescue once again, explaining that the way she was eating her food was 'inelegant'. She was then given a short course on how to eat 'elegantly' with a spoon, knife, and fork. And it was all she could do to keep another scowl from forming on her face.
Using fork and knife to eat a simple dish? Why the fuck does she have to do that when she can simply grab it with her fingers and stuff it in her mouth.
Lady Melisandre had no explanation aside from 'that's just how it's done'.
As always, these stupid greenlanders found a way to complicate something as simple as eating.
But if she was to live and thrive among them, then she must learn their stupid eccentricities. So she started to follow Lady Melisandre's example in how to properly eat her food
She was still figuring out how to cut the meat properly when the door of the feast hall swung open, causing all the chatter in the hall to come to an abrupt stop. And there, at the doorway, was young man whom guessed was the most handsome creature in all of existence.
The young man wore a black tunic with the symbol of house Baratheon on both sides. That, along with his black hair, blue eyes as well as the faint resemblance to Stannis told her just who exactly he was.
Stephen Baratheon.
Why the hell did no one inform her that he would be this good looking?
Stephen gave a bright and cheerful smile to everyone in the hall and shouted. "Hello everyone!"
The resulting cheer was unlike anything she'd ever heard.
It was as if the entire crowd simply went mad.
Women banged their spoon at their tables. Men stomped their feet and hollered his name in welcome. The guards stomped their spears on the ground and even the servants slowed down in order to cheer for him.
It was as if she was watching a hero return from a dangerous battle.
Hadn't he just simply gone to Braavos for some trade deal?
"It was his first voyage." Melisandre helpfully supplied from the side, a note of pride in her voice, her eyes never leaving the young man. "He sailed from Dragonstone to Gulltown, and from there to White Harbour. From there, he went east and visited Braavos before going to Lorath. Then he returned back to Braavos and sailed South to visit Pentos before he finally made a return to Dragonstone."
That… was mildly impressive. Especially if it was his first voyage. And even more so if he went to make trade deals in those cities instead of a one-time trade like most Ironborn ship captains tend to do.
But… wasn't all this hollering and cheering a bit too much?
These people were acting like he'd just returned form defeating her Uncle Euron and the Iron Fleet all over again.
As if reading her thoughts, Melisandre spoke up once again. "He's just that well-loved and respected by the people of this castle."
She gave a skeptical look to Melisandre but then shook her head and watched as Stephen made his way through the feast hall.
He shook hands with guild masters, kissed female servants on the cheeks, patted the shoulders of common guards, messed up the hair of young boys, complimented the older women, clasped arms with knights, flirted with the younger ladies, and… okay, she was starting to see why everyone liked him so much.
Not only did Stephen not care about social standing and class and treated everyone with care and respect. But he was also extremely charismatic. Knowing exactly the right thing to do and say to lift up someone's mood.
It was strange to her, since she'd never cared for the servants or guards of Pyke. In fact, it was not uncommon for her family members to treat the thralls like dirt. And to take liberty with the maids whenever and however they wanted.
Witnessing a lord- no, a prince, treat servants with such kindness was eye-opening to her. And made her question her own actions in regard to her servants.
Before she knew it, he was at the Dias and… hugging Lord Stannis.
She never thought she'd lived to see the day when someone would hug Lord Stannis. Willingly at that.
To her credit, Lord Stannis looked rather uncomfortable with the hug as well. As if it was a unique concept that he still had trouble understanding.
But eventually, Lord Stannis did return the hug with an awkward one of his own, before the father and son separated.
With that done, Stephen hugged his mother, tickled his little sister until she was a giggling mess, and greeted the magister before finally… he was in front of her.
Her breath hitched as she realised that he looked even more handsome up close than from a distance.
Yeah, he was definitely the most handsome young man she'd ever seen in her entire life. The other good looking boys and men in the Iron Islands didn't even compare.
His deep blue eyes, his thin red lips, his sharp chiseled jaw, his soft and silky hair… And then she was brought out of her thoughts as he took her hand and laid a gentle kiss upon her knuckles, her entire body shivering in delight at the brief touch.
"You must be Lady Asha Greyjoy." He said, taking her hand and tracing the callouses of her palm with his fingertips. He gave her a knowing, mischievous look that held a bit of challenge to it. "It seems that you know your way around a weapon. Wanna spar in the yard sometime?"
She licked her lips, wondering why her mouth felt so dry all of a sudden. Or why her body felt so warm, and her head so dizzy.
But before she could give a reply, Lady Bitch chimed in. "Absolutely not! She is a lady and must learn all about the proper etiquettes of one. She'll not leave until she'd learned all that the Septa needs to teach her. And she'll definitely not go anywhere near the sparring yard."
Her hopes wilted at the sharp words of Lady Bitch but Stephen merely smiled and spoke in a mock whisper. "Don't worry about my mother. She's just cranky because she missed my father. She's be fine by morning. And if the gods are kind, then she might even be pregnant with my future sibling."
Lady Selyse sputtered at his words, her cheeks going red as she side glanced at her husband who didn't seem as amuse by the joke before her eyes focused on her son once again.
"Stephen! That's no way to talk about your mother!"
Stephen for his part, merely grinned at his mother before he took a seat in between her and his mother, taking little Shireen in his lap. The little girl had already eaten her fill of tasty deserts, and lazily lounged on his lap. Staring up at him for attention.
It was... adorable and made her miss Theon, little bugger that he was. She hoped that he was doing better in Winterfell than she was doing here.
The feast lasted for a bit longer, and she made some small talk with Stephen until eventually, the bards started to play their songs.
It took a moment for her to realise that the songs were about Stephen and his victory against the Iron Fleet at the Blackwater Bay.
Anger flared in her heart as the bard described her people as savage barbarians and how Stephen saved the realm by slaughtering the Ironborn with his shining sword.
At first, she thought that the songs were being played on Stephen's behest. That he was mocking her with those songs. But the uncomfortable smile his face and the apologetic look he gave her told her that such wasn't his intention.
Still, her mood was thoroughly ruined after hearing that song. She quickly excused herself from the main table with a complaint about a stomach ache and ran back to her room.
She couldn't have spent more than five minutes on her bed when there was a knock on her door.
"Go away!" She shouted.
"Asha, it's me, Stephen. Open the door."
"Leave me alone!"
"Asha, I just want to talk to you."
"Well, I don't want to talk to you. Go away!"
"Asha, if this is about the song, then I'm sorry. I didn't knew that the bard would play that song."
"I don't care." She shouted back. "Let me sleep."
"Very well then. If you're not going to open the door then I'm going to break it. At the count of 5."
"What? No! I'm… I'm naked. I'm changing my dress."
"That's even better!" Stephen's laughed. "I'm coming in at 3."
"3…"
"Wait. Don't break the door!"
"2…"
"Hold on. I'm coming, you asshole."
"1…"
She opened the door and saw Stephen standing on the side, leaning against the wall with an amused smile on his face. Her heart beat a little faster once again at the sight of his perfectly handsome face.
"You were never planned on breaking the door, did you?" She asked, noticing his lazy posture, and his grin widened.
"No. But I really do want to talk with you."
"About what?" She asked and Stephen's amused smile fell from his face, a serious expression taking its place.
"About your uncle Euron. About the Iron Fleet. And about your future in Dragonstone." He said before looking at her room. "May I come in."
"Are you going to break in if I say no."
"Are you going to say no?" He asked, some of the earlier amusement returning to his voice and she sighed.
"Just come in."
He did and she closed the door behind her so that they could talk with some privacy.
"You know, people are going to talk if they saw me coming out of your closed room." Stephen teased as he went and sat on her bed.
"They're already talking behind my back." She said as she sat on the bed beside him. "At least this way, they'll have something actually real to talk about."
Stephen let out a hum at her words before his expression became serious and he looked in her eyes.
"I do not regret killing Euron Greyjoy." He said, jostling her out of her thoughts. "If I had not stopped him, then he would've killed the Royal Family and burned Kings Landing to the ground."
"My uncle would never-" She paused as she realised just which uncle she was talking about and sighed. "Okay, yeah, Euron would definitely do something like that. And no, I never held his death against you in the first place."
In fact, she was actually glad that Euron was finally dead. The man might've been her uncle but he always creeped her out with the way he looked at her. Not with lust, like so many others did. But like… she was a thing that he planned to use for his own benefit.
She knew that it was not right to celebrate the death of a relative. But she was glad that he was gone.
"Well… that's good to hear. But what about your father and brother?"
"What about my father and brother?" She asked, though she knew what he meant. She just didn't want to talk about that right now.
"If I had not defeated the Ironborn when I did, then they would've killed the Royal Family. Doing that would've weakened Robert's grasp on the throne, something that could've torn Westeros to pieces." Stephen said. "Unlikely as it was, my action destroyed what little chance the Ironborn had of winning this war. And because of that, your father and brother were executed by the King." He then took her hand on his own "Do you hate me for that?"
She thought on it for a moment before she sighed. "My father… Me and my father were never close. He only ever focused on my two older brothers. So I don't really feel much about his death. My brother though." Her eyes prickled and she tried her best to hold back her tears. "I loved my brothers. Assholes that they were. I would mourn their deaths. But I do not hold it against you either. Not when you were merely doing your best to protect your extended family."
Stephen let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that. "Well… I'm glad to hear that. It would've been stressful living in this castle if you wanted my head."
"Your head is safe." She told him before she realised what she wanted to ask him. "But, I wanted to know. Did you really kill my uncle? I mean, Uncle Euron was one of the best fighters the Iron Islands hand. And no offence to you. But you're not even a man yet."
"There are some ladies who would beg to differ." Stephen said cockily before he shrugged. "As for my ability to kill a man? You can judge that for yourself in the training yard tomorrow morning. That is, if you're not scared."
"As if." She snorted before she frowned at him. "But… wasn't your mother against me fighting in the yard?"
"Don't worry about my mother. I'll talk to her and ask her to give you some more freedom. You're here as a ward after all. Not a prisoner."
She rolled her eyes at his words. "Don't fool yourself. Your King might call me a ward. But I'm a prisoner in all but name."
"Hmm… if that's what you think, then I'll just have to prove you wrong."
"And how would you do that?"
"Well…" He said, leaning back on the bed "I heard that you wanted to captain a ship."
Her eyes narrowed at those words and she gave him a skeptical look. "You would allow me to captain a ship?" She asked slowly.
"If you're good enough to do so. Then yes, I don't see why such a thing couldn't be arranged." He said before he thought of something. "Though, you'll have to act as part of my Fleet. And you will have to return to Dragonstone every now and then to spend some time here. After all, I can only protect you from my mother, and not the King."
"I know. I'm not daft." She said before she glared at him. "And what do you want in return."
"In return?"
"Yes. You're giving me a ship and all this freedom. I'm not stupid enough to think that you'll give me all this for free. There are no free lunches in this world." She said "So tell me. What is it that you want from me? Do you want me maiden head? Is that it?"
"You're a maiden Stephen asked, looking surprised and she glared at him.
"Of course I'm a maiden! I'm only Five and Ten. What kind of girl do you take me for?"
"You'll be surprised by how many girls lose their maiden head before your age." He said, something dark entering his voice for a moment before he shook his head and gave her a rueful smile. "And no."
"No?" She asked as she crossed her hands and gave him a skeptical look.
"No." He said before he shifted closer to her on the bed until they were sitting side by side. "Don't mistake me. I do want you." He said, looking into her eyes. "And I do want that maiden head of yours. But I'm not desperate enough to take advantage of your situation. No. When I take you, and deflower you, I want it to be because you choose to gave it to me. Not because I bought it in exchange for a ship. It will be because you Asha Greyjoy, have decided to give me her mind, body and soul. And by the old, new, burned, and drowned gods as my witness, I will fuck you into a reaching and experience pleasures you never knew existed."
Her mouth went dry as a shiver ran down het spine and settled into her loins which caused her cunny to moisten like the grass in the morning dew, but her cheeks betrayed her as the quickly started burning red at the Image his words conjured in her mind.
…no one had ever said anything like that to her. How could he even say something like that with a straight face.
She wasn't sure if she wanted to kiss him or punch him for the audacity to talk to her like that.
Yes, she was a prisoner. And yes, her house was in dire straits. But she was still the daughter of a great house, damn it.
All in all, she wasn't sure how to react to his words.
A good thing then, that Stephen took the choice from her hands.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him until her body was pressed up against him and their faces were inches apart from one another.
"Take this as a promise, that I really do want you." He said and her eyes widened as he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her own.
Just because she was a virgin didn't mean that she'd never kissed anyone. But the kiss she got from Stephen was leagues above any other kiss she'd ever received in her entire life.
Her mind erupted into pleasure as his lips played with her own. His tongue darting out to prod her lips before she hesitantly opened her lips and allowed his tongue to entered her mouth and plunder her depths.
Her eyes remained closed, her knees went weak, and her core become wet as Stephen utterly dominated that kiss.
Before she knew it, she felt herself pressed against the soft bed. With Stephen's arm still wrapped around her waist as he laid atop her and continued the kiss.
She didn't knew how long the kiss lasted. Just that she almost fainted from it, and only remembered to breathe once again when Stephen ended the kiss.
He had a mischievous smile on his face as he laid atop her and enjoyed her embarrassed and somewhat dazed expression.
"Asshole." She said gasping for breath, and still in slight disbelief at just how good that kiss had been.
A part of her rebelled at the thought of being so utterly dominated by a boy that was probably younger than her. But another part of her… actually enjoyed the experience. Quite a bit at that.
"I've been called worse." He said before he leaned forward.
She prepared herself for yet another toe curling kiss. But instead of going for her lips, he kissed her forehead instead, though for some reason the brief kiss to her forehead seemed even more intimate to her than the kiss on her lips.
He leaned back to look at her once again and she wanted to hide her face due to just how much she was blushing.
By the drowned god, she was acting like a blushing maid. Just what has happened to her?
"Go to sleep early." Stephen said as he cupped her cheek and caressed her face tenderly. "I'll wait for you in the sparring yard tomorrow morning." He then wiggled his eyebrows suggestively "And you can see just how good I am."
With those words and a wink, he removed his arm from around her waist. And before she knew it, he had unlocked the door and walked out of her room.
She stayed in the bed for what seemed like hours though it couldn't have been more than a few minutes before she raised her hands and touched her lips with her fingers.
Did that… really happened? Did she just got a confession from a boy. No, a Man.
She let out an embarrassed squeak as she remembered just how inexperienced she had acted when she was in his arms.
'I'll do better next time.' She promised to herself. 'Next time when we kiss, it'll be me who'll knock his socks off. And not the other way around. Definitely not.'
She didn't even think how strange it was that she was already thinking about kissing him the next time.
She closed the door, changed out of the frilly dress and promptly went to bed, trying her best to sleep off her embarrassment.
Though despite her best attempts, sleep didn't came easily to her. And her dreams were filled with a black haired, blue eyed youth.