The Lone House of Fire

Chapter 8

        And so, Eddard Stark and his family traveled through the bridge. They walked across sandy, arid land for what felt like hundreds of miles, until they finally reached the shiny kingdom they had searched so long for. 

        The walk through the kingdom was all but quiet. The merchants and villagers seemed busy and excited. Jon had never seen anything like it before. The people seemed completely comfortable with all the chaos and discord that occurred in their kingdom. Merchants yelled out bargaining chants and buyers littered everywhere. 

        From inside the carriage, Arya looked outside in wonder. There were children climbing up walls and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. They played with their wooden swords and seemed to be enjoying themselves to the fullest. Sansa peered outside as well. However, it wasn't the children's brutish behavior that caught her attention, no, it was the dresses the ladies wore that allured her. The dresses showed a lot of skin and were adorned with precious golden detailing. Some of the women showed a lot of skin, more than Sansa was used to. However, Sansa supposed it was custom, after all, who wouldn't wear as little clothing as possible in the unbearable heat. She also noticed that the people were slightly more darker than her, like tan gods and goddesses. She thought that they were beautiful and immediately began to wonder how she would look in one of those dresses.

Theon Greyjoy, a ward of the House of Stark, had also decided to accompany them on their journey. He spent the whole ride talking of the mysterious and gorgeous princess and how he couldn't wait to see what all the talk was about. It was honestly tiring both Jon and Robb out. 

As they passed a brothel, Theon looked over to the half naked women batting their eyelashes at them. He gave a charming smirk and continued to ride on his horse. 

They all felt the heat of the sun toasting their pale skin. It was a drastic contrast to the cold winter lands they were so used to. Jon watched as people rushed around and began to wonder how they could stand being under the sun for so long and still manage to have so much energy. He sighed as he felt his scalp burning. They had discarded their coats a long time ago, and Jon honestly felt that it wasn't long before he discarded his tunic as well.

"We're here!" He heard Arya yell, distracting him from his thoughts. 

In front of him was a large golden palace. It was like no palace he had ever seen before, granted he had never left home, but it was unlike any picture he had seen within his books. The palace itself was white, but there was gold adorning the walls and it had a bulbous roof that seemed regal and majestic at the same time. It looked wealthy and powerful, and as they opened the gates, the inside looked ever more extravagant. An array of colors decorated the palace walls that made everything seem so full of life, yet powerful. In the middle of the courtyard was a tan man with graying hair and wealthy clothes. His face looked aged, but his posture gave the indication of a young man. 

"Welcome!" The man bellowed, "It is our honor to have you all here."

Ned spoke up as he got off his horse, "It is our pleasure to be here." He bowed slightly, and the man did so too. 

"I am King Akbar Ali, Ruler of Arethalia, the Just Kingdom. My daughter seems to be running la-"

He was interrupted as a figure jumped from the palace wall onto the floor. The guards from Winterfell immediately drew their swords and Jon placed his hand on the hilt of his. However, King Akbar didn't seem startled at all. Instead he just raised his hand and gestured for them to put down their weapons.

"Now, do not worry. It's just my daughter." He reassured them. However, Jon stopped paying attention to what he was saying as the person took down their hood. 

A young woman revealed herself. She had long chestnut hair, soft caramel skin and beautiful green eyes. She was beautiful. His gaze on her suddenly dropped as she began to speak. 

"I apologize father, " She said as she kissed the palm of King Akbar's hands. "Arman and I were distracted."

She then turned to the Starks and bowed before Eddard. "I apologize, sir. I wasn't paying much attention to the time. " Ned bowed his head in understanding and accepted the apology stating that there was nothing to be sorry for. Suddenly her eyes were on Jon, she simply quirked an eyebrow which made Jon once again break his gaze on her. 

"My name is Azria Amitris Elizeh Kapulco, Princess of Arethalia, the Just Kingdom. And you are?" She drawled on a little.

"I am Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell. And this is my wife Catelyn, and our children," He pointed to the male with red hair and kind eyes, "Robb," he sent a charming smile towards her. Eddard then gestured to the younger children at his side. One of girls looked younger than she was, but very beautiful. She also had red hair and piercing, yet kind, blue eyes. Pretty, she thought. Next to her was the polar opposite of the red haired girl. This one had chocolate brown eyes and short, choppy brown hair. She did not seem to be very interested in the royal family, rather she was staring at the knights in golden armor. Oh, she looks like a wild one. Azaria thought as she saw her glance at the swords around their hips. We might get along. 

Azaria then glanced towards the boy next to her, he too had brown colored hair and eyes. And so did the younger boy next to him, who looked at the castle in awe. 

The first girl bowed, "Sansa, my lady". Then the next did so as well, but managed to stumble a bit as she took a slight step forward, "Arya," she said before adding a 'my lady' quickly afterwards. The young boy looked at her nervously and said his name, "Bran". She looked at his endearing form and nodded lightly. Now the youngest of the boys introduced himself, "I am Rickon, my lady". She smiled at him as he returned to his mother.

Azaria then looked at the family as a whole. They seemed like a close family, the way that Eddard Stark stood in front so protectively, but they also looked so tired and worn out. Their skin was pale, which she understood was due to the cold weather they lived in, however, they also seemed out of energy and thin. She then glanced back at the three men in back of them. One of them was a savage, a deserter, she had seen him in the merchants' place a couple of times. The other was a young man. He looked at her, while smirking, and his eyes seemed to be smiling to her as well, mischievously.  His smirk led her to believe that he was up to something, and she made a mental note to keep an eye out for him.

Beside the young man, was another one. However, this boy looked to be completely out of his comfort zone. His skin was pale, much like the others, but unlike his kin, he had hair as dark as night. The young man was sweaty, whether it be due to the unpleasant change of weather, or the fact that he was standing in front of his only hope of salvation, she did not know. However, she did notice the way he would glance at her and then back at the floor. 

Jon felt out of his element. He wasn't used to any of this. How he swore he could feel the sun burning his skin, the loud screams and banter that emitted from the merchants' place, or the way that the princess continued to stare at him unwavering. How he felt that her eyes bore into him. Or how he vowed that within those eyes he saw fire.