35 Chapter 35: Duel

(General POV)

"Can't we just kill him?!" Aegon asked hopefully, feeling as though it was kind of stupid for all of them to be hiding out from one person, especially from a Lannister.

"It would be pointless. To bide your time and remain hidden from the world up until now, simply to reveal yourselves just to kill one man." Will stated, knowing that's exactly what would happen.

Seeing as how Aegon looked like he wanted to say something else, Will cut in again, "Jamie is Tywin's heir, whether or not he is a member of the Kings Guard is irrelevant. 'A Lannister always pays his debts!' Tywin would pay this debt back even from the grave if he had to!"

Quoting the Lannister saying was to remind the Targaryen's that they weren't invincible, and though Tywin might not be able to come at them directly, Gold spoke volumes and could turn even the loyalist of allies against them, something Tywin was known to do in the past.

"What are we going to do?" Jon asked, feeling as though they should at least do something.

"Don't worry about it." Rhaenys said, looking completely confident as she strode over next to Will, then draped her arms around his neck.

"We'll just go see what he wants, then send him on his way. From what Uncle Oberyn says, the Lannister's don't really like the North very much, so I'll bet he's just as eager to leave here as we want him gone. Besides, I'm sure you can just 'convince' him nicely if you have to." She added, her seemingly kind words practically dripping with what she actually wanted to do. Will was obviously rubbing off on her, and in more ways than one.

"Why does it sound like you're going out there with me?" Will asked the woman, feeling as though he was missing something.

Rolling her eyes at him, Rhaenys answered, "We really only stand out when we're in a group together. No one actually knows who we are, therefore our appearances don't really matter too much to begin with. I mean, mother is recognizable, but if I walked the streets then everyone would just see a beautiful Dornish woman."

The room was pretty much as still as could be when Rhaenys finished her explanation, her words giving everyone, including Will a bit to think about.

It was true that if Jamie or someone else that had met Elia in the past saw her, they would immediately recognize her, and if they saw her with her children, they might be able to make the connection, but it was slim.

However if say, Rhaenys or Aegon travelled about through the cities on their own, they wouldn't be too out of place from most other people depending on where they were.

Rhaenys was a beautiful young woman, and by how she walked, talked, and dressed it was plain as day that she was nobility, but so were a lot of women. Put her in Dorne and she'd fit right in.

With his hair colored to be much darker than his original Valyrian coloring, Aegon simply had his purple eyes to hint that he was descended from Valyrians, but purple eyes weren't that uncommon in the world, given how Valyrians raped and pillaged all over the world in the past.

To anyone that had met Rhaegar in the past they might be able to notice the similarities, but again the chances were very slim, and even if they did, it was already common knowledge that Rhaegar and his children were already dead.

The same could be said for Daenerys, given how rumors put her on the other side of the world with her brother, and with her red hair, anyone would be hard-pressed to make the connection.

Then there was Jon. He looked more like a Stark than he did a Targaryen, so there was no cause for concern there.

Honestly all of the children could move about freely in the world and not be too concerned unless someone found out their names or they were seen with their mother and someone made the connection, which seemed less likely by the year.

The only real concern would be Elia, and everyone already knew that Will would sooner burn King's Landing to the ground than let Robert Baratheon or anyone else get their hands on her, and that wasn't even mentioning what Oberyn would do.

The man would have an army of Dornish soldiers running their spears up Robert Baratheon's ass before he could bend over, then pick off the residents from Casterly Rock as slowly and brutally as possible until they were all dead.

"Huh... I guess I was being a little over-protective, wasn't I." Will said after finally digesting Rhaenys words, though he still wasn't about to let them all throw caution into the wind.

"You think?" Rhaenys asked with a happy smile that turned into something else way too quickly as her hands began moving down his chest towards his dick.

"Stop it!" He ordered, taking a quick step away from her. Sure he really enjoyed getting it on with her, but there was a time and place for everything, and in a room with their family was not it!

Hell, just the times they had had sex when they were in the Thenns Mountain range was already a bit much for him, because the rooms weren't all that soundproofed, and Rhaenys never bothered to keep her screaming down.

The following mornings after those times were usually pretty embarrassing for him, given how Elia would always look at him in a way that spoke volumes, and he knew she knew exactly what he had been doing to her little girl.

Regardless of who knew what they did together, Will wasn't about to let Rhaenys get it on with him in front of everyone.

"So... what do we do?" Jon asked, feeling as though the conversation had changed completely, and not to one he was comfortable with.

"Rhaenys, Aegon and I will go out and see what the hell the Lannister wants, then we'll send them on their way as fast as we can. Even though I don't really hate Jamie, he knows mother, and I'll not risk her life." Will stated, figuring it was best that not everyone went out into the open at once, but from now on he could let them have a bit more freedom, even though they had more freedom than most people in this world.

"What about me?" Jon asked, feeling as though there wouldn't be any risk for him to be seen.

"Three is already a crowd. Just stay with Daenerys and mother until we get back, and if anyone but us enters the building, shoot them!" Will said plainly, though given how he pulled out two crossbows and leaned them up against a chair, he was dead serious.

Daenerys herself didn't bother asking about her going out with Will, mostly because she had no desire to meet the man who had killed her father, even if he was justified in his actions, but because she knew Will wouldn't have let her, and she would rather stick close to Elia.

Not wanting to sit around and debate further, Will walked out of his home with Aegon and Rhaenys flanking him with Rhaenys on his right and Aegon on his left.

Will would have rather left them in the building, but he couldn't keep them sheltered forever, nor would they want to be. It was no way to live, one which he could agree with wholeheartedly.

It was one of the reasons he was building Asteria up to function on its own without him there. He was in a medieval world with magical powers, and more money than he knew what to do with, of course he wanted to go out and adventure.

As the three of them approached the gates leading into Will's mansion, they could tell things weren't looking too good, given how Oberyn was standing outside the gate with his three eldest daughters, while Ellaria and the rest of the children were watching everything unfold from inside the walls surrounding the mansion.

If that was everything then it wouldn't be so bad, but the Lannister's had drawn a crowd, and naturally, Dacey wasn't going to be left out of anything, nor would the 40 soldiers behind her, the number slowly increasing as more and more people heard about something interesting happening at Will's gates.

Then of course there was the GreatJon Umber. The half-giant had chosen to stand off to the side to observe what was happening, but given the seemingly calm way he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, Will could tell he would be ready for an attack in an instant.

'Well ain't this just swell!' Will thought, already tired of dealing with this and he hadn't even started yet.

"What does the crown want with me?" William spoke loudly towards Jamie, his words silencing everyone present as they listened to see what was going to happen, while at the same time garnering the attention of the man in question.

Instead of answering Will's question, Jamie walked towards Will with a smug grin on his face, his expression giving the air of overconfidence.

"So you're William Castian...? I thought you'd be taller. And have horns." Jamie said in an almost mocking sort of way.

Smirking, he continued, "Now that I get a good look at you, I can't help but think everything I've heard about you is a lie. You're just a boy fresh off his mother's tits."

Will wasn't sure what Jamie's plan was in saying all of this, or if he was actually this cocky and needed to say something, but either way it was annoying him.

"Are you done? I have better things to do than listen to drivel from a man who is more of a joke to the Seven Kingdoms than the court fool!" Will said with a warm smile, his words instantly removing Jamie's smirk and turning it into a scowl.

"Do you know who I am?!" Jamie asked angrily, taking a step closer towards Will, making the distance between the two to go from 10 feet to 9.

Smirking at Jamie's words, Will turned away from him and towards the onlookers before cupping his mouth with his hands before shouting, "ATTENTION, EVERYONE! THIS MAN DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS!! IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM, PLEASE INFORM HIM SO HE CAN FIND HIS WAY HOME!! THANKYOU!"

There were more than a few people snickering in the crowd, while a few people looked to be struggling to hide their laughter.

Oberyn was not one of those people, as the prince of Dorne was openly laughing, similar to how the GreatJon was laughing, half doubled over with his hands on his stomach.

Aegon as well didn't see the need to hide his amusement, and Rhaenys was biting her bottom lip to control herself.

For his part, Jamie was not taking the words very well, and Will had to wonder if he was actually like this in the series.

'He was pretty cocky until he got his hand cut-off... maybe I need to do that?' Will thought to himself, knowing full well the Boltons wouldn't be doing that now.

"You think you're clever? How about a duel? You versus me!" Jamie shouted towards Will, loud enough that everyone present heard the challenge.

"A duel? For what purpose? Don't get me wrong, I'm more than willing to fight you, but why do you need to fight me in the first place?" Will asked, genuinely confused now.

He figured Jamie was simply going to state whatever reason he had for being here then be on his way, but this was unexpected.

"All over the Seven Kingdoms people are spreading stories about you, stories that I'm betting are more lies than truth. Let's find out how many of those stories are lies!" Jamie stated arrogantly, sounding as though he was doing the rest of the populace a favor by proving the stories about William to be wrong.

"So what's in it for me?" Will asked curiously, though if he was being honest he didn't really care all that much about compensation, after all, kicking the crap out of Jamie would be reward enough on its own.

His question seemed to confuse Jamie, given how the man looked to be at a loss for words. Finally after about 30 seconds of not saying anything, Jamie answered, "Revealing the truth should be its own compensation, and to refuse would show everyone that you fear the truth from getting out."

Will frowned at Jamie's words, not because he expected to actually get compensation out of this, but because Jamie had kind of backed him into a corner.

On one hand he could refuse and not feel one bit ashamed about it, not having the need to prove himself to anyone. But on the other hand, the rumours would no doubt spread about this, and Will wasn't too thrilled with having people show up to cause problems in Asteria because they thought he was a pushover.

By accepting the duel, Will would get to kick Jamie's ass, while at the same time spreading the message that not even the crown could mess around in his city.

"What are your terms?!" Will asked, which was basically accepting the duel.

"Tourney rules. First clean strike wins. Fear not though, if even half the rumours about you are true, I shouldn't even be able to hit you!" Jamie said, sounding as though he had won some grand victory by having Will agree to the duel.

"Very well! Be in the arena in 10 minutes!" Will agreed plainly, trying to keep his eagerness from showing.

"Why not here and now?!" Jamie asked before Will could walk away.

Turning back towards Jamie, Will looked at him as though he was an idiot before answering, "I'll not have fighting in my streets that could endanger the lives of the people who walk them, nor give people the impression that I would allow that sort of thing. The arena was built for a reason!"

Will's words seemed to do the trick of making Jamie look like an idiot, given the numerous shouts of agreement and thanks from those watching.

With that said, the crowd of onlookers began quickly making their way towards the arena, as well as the two competitors, though Will hung back a bit to talk with Rhaenys and Aegon.

"One of you. go tell mother that everything is okay, and that I'll be home soon. If you hurry, you won't miss the fight." Will said, looking pointedly at Aegon.

"Oh come on! How come it's always me?!" Aegon whined, already knowing he was the one who would be sent off.

"Because you're small and insignificant! And I'll pommel you if you don't!" Will warned, holding a fist towards Aegon threateningly.

It was more of a brotherly threat than actual anger, though he most likely would probably go a bit harder on the kid during their sparring if he kept arguing, something which seemed to click with the young boy.

"Just don't start until I get there!!" Aegon cried out before he took off running back towards the mansion.

As soon as the boy was inside the walls of the mansion, Will turned towards Rhaenys just in time for her to crash into him, her mouth locking onto his before he even knew what was happening.

"Can't we just quickly...?!!" Rhaenys asked, trailing off as she looked towards the mansion then back to Will.

"No! The last time you tried rushing me I never got to finish, and I'm not walking into the arena with my dick tenting my pants!!" Will stated, grabbing the woman and holding her out at arms length.

His words seemed to make her pout at him, but the pout disappeared a moment later when he added, "When this is over, you're not leaving my bed until morning!"

A few minutes later Will stepped into the Arena, not the least bit surprised by the influx of onlookers that showed up to watch the fight.

Sure everyone could come watch the soldiers train in the arena, but it wasn't everyday that they got to watch William fight, and with Jamie Lannister no less.

Turning away from the crowd, Will looked towards the man in question. It was no surprise the 15 Lannister soldiers were standing at attention behind Jamie in the arena, as it was their duty to ensure Jamie didn't die in the fight, lest their heads would roll when they reported it to Lord Tywin.

On his side of the arena, Will again wasn't all that surprised to see Oberyn standing at attention with his weapon in hand, though he was there in the small hopes of killing the Lannister soldiers than he was in fearing for Will's life.

Also not surprising, Dacey and the GreatJon were in the front row in the stands above where Oberyn was standing. The GreatJon Umber smacked a fist into an open palm, which Will interpreted to, "Knock his lights out!"

Will wasn't sure why, but the half-giant was being surprisingly quiet compared to his usual boisterous self. 'I'll just ask him later about it.' Will thought, idly wondering if he should be concerned.

For her part, Dacey had a neutral expression on her face, her eyes practically glued to Will's. He gave her a small smile, but it did nothing to move the woman who was a captain of the soldiers.

'So something's bothering her too... oh goody!' He thought sarcastically, not the least bit interested in trying to solve whatever was going on with the woman. She clearly wasn't too happy with him, but at least she didn't seem as though she wanted to press anything. For now anyway.

Done with prolonging the inevitable, Will turned back towards Jamie, who was holding his sword in his right hand, while his left hand hung at his side in a ready position to firmly grip his sword.

It was about that moment when someone standing off to the side shouted, "Lord William Castian will now duel with the Kingslayer-!!"

That was as far as the man got before Will interrupted, "JAMIE!! HIS NAME IS JAMIE LANNISTER!!" Will was much louder than whoever the speaker had been, choosing to introduce Jamie properly.

Sure Will didn't particularly like Jamie at the moment, given how much of a cunt he seemed, but that didn't change the man's name, nor the things he had done and why.

While the rest of the world mocked Jamie for having killed his King, Will one hundred percent would have done the same had he been in the same position Jamie had been in, or at least he hoped he would have.

The man deserved respect for having not just stood around and let the city be blown apart due to some ridiculous oath he had taken, nor did he execute his father like the mad King wanted him to.

In Will's eyes, the man had kept his true oath of being a protector of the realm when the king could not, and that was more than some oath to protect the mad cunt. Plus if he was going to put Jamie down, it sure as hell wouldn't be with some name that was supposed to be an insult, but rather by beating him into the dirt.

Will's statement had caught everyone off guard, especially Jamie himself. He hadn't expected any respect from the Northerners, let alone from the one Northerner he had come to bring back to the capital.

Everyone remained quiet for a minute, no one really knowing what the hell they were supposed to do or say to follow up Will's declaration.

Finally though, the speaker from before shouted, "Begin!"

The announcement seemed to break everyone out of their stupor as the audience seemed to come alive, the fighters most of all.

Jamie began slowly stepping towards Will, who was holding his two thin blades at his side. When Jamie was about 10 feet away, Will dropped both blades so that the tips each sunk into the ground about 4 to 5 inches, the move halting Jamie in his tracks.

"What are you doing?" The Blonde haired man asked curiously, not sure if Will was surrendering or preparing something else.

"I thought it best to give you a handicap. It wouldn't be very fair otherwise." Will answered, showing a bit of smugness himself, which seemed to anger Jamie a bit, causing him to rush in with a swipe at Will's midsection.

Will had a different reason for not using his weapons, and that was because the duel would be over too quickly, and if he did it that way, he would barely get the chance to maim Jamie before it would get called off, and he couldn't allow that.

It took the man losing his right hand to get a little bit humbled in the show, but deciding on not doing that, at least for the moment, Will figured he would have to do a bit more than just give him a little cut.

Using his much greater agility, Will jumped back to avoid the swing, then when he was in the clear he lunged forward with a right hook into Jamie's jaw, sending the man stumbling back a few feet, though he recovered quickly before bringing his sword up to guard against Will.

Seeing Jamie's reaction, Will smirked at him before he moved closer for another hit. Jamie was a little more on edge this time, taking the fight a bit more seriously, or at least knew that he couldn't overestimate himself just because he had a sword and Will didn't.

When Will got within swinging range, he swung horizontally again, only when Will predictably maneuvered away from the strike, Jamie let go of his sword with his left hand and pulled a knife from his belt and tried to stab Will, only against his expectations, Will easily ducked under the blade, and following up with two quick strikes to Jamie's mid-section, knocking the wind out of the man.

Not wanting to give Jamie time to recover, Will stepped to the side, then sent a vicious blow to the man's kidney before he followed up with a fist to Jamie's nose. The audible crunching sound that he heard let Will know that Jamie's nose was most definitely broken, but even then, he wasn't done.

Had Jamie just fallen to the ground, Will would most likely have ended the fight then and there, it being more insulting than ever to kick a man when he was down unless you were in a fight to the death, which this wasn't.

Will moved faster than Jamie could react, hammering the royal guard over a dozen times before it looked like he was going to fall to the ground.

Taking a step back, Will waited to see if Jamie would fall to the ground, but despite all the abuse he had just taken, Jamie remained standing, if not a bit wobbly with his sword barely clutched in his grasp.

Just as he was about to step forward to continue the onslaught, Will heard something flying towards him before he picked it up with his magic sense.

Reacting faster than the eye could follow, Will reached out and let the spear that was flying towards him slide along his hand until about the middle of the spear, then grabbed hold of it before guiding it into the ground beside him.

Looking over, Will saw the only guard without a spear stepping quickly towards him with a sword drawn at the ready to stop him.

Stomping his foot into the ground in front of him, Will unleashed a small burst of earth magic towards the approaching knight, causing an earthen spear to shoot up from the ground and pierce into the man's stomach.

The knight was lifted about 18 feet off the ground with the pointed end of the earthen spear protruding from his back by a good 4 feet, with most of it dyed red and covered with entrails.

There was a sudden intake of breath from the crowd, no one really expecting such a thing to happen.

The other Lannister soldiers standing in the arena, who had intended to also move to stop Will, remained firmly where they were, none daring to move an inch. They didn't want to end up like their compatriot, who looked a lot like a shishkabob!

With a quick glance to make sure no one else was going to try and interfere, Will looked back towards Jamie, who was also turning his head from the gruesome scene to look towards him.

Slowly Jamie brought his sword up in a defensive stance, only to have his half-swollen eyes go as wide as they could from shock as Will was swallowed up into the ground.

Without knowing what happened, Jamie received a round-house kick to the back of his head that sent him face first into the dirt. Will had moved behind the man without him knowing, then shot himself high enough that he could deal the crushing blow.

Now he simply waited to see if Jamie was going to get back to his feet, but by the looks of things, the man didn't have it in him. There was also the fact that when he fell, he had fallen on the blade of his sword, causing a serious injury on his left hip.

A whole minute went by as people waited on the edge of their seats to see if Jamie would get back up, but after the minute, someone called the match in Will's victory, which sparked a chorus of cheers.

With the duel now over, the knights standing off to the side moved quickly over to Jamie's downed form, one of the men checking his condition while the others moved to get a few things.

A stretcher was brought out and Jamie was hoisted onto it, but before the knights had the chance to move him, Will stepped towards them, causing most, if not all of them to be on their guard.

With a quick use of his magic, Will subtly healed the worst part of the injuries, the ones that would be the hardest to treat anyway. He did it with a simple touch, keeping the glowing water on his hand from being seen, hopefully making so no one knew he healed Jamie in the first place.

Looking away from the knights, Will signaled an old man who had been standing off to the side to rush towards them.

"Jenkins, see to it that Ser Jamie receives some care in the Healing House, and make sure these knights have all the supplies they need before you see them off at the harbor." Will said to the old man, who simply nodded his head in understanding before he moved forward and instructed the knights on where to go.

Will was about to head back to his mansion when one of the guards raised a hand towards him to get his attention.

"What do you want?" Will asked the man plainly, not showing the anger or gloating that one would expect from a man in Will's position.

"Th-the summons, M-M'Lord... Ser Jamie was to deliver a summons from the crown." The knight answered warily, trying his best not to sound intimidated from the monster in front of him.

"Oh... hang on a second." Will spoke to the knights holding the stretcher that Jamie was on.

Regardless of all the eyes on him and the close proximity of the knights around him, Will moved Jamie's cloak aside and checked his person for any scroll or parchment.

It only took half a minute to find two sealed scrolls in a small pouch on Jamie's back that were connected to a leather belt.

To Will's confusion, both scrolls had his name on the front of them, but the wax seals on each scroll were different. One had the sigil of House Baratheon, while the other had the sigil of House Lannister.

Shrugging his shoulders, Will removed both seals before he read the contents of each scroll, not too surprised at what he read.

Robert basically wanted him to come to King's Landing and swear fealty and whatnot, while the other letter surprised him. When he had first seen the lion sigil on it, Will figured Jamie was delivering a message from Tywin, but not Cersei.

Apparently she too wanted him to swear allegiance, only to her instead of Robert.

'Fuck'em!' Will thought before both scrolls suddenly ignited in a burst of flames that caused everyone standing near him to take a step back.

"I've received the summons, now take your commander and comrade and go home. Tell your king I refuse." Will stated plainly, then turned and walked away before the knights had a chance to say anything further.

Though they wanted to try and bring him back home, none of the knights dared to speak anymore on the matter. It was almost certainly a death sentence to try and push further, something they had seen first hand.

Not wanting to be told a second time and earn the wrath of the ruler of the city, the knights followed the old man to an extremely large building just a stones throw from the arena.

It took a few hours for Jamie to be treated, but the time had allowed the knights to gather the servants and staff that had come with them, and the resources they would need for the trip back to Lannisport.

By the time they had Jamie loaded on the ship, everyone else was already boarded and ready to depart, so without preamble, they unfurl the sails before leaving the city under the watchful eyes of the old man they had met in the arena.

By the time Jenkins reported to Will about Jamie's departure, he had already eaten his dinner and was just going over the reports of what had happened in the time that he had been away from the city.

When he finished reading the final paper, Will was confused. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and as far as he could tell, things had been relatively calm as things were.

'So why is Dacey mad?' He wondered, still not having figured it out. After his duel with Jamie, Will had talked with the GreatJon about what he was up to, and thankfully the man had returned to his boisterous self.

Apparently the man was just on edge due to having a potential enemy in the same place as him. He really didn't like southerners, and the Lannister's even more so. They felt wrong to him, even though he couldn't really explain it very well.

He was in Asteria waiting for the next tournament, even though it was still a week away, but he was also looking for Will so he could try and broker a deal for some items that he was having a difficult time procuring.

The items actually weren't all that hard to get, for Will at least, it being a few of the water pumps Will had in the homes here in Asteria, something which the GreatJon couldn't even find.

"I'm tired of freezing my balls off when I want to go get water!" The half-giant had stated, much to Will's enjoyment and curiosity.

The Last Hearth had servants for everything, including having someone to go get water, but the big man had said that just because he had people that could wait on him, didn't mean he would make them do everything.

"I can wipe my ass just fine, the same as I can get a drink of water!" It was a statement that most lords could learn from, and Will had to admit that his opinion of the man only grew higher.

Not only had Will agreed to supply a few pumps, but he had actually agreed to make the trip over to the Last Hearth to help the man install the few that he wanted, provided the man paid for said pumps, and agreed to help him train a cavalry unit, or at least explain it all to him.

The GreatJon was well known to command some of the fiercest cavalry units in all of the North, but Will on the other hand... well cavalry just wasn't his area of expertise.

Will had also asked the GreatJon if he had heard of anything wrong with the other Lords of the North, trying not to be specific to any House in particular even though it was obvious he was fishing for information on something specific, mainly a certain woman who just so happened to be the captain of his guards.

He was trying to be as vague as possible about what he was asking about because he knew the man would make fun of him for it.

The giant man had made it clear multiple times before that women were not meant to be on the battlefield during the last tournament when Dacey and Oberyn's daughters had competed.

Even though he knew they were strong, they let their emotions dictate their lives more often than not, which wasn't a bad thing anywhere else, just not on the battlefield.

Nothing the GreatJon had told him would be a reason for Dacey to be upset, which just irked Will.

Honestly, given how House Mormont was on the rise, Will thought Dacey should be happy, which is when he decided to check the reports from the city in case it was related to something that happened when he was gone. If it was, he sure as hell couldn't find it.

Deciding to just ask the woman later about it, Will headed towards his bedroom to get some sleep, or at least pretended that's what he was going there for.

He knew full well that Rhaenys wouldn't let him go to sleep for at least a few more hours, something he was actually okay with.

When Will walked into his room, it didn't surprise him in the least to see Rhaenys sitting on his bed, though he was a little caught off guard when he saw Dacey sitting on a chair on the far side of the room.

Granted he wasn't upset that she was in his room, it being more common than not when he was in the city, though the fact she wasn't on the bed with Rhaenys was a little new.

"Am I interrupting something?" Will asked curiously, noticing how neither of them said a word and were both staring at him.

Neither woman said anything for a minute, but soon enough Dacey got to her feet and walked over to stand in front of him with the same expression as before on her face.

"My mother has called me back to Bear Island. I've been here long enough to learn a few things, and it's time I return home." Dacey said, her statement allowing Will to connect the dots in his head as to why she was acting weird.

"I... see. When do you have to depart?" Will asked, not all that beat up on the matter.

Seeing his calm reaction, Dacey let out a breath she had been holding before answering, "That's all you have to say...?" Dacey said hotly, her words tinged with anger and annoyance.

"What else is there to say? You are the heir of Bear Island. It was always known to both of us that you would eventually have to return to claim your birthright. I myself am a wanderer and built this city so I would have a home to call my own, so I can't really relate to your situation. But I can understand your mothers position in needing you to return. Bear Island is on the rise after all", Will replied calmly.

"But I don't want to leave! I like it here! I like being the captain of the guards!" Dacey cried out, sounding a little depressed now.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Will asked, not seeing what he was supposed to do about it.

"Could you talk to her? Tell her that you still need me here!" Dacey asked, sounding quite hopeful.

Though she hadn't been in Asteria for very long, she had grown quite fond of her life here, of the rank she held, and the things she got to do.

She wasn't ready to head back to Bear Island where she would be forced to deal with the politics that came from being the Lady in charge.

Here in Asteria she got to fight people daily and get paid for it, while getting to enjoy some of the finer things in life.

There was no bath-house on Bear Island, and she would be forced to haul water in from outside if she ever needed it. Not to mention having to deal with people's requests for things that she honestly didn't care about.

"No thanks." Will said, not having any interest in trying to steal Maege's heir from her.

"But you have magic! She would listen to you!" Dacey argued, still not done with trying to convince Will.

"Doesn't matter! Your mother can be scary when she wants to be, just ask Lord Glover!" Will said, not giving in to fight her battle for her.

She cursed him for a good minute before finally sitting down on the edge of the bed and letting out a long drawn out sigh.

"Alright, fine! But if she kills me, I'm going to haunt you!" Dacey stated, sounding as though it was a real possibility.

Will didn't dwell on the subject any longer, choosing instead to think about other matters. Sure he had slept with the woman, but she had slept with other guys before him, and it wasn't the end of the world.

He had always known this was how it going to end up between them, there interactions with each other being solely sexual or work related.

There was no romance between the two, and judging by how she was reacting, Dacey thought similarly to how he did, both of them being friends with benefits, with one of those benefits being another woman who liked to use both of them for her own pleasure.

Speaking of said woman, Rhaenys had crawled over behind Dacey and started sucking on her ear lobe while her hands moved to remove Dacey's clothes.

The woman might very well be leaving soon to head back to Bear Island, but that didn't mean they all couldn't have a bit of fun before then.

Judging by how his clothes seemed to disappear in an instant, Will was thinking the same thing.