20 Chapter 20: Taking Notice

Over the past 8 months, many things had transpired throughout Dorne. As well as the Vodka project, Will also worked with tomatoes to experiment and try to build ketchup, though he had many failures, which were not all bad.

In his failed products, Will had managed to create a thick sauce that would work as a Spaghetti, pizza, or Lasagna sauce, which he put to the test multiple times. Due to Dorne's warm climate, growing tomatoes was relatively easy, and after having tasted the delicious foods, Oberyn and Doran started a small farm that only grew tomatoes.

Will had made them pay for the recipe, though they were more than happy to do so. It wasn't much longer after that that Will created his 'ketchup', though it wasn't nearly as good as what he knew his old world could provide, it was still the best sauce he had found in this world by far.

It was so good in fact, Aegon and Rhaenys started their own little food stall where they sold bottles of the stuff, and it wasn't long before everyone in Dorne had at least one bottle of the stuff in there homes at all times.

A few peddlers even purchased a crate or two of the stuff, saying they would bring it north, and Will knew it wouldn't be long before the rest of the kingdom started creating the stuff.

Aside from experimenting with alcohol and sauce, Will advanced a bit further in his spear training with Oberyn, though he almost quit due to Oberyn's relentless advances.

It wasn't until he looked as though he was going to flip his lid that Elia stepped in and made Oberyn calm the fuck down, though Elia did it more out of keeping Oberyn alive than anything else.

Drox, Aegon and Rhaenys all practiced with their animal companions, and the three of them always shared little things they learned about using their magics with their pets.

Drox also trained with Oberyn to learn the spear, though rather than Oberyn advance on him, it was Ellaria. Apparently the woman got off on making Drox nervous, and was slowly eating away at his defenses.

Will didn't think it would be long before Drox got suckered into joining them in bed, but he was old enough he could decide that for himself. Had he asked Will to help keep Oberyn and Ellaria away, Will might have actually helped him, but the boy liked the attention too much to care.

Rhaenys also spent this time getting closer to Will, and she did manage to find a few subjects he would discuss with her about, but he never seemed to show any signs of liking her in that way.

Elia had encouraged her to keep trying, and told her he wasn't an ordinary boy, so it would take more than a few talks to win his heart.

Aegon also started with his weapons training, learning both hand to hand combat from Will and sword play from Oberyn. Oberyn was by no means a master swordsman, but he knew his way around a sword better than most people on the battlefield.

Aegon was a natural with a sword, and Will figured that was his fathers genes showing through. Will never met Rhaegar, but Elia swore Aegon was the spitting image of the man, save for having her eyes.

In the eight month time period, Daenerys had come to love Elia as her own mother, and for the first few weeks she was rarely ever seen not clinging to Elia, though a part of that might have been the fear she felt towards her brother.

It was only the last few weeks before Will had found her and her brother that he had started his abusive streak, but it was enough for the little girl to be damn near terrified of the man. Elia had to have a talk with Viserys on the matter, and at first he glared daggers at his sister, he did say that it would never happen again.

That lasted long enough for the little cunt to get his sister alone, then he had hit her in the stomach, angry that she had told on him. He also threatened to do worse if she ever told on him again, but the little cunt forgot one very important key fact.

There were three Wargs in Dorne, and one of them happened to be watching the encounter through the eyes of a little bird.

When Rhaenys had told her mother about what happened, Elia had been angry at Viserys, telling him that he wouldn't be allowed to be left alone with his sister again, and that if he ever did something like that again...

She had left the threat open, as she was too nice to ever act on some monstrous threat, but she hoped Viserys would take it as a serious warning. He of course didn't, but he at least didn't try to abuse Daenerys again.

The little cunt did try to command others to do his bidding, and it wasn't long before everyone despised the little turd.

Ellaria wouldn't let the brat in the same room with her children unless Oberyn was there, which was understandable in Will's eyes.

The only ally Viserys had after 8 months was Elia, though everyone could tell she was slowly losing hope of saving the good she saw in Viserys. Will believed there was never any good to begin with, but he didn't have the heart to tell Elia that.

Also during the time period, Will exposed Daenerys' immunity to fire, though it was only to Elia and Oberyn. He didn't know what would happen should Viserys find out, and both the adults thought the same.

To keep it secret, Elia and Rhaenys come in the evenings to teach Daenerys everything she had figured out on the subject, and that led to both girls getting rather close with each other.

Daenerys wasn't a Warg, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a pet, which was precisely why Elia got the little girl a beautiful snow white pony.

It would have gone perfect with her platinum blonde hair, but because they needed to change her hair color, it was now a light shade of red.

They had to dye her hair regularly at least once a week to keep the color from fading, but she had grown to like the new color.

Oberyn and Ellaria had their child, and Will thought Oberyn was being punished by one of the Gods for all his philandering. The man now had 7 daughters, and Will suspected if he had any more children, they too would be girls.

Will had met a few of Oberyn's children, though the encounter lasted just long enough for him to look at them before he somehow vanished into thin air. He wanted no part in any spawn from Oberyn, fully believing they would try their damnedest to get into his pants.

He already had more attention than he would prefer from their father, and there was no way he was going to give them an opportunity.

Will had also noticed the difference in the way Rhaenys looked at him, and if the not so subtle encouraging glances she was getting from her mother were anything to go by, Elia was all for it.

He didn't know what he had done to earn her attention, but he wasn't quite sure how he felt about her. On one hand, she was attractive, wasn't a stuck up bitch, and she was pleasant to be around most of the time.

But on the other hand, Will saw her as somewhat of a family member, though not quite that of a sister, he did care for her wellbeing. He could see himself with her in the future, and even if he wasn't ready to settle down just yet, he doubted that would be a problem for her.

She was too much like her mother and uncle in that regard, and Will would bet money on her bringing other women into the fold, if not for him than for herself. The problem lied with the fact that he wasn't sure he was the right one for her.

The things he had done would terrify even the darkest of people, and she had shown some disgust at certain things he had done in the past, so he was hesitant to even try something with her.

If by some chance he did start dating or courting, or whatever the fuck people called it here, he figured he would take things as slow as possible and wait until they were a bit older before they did anything together.

The time would also be used to make sure she actually had genuine feelings for him and that this wasn't a passing fancy, but for now he wouldn't do anything just yet.

He was only like 15 years old, and she was only barely turning 14. There was absolutely no rush for this sort of thing, and he had no intention of courting a child.

Will had spent a bit of time hanging around Doran during the period he was researching alcohol, and even met two of his three children. That was another surprise Will hadn't expected.

From the show, he knew Doran had a son named Trystane, but now there were two children older than Trystane, a boy and a girl. Will hadn't met Doran's eldest son, as he had been sent off to live with some lord, but he did meet Arianne, Doran's oldest child, and heir to the throne of Dorne.

Before Doran had gotten a good understanding of Viserys' personality, he had suggested a marriage between him and Arianne, but now he thought very differently about it.

Whenever he saw the boy, his first thought was about the Mad King, and how Viserys was already on that road, the only difference being he didn't have the power that his father did.

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After Will declared he would be making a trip to Highgarden, it upset a number of people. Oberyn wanted to go with Will, but given his history with the Tyrell's, that obviously wasn't the best option.

Doran was also exempted from the list, but not because Dorne wasn't looked at in a good light by the Tyrell's, but because he still had to rule over a kingdom, and he couldn't just leave to go do things on a whim.

Elia wasn't allowed to go, mostly because Will, Oberyn, and Doran all stated there was no way in hell she could, though she probably wouldn't have gone anyway.

She needed to stay in Dorne for Daenerys, as without her to keep an eye on her, who knows what Viserys would do to her.

Viserys was out because Will had no intention of starting a war with Highgarden, and with Viserys there, that was almost guaranteed.

Rhaenys and Aegon both wanted to go with Will, but Will couldn't keep watch on them 24/7 and still do what he had planned. Without his watch over them, the mother and uncles forbade them from leaving, almost driving Aegon to tears.

"I'm strong! I don't need him to always watch over me!" Aegon whined, getting a laugh from Will. Before the little boy could react, Will had taken his little training sword and the dagger Doran had gifted the boy for his name day, then pinned his right arm behind his back, and all that was without using magic.

"You still have a lot to learn, and you're nowhere near done your training." Will said calmly, then let go of his grip on Aegon's arm, allowing him to move it again.

Aegon looked a little down, then Will said, "When I come back, I'll take you with me to visit the Stepstones. You'll get to see pirates and-" That was as far as he got before Aegon agreed, shouting like an excited child who just got his favorite toy for Christmas.

"Can I at least go with you?!" Drox chimed in, not understanding why he wasn't allowed to go with Will. Drox's main reason for wanting to go was to get away from Oberyn, as he could feel his resistance to Ellaria's advances fading, and he didn't think it would be much longer before he gave in.

She was just so beautiful, and her smile left his legs weak. Had Oberyn not been part of the deal, he would have given in months ago.

Thinking over the idea of having Drox tag along, Will looked to Oberyn who was subtly shaking his head in the negative, and Will couldn't help but smile.

On one hand he could screw over Drox and make him suffer with Oberyn, or he could ruin Oberyn's advances towards Drox, and hopefully give the kid time to be able to not swoon like a love struck kitten over Ellaria.

Of the two, he knew full well which one he wanted to suffer more. "Of course you can come with me!!" Will said cheerfully, smiling wickedly at Oberyn, who in turn gave Will the middle finger.

Ever since he learned what 'flipping the bird' meant and why it meant what it did, he had used it far too often, though mostly in the bedroom.

Hearing Will's approval, Drox nearly skipped back to his room to pack his things. "You be safe, alright?!" Elia said, almost demanding Will to take everything seriously.

Though she knew he was powerful beyond belief, she still did this every time they were going to be apart from each other. Will had come to expect her nagging, and he couldn't help but smile every time she fussed over him.

It was one of the ways she told him she cared about him without actually having to say it, and every time he heard it, a warm feeling ran through his chest, and he knew there was someone who truly loved and cared about him.

"I will. I'll be extra careful, and if I need to, I'll use Drox as a distraction to get away!" Will said, getting laughs from a few people, while at the same time earning a frown from Elia.

She knew he was just joking, but she hated that kind of talk, especially from her family.

"Sorry!" He said quickly, feeling a little chastised from her stare. She didn't look angry, just disappointed, which for some reason was worse than if she had been angry.

She knew that, which was exactly the reason she did it. It was a mother's superpower, and one that Will wasn't a fan of.

As soon as Drox returned with a pack of clothes and a horse, Will gave Elia a final hug before he climbed into Trojan's saddle. "Alright then, we're off!" Will said, nudging Trojan to start trotting away.

*WHISTLE!!* *WHISTLE!!*

As Drox nudged his horse to follow, he let out two loud sharp whistling sounds, and moments later, two large eagles could be seen flying in the sky above him. A few minutes later Shade could be seen moving quickly towards them.

"Now I remember why I didn't want you to come with me!! You come in a set!" Will stated, giving Drox a pointed stare.

Drox just shrugged off Will's look, after all, Will was the one who had helped him acquire all three of his companions, so it was technically his own fault.

Seeing Drox completely shrug off his little statement, Will sighed in annoyance. 'This used to be more fun!' Will thought, grumbling internally about not getting to mess with Drox as much as before.

Ever since coming back to Dorne, Drox had been put in so many situations with Ellaria, Oberyn, Viserys, Rhaenys and Aegon, that it was impossible for him to not learn a few tricks and gain a lot more faith in himself.

He spoke with royalty and exiled heirs to the continent of Westeros on a daily basis, so shrugging off some grumbling was nothing. Though that didn't mean Will still didn't scare the life out of him.

Out of everyone he had ever met in his life, royalty of Dorne included, Will was by far the most terrifying person he had ever met, though he had been around him so long, Drox figured Will wouldn't kill him in the spur of the moment unless he did something to warrant it.

With that in mind, the two of them rode over the dessert, their destination, Highgarden!

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(Tywin Lannister POV)

For over two years now, a mysterious being had come into play, and the worst part of all was that he was just a boy.

When rumours of the Stepstones being cleared of the majority of the pirates, most people laughed it off, hell even Tywin thought it ridiculous at first.

However they couldn't all just be baseless rumours after so long, and after people who many thought long dead returned from slavery in the Stepstones, Tywin could no longer deem them as just rumours.

He had tried to find out all he could about the mysterious boy, and researched ancient houses all over the world, but nowhere had he read about House Castian, and it only seemed to irritate him.

He had taken his questions to King Robert, thinking maybe the man might use Varys, his Master of Whispers, to get any news on the boy, but the fat drunk bastard for a king simply laughed him off.

"This Castian is of no threat to the realm, and makes no attempt to move towards Westeros, so why bother with him?!" Robert had said, acting as though a boy who could conquer the Stepstones was nothing to worry about.

According to rumours, word had it that the boy came from Dorne, or at the very least was allied with them, but every spy came back with the same information. Absolutely nothing.

There was a report about a boy flying across the water on some strange contraption tied to a rope, but even Tywin couldn't see how that was possible.

Of course if it was Castian, the stories went on about some terrifying water magic he used, but there wasn't really any mention of flying magic.

After the boy's time in the Stepstones, all sightings of him stopped, and it was like he disappeared off the edge of the world. There was mention of a boy with red eyes and the same coloring of hair in Pentos, but no one could ever prove that it was him.

For months, Tywin didn't hear a thing about William Castian, then rumours of his exploits in Braavos with the Iron Bank started going around.

At first Tywin thought those were simply rumors, but after the Iron Bank made no move to silence said rumors, Tywin could more or less confirm that they were indeed true.

The Iron Bank would never stand for someone spreading lies about them or say anything to sully their name, and the fact that they made no move against Castian was like them confirming the rumors to be true.

It took Tywin a few more months to get anything else about Castian, but the news he did get wasn't very comforting. Apparently the boy had gone on an expedition to hunt the Dothraki on their own turf, and had managed to butcher his way through thousands of them in a matter of months, taking their horses for his own.

'The boy is either a monster or a madman!' Tywin thought, knowing full well that no one fought the Dothraki on open ground, yet this boy had managed to do so.

A peculiar thing about this boy, he simply gave all of the horses to the Iron Bank, and rumours said it was to make amends for having gone against the bank, but Tywin thought differently.

'He doesn't need the horses, and rather than sell them, he just gave them away. Like they were nothing to him!' Tywin thought, knowing full well the Iron Bank didn't have the upper hand here.

A boy that could single handedly conquer the Stepstones definitely wasn't trying to make amends, rather he was building faith, as well as showing off his power.

"Give them a gift while delivering a message at the same time. 'If I can slaughter the Dothraki by the thousands, what could I do to you!' A threat in the form of a gift... Smart boy." Tywin mumbled under his breath as he looked over a notebook he had been filling with information gathered about William Castian and all of the titles that came with it.

Harbinger of Death, The Laughing Death, The Gods Chosen, those were just a few of the monikers Castian had gained for himself, and if his exploits happened even close to the way they were told, Tywin believed the boy was worthy of them all.

With every sighting of this elusive boy, Tywin would write it all down, even the stories where people claimed were about William Castian, though Tywin disproved most of them.

Some of the stories were just that, stories, and Tywin could usually tell them apart from the real thing because nothing unimaginable ever happened in them.

He just couldn't believe that someone as powerful as William would ever take a farmer's cows or impregnate some whore to be the bearer of his children.

There were even stories from the Free Cities about palaces belonging to the Magisters being robbed of everything down to the rugs, but no one really believed that it was Castian.

Tywin figured a rising thieves guild was responsible, and the Magisters simply blamed William when they couldn't get word on where the criminals were located.

In Casterly Rock, Tywin sat in his solar thinking about everything William had done, and despite what others believed, Tywin knew him to be a real threat.

His main purpose for trying to find William had been to discuss some sort of alliance, but the boy never stayed anywhere for long, and had there not been so many stories of his exploits, he would have believed him to be a fairytale.

Tywin had grown tired of trying to talk with Robert Baratheon about anything to do with Will after his last meeting, which had been about Will dominating the Dothraki.

Robert simply laughed, stating, "If the rumors are true, then he's doing the world a kindness! HAHA!! You worry too much, Tywin!!"

Thinking about that fat drunkard who was actually his son-in-law, Tywin could only shake his head in pity.

'He'll lead the kingdom to ruin before long...' Tywin thought, wondering just what he should do next.

The last sighting of Will had been in Pentos almost a year ago, and since then, all information on the two Targaryen children had vanished.

No one knew where they were or if they were even still alive, but until they found the bodies, the crown would consider them as still being alive.

The Targaryen's were the only thing Robert actually took seriously, and Tywin could scarcely thank the God's for that.

*KNOCK!!*

*KNOCK!!*

As Tywin stared off into nothingness, a knock at his door brought him back to reality. "Enter!" Tywin said plainly, and a second later the door swung open, revealing a man wearing his banner.

"Lord Tywin, we received a raven from Dorne. The spies in Sunspear haven't been able to infiltrate the palace or the Watergardens, but they have reported seeing a boy matching the description you gave, only a bit taller." The messenger said after dropping to a knee.

Tywin rested his chin on his hand, his mind racing over the information. Finally he answered, "Have all spies in Dorne move to Sunspear. Don't move towards the palace or the Watergardens, but keep a watchful eye on both places. Tell them to send back any sightings of anyone matching Castian's description, and what he's doing!"

The messenger didn't waste time, simply bowed his head before hurrying to fulfill his lord's request.

'He's in Sunspear, otherwise it wouldn't be so hard to infiltrate the palace. Even Varys hasn't gotten back any word on the matter!' Tywin thought, neither happy nor mad about his discovery.

He couldn't be sure of Castian's connection with Dorne, but he had his suspicions. Around the same time the rumours spread about the Martell's finding someone who looked like the dead Elia Martell, Castian comes into play for the first time and makes it known that Dorne was off limits.

Tywin guessed that Dorne had allied themselves with Castian, taking someone close to him into the royal family and keeping her protected.

If he had to guess, Tywin would say it was his mother or older sister, though the age gap made it lean more towards his mother, if rumours of his age were to be believed.

That being the case also fit with a few of his theories on who Castian was. In all of Westeros and Essos, Tywin hadn't been able to find anything related to a House Castian, but what if he wasn't from either of those continents?

If Castian came from Sothoryos, the unknown continent south of Essos, it would make sense that he landed in Dorne first, and it would make sense as to why no one had ever heard of him.

Though he didn't match any of the descriptions of the inhabitants from Sothoryos, the continent was so unknown that it had never been fully explored due to the exceedingly dangerous climates.

Fools had often went there in search of wealth, but then would never be seen again. If Castian was from there and not in fact from Dorne, it would make sense why Dorne hadn't come to invade Casterly Rock.

Dorne and House Lannister didn't have the best standing with each other since the sack of King's Landing, so if Castian had been a part of Dorne, there was no way that he wouldn't have shown up in Casterly Rock and wiped him off the map.

Knowing the temper of the Martell's of Dorne, Tywin figured that was exactly what they would have done if they had a power such as Will. The fact that they hadn't, led Tywin to believe that Castian had in fact made contact and allied himself with Dorne first, but the alliance wasn't strong enough that they could use him to fight their enemies just yet.

Then again, this was all just a theory he had drawn up. Until he met the elusive boy, he couldn't confirm anything!

Tywin didn't care that he was the only one that could see the threat Will actually was, he would find him, and if possible he would broker an alliance if he could.

Regardless of what those idiots at court believed, he needed to find William Castian, or at the very least, find out some way to guarantee House Lannister's survival.

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(Will POV)

"You never did say what exactly your purpose was for coming to Highgarden!" Drox shouted at Will's back, who had yet to say a damn word the entire two days they had been riding together.

Will was too lost in thought, wondering how much of this world was the same as what he had watched, and if maybe it was an alternate universe, or a mixture of book and tv show.

He hadn't had the chance to read the books, but he had watched some videos on YouTube about certain differences, though he couldn't quite remember what those were.

Despite a few small differences here and there, the big things were all that really mattered to him. Robert Baratheon was still a scumbag, the Bolton's needed to die, and so did a lot of other people.

There might be a few extra people than what he remembered from the show, but that didn't really matter all that much. As his mind still clung to the differences of this world, he was pulled back to reality when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Hello!!" Drox shouted, trying to get Will's attention. Will couldn't help but roll his eyes. This was just another reason he liked to travel alone. People always felt the need to make conversation, but Will didn't really feel that way.

He could go for days or even weeks at a time without ever uttering a word, and honestly he preferred it that way most of the time.

"What do you want, Drox?!" Will asked in annoyance as he let his magic wash over the surroundings.

"What are we going to be doing in Highgarden?!" Drox asked, feeling a little exasperated. He had come to expect Will to do as he pleased and ignore him whenever he felt like it, but it still irked him, even after all of the time they had spent together.

"I'm going to try and broker a trade agreement with the Tyrells, while hopefully being able to mend the relationship with them and Dorne. If not, I can always kill them all and work out another deal with whoever gets sent to replace them." Will said evilly, and Drox could only shake his head.

Most people would think Will was joking, but Drox knew perfectly well that Will would do just that if he thought the Tyrells might be an enemy in the future. Plus Will wasn't exactly the type to make idle threats, most of the time doing exactly as he said he would.

It was kind of frightening sometimes, but at least he gave people somewhat of a warning before he did whatever horrible thing he said he would do.

"The only person you need to make good friends with is Olenna. Oberyn and Willas are actually pretty good friends." Drox said, causing Will to actually stop and stare at him. "How do you know?" Will asked skeptically, narrowing his eyes at Drox.

"Because Oberyn told me! In case you haven't noticed, the guy is a talker! Get him going about something, and he doesn't stop talking. Anyway, he and Willas send ravens between each other often. Oberyn always talks about how Willas actually has a brain compared to most nobles, and how he would like to get him into bed." Drox explained, and Will had to admit it sounded exactly like something Oberyn would say.

"Let's hope he's as smart as Oberyn thinks! If I don't need to kill him off, then great." Will said, spurring Trojan on to run faster.

With their speed, it would only be another day or so before they made it to Highgarden, and Will was honestly looking forward to being somewhere that wasn't covered in sand.

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(Olenna Tyrell POV)

Olenna Tyrell, also known widely as the Queen of Thorns, was sitting in the solar belonging to that of her son, Mace Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden and Warden of the South.

She couldn't believe the incompetence at times of the fat oaf that was her son, and she wished she had beat more sense into him when he was a child.

Listening to the bumbling fool try to lead was like watching a pig stick it's head in the mud. The only consolation she got in her old age was that her grandson, Willas, would take over from her son as the next Lord of Highgarden.

The boy was smart, and he had the intellect to know who to listen to, choosing more often than not to listen to her over his father.

In the room with her, was of course, Mace and Willas, as well as her granddaughter Margaery. Mace's other two children, Garlan and Loras, were somewhere out in the training yard, hitting each other with sticks like barbarians.

Olenna taught Margaery everything her mother couldn't, although according to Olenna, Lady Alerie Hightower couldn't teach a fish how to swim, let alone teach a young lady about the horrid world they had found themselves in.

Unlike her brutish grandchildren playing out in the yard, Margaery was more of a thinker like Willas. She had enough sense to use her head, and Olenna attributed that to the fact she didn't have a dick to do all of her thinking like all men did.

As the four of them sat in the solar together discussing the running of Highgarden, a knock at the door drew the attention of Mace. "Come in!" Mace said, looking away from the paper he had been looking at, turning his attention to the plate of cakes long enough to stuff one into his mouth.

The door opened and a servant walked into the room before bowing his head. "P-Par-don t-the int-rusion, but there is someone here to see you." The servant said, sounding as though he had just seen a ghost.

"I wasn't expecting anyone to visit. Who is it?" Mace asked after swallowing the cake in his mouth. It was no longer just Mace listening for the servants answer, as everyone else was now staring as well.

For the man to be this flustered in front of them, it could only mean that whoever it was must be someone important. They all watched as he fought down his fear, then answered, "W-William Castian." The servant managed to get out, only stuttering slightly.

Hearing who was here to visit, everyone's minds had short circuited for a moment. Stories of William Castian were spreading all over Westeros, and there was probably no one who hadn't heard of him.

Even the men of the North had heard tales of Castian's exploits in the Stepstones, and they were usually the last to get information, mostly because they lived all the way up in the frozen tundra.

With all of the stories circulating about William Castian, Olenna had been curious to know how many of them were actually true, but she didn't care as much as Tywin.

She of course knew the boy to be a real threat if he wanted to be, but he had yet to even be seen in the Seven Kingdoms, so she didn't bother with trying to find out about him.

Now he was at their doorstep, or at least someone claiming to be him, and Olenna was intrigued by what his purpose for coming here was.

Mace didn't show much of a reaction, though that was because he didn't believe the stories circulating about Castian's deeds. However it was hard to argue about it when some of their own traders had returned after being away for months, each of them singing tales of the monstrous entity that was William Castian.

There was also the fact that the pirate attacks near the Stepstones had dropped astronomically since then, which should have been a dead giveaway.

Both Willas and Margaery looked intrigued, but that had more to do with both of them being fans of the stories that were told then out of interest of why he might be here. Despite them both being smarter than most, they were still children.

"Let's go greet Lord Castian!" Olenna commanded, not allowing Mace another moment to bumble his way around someone who might very well hold the power to destroy them all if he so chose to.

A few minutes later and the Tyrell family were seated in the great hall of Highgarden, then Mace signaled for a servant to bring Castian into the room.

They weren't quite sure what to expect when seeing Will, but the look of disappointment upon seeing him was quite obvious. Of course they knew he was human, but after the stories about him, they half expected Will to have demonic features and be inhumanly tall.

From the stories, his eyes were like gateways into the seven hells, but they were just red, and though red eyes were uncommon, they weren't anything special.

"What? Do I have something on my face, or are you just blown away by my dashing good looks?!" William said, silencing everyone in the room. Even Olenna was at a loss for words, which was no small feat.

'He clearly doesn't know the proper way to greet the nobility.' Mace thought, thinking he might need to educate Will on diplomacy when dealing with people of high standing.

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(Will POV)

'What the hell's wrong with them, and why do they seem disappointed?' Will thought, wondering if he had somehow managed to break the Tyrells without realizing it.

He waited for them to say something, but when it looked like they wouldn't, he figured he may as well speak. However, before he could, a speaker standing to the side of the Tyrells started introducing them all, even saying the many bullshit titles Mace held.

'Lord of Highgarden, Lord Paramount of the Mander, Defender of the Marches, High Marshal of the Reach, Warden of the South, and head of House Tyrell, yeah yeah, we all know you idiots need your titles to make yourself feel better about yourselves!' Will thought, following along with the titles as the servant moved onto Olenna, then Willas, and finally Margaery.

When the speaker was done, everyone stared pointedly towards Will, though their gazes were more on Drox than anyone. Getting an idea of what they expected, Will elbowed Drox in the ribs as he said, "Quick! Introduce me!!" He wasn't very subtle about it, and the Tyrells and their servants were now looking at him in complete bewilderment.

"What?! Why?!" Drox asked curiously, wondering what the hell he had to do with introductions. Despite having spent almost a year around nobles, he was rarely ever present during Noble gatherings, thus he was kind of ignorant on how they introduced themselves.

Will on the other hand, he suspected the Tyrells were thinking that Drox was like a servant or something, and that he would do the introductions for his 'Lord'. At first he wanted to play along, but when Drox questioned why he needed to do anything, the idea lost all meaning.

"Never mind. Jokes aren't funny if you have to explain them!" Will said, brushing off Drox's curiosity. He couldn't even blame the kid for not knowing about the introduction thing, but he was a little annoyed he didn't play along with him, then again Drox wasn't a servant, so there really wasn't any reason to be upset.

Looking back to the gaping Tyrells, Will gave them all a winning smile as he said, "My name is William Castian!! We have so much to talk about!!"