Dreadfort Castle
POV of Domeric Bolton
"That... that Tully bitch..." Lady Barbrey hissed as her face contorted in rage. "How dare she think that she could just... just... take your hand in marriage without even consulting us when we have already signed a contract?"
"The Starks can do it." He told her bluntly. "Well... they technically can't force the marriage on me. But as things stand, if Lord Stark decided to betroth his daughter to me and I refused, then all relation and trust that I've built with the Starks over the years will crumble down to dust. And that would create huge civil unrest in the North and eventually lead to a civil war. Something that I have no intention of causing."
"This... that... doesn't make what they're doing right." She told him and he smiled helplessly at her.
"They're desperate. He might not show it, but I could see the worry and fear hidden deeply in Lord Stark's eyes whenever he looked at how much richer our lands are and how well-disciplined and trained our men are. Plus, I might not like this forced betrothal but that doesn't mean that I can't make use of it."
"And how are you going to make use of it?" his aunt asked.
"By getting betrothed to her of course." He said with a cheerful smile and his aunt gazed at him in shock before she shook her head and gave him an annoyed look.
"Well. After I met Lord Stark and found out about his betrothal plan, I went to Winterfell and spied on Sansa to see what kind of girl she was at the moment. I received reports about her behavior at Dreadfort from you, Lyra, and Celly but I wanted to see her with my own eyes."
"And what is the result of your observations?" his aunt asked.
"Well..." he grimaced as he wondered how to explain this without insulting Sansa. "Do you remember how kind of kid she was when I met her all those years ago during the Greyjoy Rebellion?" he asked.
"A 4-year-old child who clung to her mother and hid behind her skirt."
"Well, I suppose she has grown taller since all those years ago. But aside from that, she is still the naive immature child living in a fairy tale world of her own in which knights are chivalrous, maidens are kind-hearted, and people marry and then live happily after." He grimaced once again, not really wanting to bash the girl's personality in front of his aunt but he had been really unimpressed by her.
He had some expectations from her after she spent one moon at Dreadfort every year in the last two years. But after seeing her behavior, he was disappointed.
His aunt gestured him to go on, seemingly too curious at the peace of gossip he was giving her.
"It's not that there's something wrong with the girl. It's just that... Lord and Lady Stark sheltered the girl too much from the reality of the world. And the septa brought from the South is not helping in any real manner. The girl really has no outstanding abilities that stand out. She doesn't know how to administer. She doesn't know how to rule. She doesn't know how to lead. She doesn't... well, I guess I could go on and on about the things that she doesn't know about. But the point is that she as well as Lord and Lady disappointed me. We had a deal about this, but it seems they have not fulfilled their part of the contract."
His aunt frowned "Apparently the one moon she spent here each year was not enough to make a lasting change in her. If Lord and Lady Stark had continued Sansa's education at Winterfell, the situation might have been different. However, it seems that Tully bitch is intent on raising Sansa the same way. But you just said that you're going to be betrothed to the girl."
"That I am. But not now. I will use Sansa's situation as leverage and buy some time. But they won't accept a negotiation promise this time so I will change the contract a little. I will betroth with Sansa but only when the original contract expires. She is still too young, and Lord Stark should accept a betrothal promise instead of just a negotiation promise." He said.
"The betrothal promise with the daughter of Lord Stark will bring peace to my lands. And give me some time to bring more progress to my lands and gain more strength. When the time comes, I'll have grown so strong that even a war against the entirety of North won't put a dent on us. At that point, I'll consider my betrothal with Sansa again. If I like her, I will betroth with her but if I don't like her then I will choose someone I like." Domeric explained his plan to his aunt.
"And take the North from the Starks." His aunt added and he would have done a spit take if he was drinking something. As it was, he merely gaped at her.
"What? No. I'm not going to take the North from the Starks. Why would you even think that?"
"Why not? If you become strong enough to defeat the armies of all the other houses in the North, then I don't see why you wouldn't just take the North from the Starks." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"There are three reasons why I won't be taking over the North." He explained to her.
"First, King Robert Baratheon loves Ned Stark like a brother. So, if I rebel against Ned Stark then I won't only have to fight the forces of the North but also the men of the other kingdoms that King Robert would rally against me. And even if I'm sure about my victory, I would rather not fight against such a large force."
"Second, even if I won against them and became the King of the North, the other houses won't follow me willingly. And I have really no interest in leading a realm in which most of the people hate me."
"And third, I don't want to rule the North. As simple as that. I have my own ambitions, goals, and plans for the future and none of them involve me ruling the North. Simply said, being the King of the North is not a burden that I want to pick up on my shoulder. Is that enough explanation for you?"
His aunt gave him a scrutinizing gaze for a long moment before her shoulders dropped and she let out a sigh "I suppose. It seems like you've put a lot of thought into this and have already made up your mind in this matter, so I'll not ask you to kick the Starks from their seats just because I don't like them."
He gave her a grateful smile and wondered when Eddard Stark was going to ask him about the betrothal with Sansa.
Lord Stark had certainly been thinking about it whenever the two of them talked.
He just wished that this farce would be over as quickly as possible.
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Ch.93: Tourney Starts
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