Game of Thrones || The Sword of the Morning

Cider and Dead Kings

~~Evelyn Dayne~~

The horse I had stolen from the Twins has managed to get my pretty far. I feel reinvigorated, if only a little bit.

Ashara has only gotten a little better. That arrow was tricky to pull out and she has a limp now. I don't know if she'll ever walk right again. And as for me, I'm still a mess.

Every single night I have nightmares. Dreams of death and destruction, betrayal and pain. I beg almost every night to the Old Gods and New to let me see Daenerys, to let me speak with her, even if it's just for a moment. I need to see her.

A month of misery.

That's how long it's taken and I'm barely half way to Starfall. Looking at the map of Westeros, I should be close to Cider Hall in the Reach. Being in this part of Westeros seems so foreign. Almost like just going to Essos, everything seems different. And they are.

House Fossoway sits at Cider Hall. Their sigil is an apple and Maester Luwin would be disappointed but I have no idea what their words are. Probably something to do with apples. Or cider.

The horse without a name. That's my horses name now because I'm too lazy to try naming it. What's the point of naming something if you're just going to lose it?

I pet Ashara gently, who is sprawled out over the back of the horse, groaning every now and then. We're practically starving as I have no money. Half the food we've gotten on our journey has been either from me hunting or stealing.

I hate stealing things that are not mine.

Coming over the hill, I see a large castle, not nearly the size of Winterfell or Riverrun. But it's still pretty big. There's a small village just outside and I ride to it.

I don't think anyone would recognize me. My hair had a few loose and long strands that made it look horrendous. So I cut it completely with my knife. Someone could mistake me for a boy from the distance. I think that has probably helped some on my journey so far.

There's a small forest just near the village and I climb down from my horse, picking up Ashara as best I can.

"Come on, girl.."

I move into the forest in hopes of finding a place to stow Ashara away until I can get some food. Just my luck, I find a hollowed out tree log on the ground and I nudge her inside.

"You'll be okay, Ashara. If you hear or see anyone that isn't me, you run. Just keep running and we'll see each other again."

I say sadly and Ashara only blinks at me before curling up and closing her eyes. She's still hurt over Grey Wind.

~~~~~

I enter the village and see a market. That's usually where I could steal things the best. Busy place and crowded.

After tying my horse's reigns I walk through the market, eyeing and chances I can take with looking suspicious. The mood in the market is overall cheerful but I'm confused as to why it's so cheerful. Nobody in Westeros seems to be this happy.

"Did you hear what happened?"

I glance at someone talking with another man.

"Yeah, I heard."

"That Stark boy is dead."

My heart stings at that.

"Killed at a wedding feast."

"Ah, he deserved it. He brought war and suffering to Westeros and we didn't need it while dealing with Joffrey."

I push past the two men conversing, pickpocketing a few people as I go. I've only a handful of coins and it's barely enough to by a pound of dried meat. That's it.

"Damn it.."

I mutter as I leave behind the butcher as I walk back through the market. Keeping my head down a I walk, a man on a horse rears up, catching the attention of everyone.

"I've come from King's Landing!"

He shouts and I turn my head only slightly.

"King Joffrey Baratheon is dead!"

He shouts and for a moment, everyone in the crowd goes silent. The next moment, they erupt in cheers as everyone starts celebrating. I don't even know what to feel as I stand motionless in the crowded market filled with cheerful people.

"That little bastard's dead!"

"Seven blessings!"

"That Lannister cunt is fucking dead!"

They cheer. My mind reels. That's four out of the five king's dead. For all I know, Stannis is still fighting off somewhere with his flaming sword that is definitely not the legendary sword to put down the darkness. If you believe that sort of thing.

I stay in the market for a little while longer, soaking in the good news of Joffrey's death. At the start of the war, word got to us from Stannis himself that Joffrey and Princess Myrcella were Jaime and Cersei Lannister's bastards. Now you can never confirm that without a confession but I'm pretty sure it's true.

The people are happy and they actually start handing out food and drink for everyone, which I take advantage as much a I can. When I leave, I have enough food for a month between Ashara and I.

Aside from losing Robb, it is good when a king dies. Tonight, I have a full belly for the first time in a long time.

~~~~~
A/N

Hope you all enjoy. So Cider Hall is about halfway between the Twins on the Trident and Starfall in Dorne. There's going to be timeskips for her to actually get there so deal with that.

Thank you all so much for reading!