Bolton Lands
POV of Domeric Bolton
By the end of the Tourney, The Boltons won the melee as well as the archery contest thanks to the presence of his two sworn shields, Varko and Raksa.
Raksa had especially earned a great reputation in the North thanks to her Herculean strength.
It had been more than a little awkward for him when Lord Greatjon Umber asked him for her hand in marriage to one of his sons.
He had declined, of course. Despite her strength and her own growing maturity, Raksa was still a young and naive little girl at heart, and he might not admit it out loud but had grown quite fond of her over the years. Treating her like a little sister rather than his sworn shield more often than not.
The archery contest on the other hand had been won by none other than his friend Ygritte. However, he would have to admit that she cheated a bit by using the enchanted bow that he had granted to her. But even the bow would not work without being used by a very competent archer so he let it slide.
It had been more than a little amusing to find that both Rob Stark and Jon Snow had developed a little crush on her.
Especially because she was not like the other young ladies of the North and neither showed them the respect they deserved nor gave them the time of the day.
Aside from that, the swimming competition was won by a man from Bear Island. The tug-of-war was won by Lord Greatjon Umber and his team, though they went ahead and lost spectacularly against the giant.
The running competition was won by a teenage girl who came from a nearby village. He had to take her under his own wing to make sure that other people wouldn't try to kill her and take the reward from her.
The drinking competition was once again won by Lord Greatjon Umber and his team. Though the Mormonts came a close second and both teams had to nurse a splitting headache the very next day.
There were a few other competitions that were won by various other people and teams.
But all good things had to end so with the end of the prize distribution, he declared the end of the tourney. Something that he proclaimed he would hold every 2 years in his lands on this very day.
The announcement was met with cheers from everyone and with that, the tourney officially ended.
By the end of the day, he and Lord Stark held a meeting with the Lords who had lost their smallfolk to the grand migration that took place when people started coming to his land for work and a better life.
Lord Stark had impressed him by quickly taking control of the meeting and explaining the points that he had already discussed with the lord before the meeting.
When Lord Stark told them that Domeric was willing to compensate for the displaced smallfolk, some of the greedier lords tried to bargain so that they would get more out of the deal but a single scathing and disappointed look from Lord Stark put them in their place.
By the end of the meeting, he was 200,000 gold dragons poorer, but the issue had been solved once and for all.
The next day, all the lords from all over the North started to trickle out of the town, and by the end of the day, Dreadfort and its town were once again bereft of all the lords and ladies who had come to the tourney. Despite the annoying nature of some of them, he felt that the Dreadfort seemed emptier in their absence.
Of course, Lord Stark had still not left Dreadfort. And both of them knew that the time to talk about the betrothal had finally arrived.
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Dreadfort Castle
POV of Domeric Bolton
"I do not want to be betrothed to your daughter," Domeric told the man to his face.
Lord Stark gaped at his direct refusal as Domeric quickly went on to explain. "It is not that there is anything wrong with your daughter. In fact, from what I'd heard of Sansa from Rob and Jon, she is growing up to be a splendid woman with a kind and gentle disposition. The problem, in fact, lies with me."
Lord Stark's frown softened slightly though his posture remained stiff. "Explain."
"I... well, I don't know how well you'll take it. But the truth of the matter is that when I marry, I do not want to do it out of some social or political obligation. When I eventually marry, something that I don't plan to do anytime soon, I want to do it for love."
Lord Stark continued to give him 'The Look' for a good few moments before he finally let out a sigh as his shoulders slumped and he nodded.
"I... understand." The lord said, "It's just that..."
"I know." He said, cutting off the lord mid-sentence. "Huh..." came the elegant response.
"I said, I understand the reason why you want to betroth your daughter to me." He said softly.
"The Bolton lands have prospered a lot since I took the position as the head of the house after the untimely death of my father Roose Bolton. I understand that under my guidance, the House has grown and prospered to the point that my house has become a major threat to the House Stark. And even if I might not hold any ill will toward your house, it is highly possible that my son or the son of my son might hold different values from me at which point a civil war would take place and the North would break into pieces. As the Warden of the North, you cannot allow such a thing to happen."
He stopped speaking for a moment and looked pensively at Lord Stark before he continued. "For that very reason, for the prosperity of my people and the peace in the North, I will accept this betrothal to Lady Sansa Stark."
Lord Stark looked surprised and happy at his declaration but before Lord Stark could open his mouth to speak, he raised a hand to stop him and continued.
"But... I have conditions. And the official betrothal will have to wait till the contract we did before expired. When the contract time is fulfilled, there will be no negotiation but a direct betrothal."
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Ch.95: Conditions
Ch.96: Magical Mark and Gryffindor