Tourney To Love | Aemond Targaryen and Eowyn Velaryon

A long road ahead

They had been on dragon back for five hours already, flying further than either of them had ever been willing to travel before. Ben hated being so high, he would prefer sailing and had begged the Princess to consider taking one of the ships, but she refused. It would take triple the time to reach the north in a ship. They would be forced to stop at various towns and trade supplies. At least this way there would be only one stop. The mountains came into view, the warm weather quick turning wild in the wind and the cold had attacked both of their bodies. When Eowyn spotted a bit of a clearing, she touched Juniper's neck gently and the she dragon knew to land, they had to set up camp and find some warmth. Thankfully, Belladonna had packed her bags full of furs and coats having warned them both of the cold weather in the north. Ben and Eowyn pulled on the furs over their armour and gathered some logs for a fire before Juniper had lit the fire with minimal effort. The dragon was sulking, she hated the cold and her attitude without being able to communicate or say words made Eowyn chuckle softly. "We won't be here for long, I promise."

"I must say princess, the history books don't do the north justice. It's beautiful, wild, but it's fucking freezing." Another laugh left her lips as the older knight had been reduced to swearing. The first time she had ever heard him say anything relatively negative. They stood close to the fire, hugging the heavy furs that draped their shoulders and Eowyn looked around at the pure white snow that seemed to coat every single surface around them. She was nervous about arriving in Winterfell, she knew her brother Jace would be there, and she didn't know how he would react to her after all these years.

"We shall rest our legs for an hour and then leave again. I hope to treat with Lord Stark before nightfall. If we can tell when that is." She eyed the skies, a solemn grey. They remained by the fire, warming themselves as Juniper slept. Eowyn's thoughts were with her children, where they always were. She didn't know when she would see them again, but it is the only thing she looked forward to. Lord Stark wouldn't turn against her mother; she would have to convince him to insist her mother take the throne and spare them. She had no idea how to achieve any of this but that was a problem for her to figure out when they got there.

They returned back onto dragon back a little later than an hour, not wanting to be the one to wake a sleeping dragon who had just flown for six hours straight in the blistering cold. Thankfully the next portion of the flight didn't take as long and after another couple of hours the banners of the Stark towers were blowing in the wind in the distance. A horn blew as they grew closer, and she could see Vermax hiding from the snow in one of the caves that seemed to have been built for him. When they landed, she climbed down carefully and helped Ben too before she allowed Juniper to try and approach the dragon she used to know so well. Thankfully the pair didn't seem to be too phased by each other and Vermax even allowed Juniper into his cave too.

Lord Stark was at dinner with Jace at the time when his guards ushered her and Ben inside. She was greeted as Princess Eowyn Velaryon. "Targaryen." She corrected them but then they also announced her as a widow and when Ben saw her jaw flinch, he quickly moved forward so she didn't kill the guard in front of his lord and already make an enemy of him.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lord Stark. We have travelled a great distance to visit. I must say, your lands are very beautiful." Ben bowed his head before him and then faced the other man in the room. "And you too, Lord Velaryon."

Eowyn's eyes finally found the strength to glance at her younger brother, he had grown into a fine young man. The north had suited him. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she forced a smile. "Jace. Look at you. You're a man grown." She could see the conflicted emotions on his face, he was happy to see her but knew all about Luke's death and how Aemond was to blame. But in the end that wasn't his sister's fault, they met in a tight embrace and for the first time in eight months she felt her heart threaten to beat on its own again.