Harry Potter: Beyond the Parselveil

Chapter 243 243: The Art Of Being Shameless

"I must leave for now. Though, I will visit Winterfell tomorrow," Aaric said, bidding farewell to everyone at the tea table before simply teleporting away with a silent flicke.

He materialized back in his own castle and saw his parents and the girls sitting by the hearth with visibly tired expressions.

Moving over, he placed himself right between Daphne and Fleur, who immediately leaned against him for comfort.

Luna got up from her seat, climbed onto his lap, and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

She was simply too exhausted to feel any embarrassment about doing so in front of his parents.

"Whoa, what happened?" Aaric asked. He could easily sense that the exhaustion everyone felt was a weight on their minds rather than their physical bodies.

"They are..." Edwina began, trailing off.

"Devoted," Simon concluded with a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, I noticed," Aaric muttered as he remembered the absolute awe and devotion Ra had treated him with down in King's Landing.

"I wonder how that happens. Most of them have never even met us before," Simon wondered aloud, looking into the crackling fire.

"Well, most of them must have grown up hearing legends about how we literally merged two entire islands and transported them across different universes," Aaric suggested with a slight tilt of his head.

"Well, it was mostly you who did that. But I don't suppose that detail matters to them," Luna commented, resting her head against his chest as she took a deep, relaxing breath.

Aaric gently caressed Daphne and Fleur's backs to soothe them, then pressed his lips to the top of Luna's head to comfort the girl. All three of them snuggled closer into his warmth with small, content smiles.

"You know you all will just have to get used to it," Aaric said with a soft grin.

He was a master at the art of being shameless and did not to mind the adoration and usually preferred to just go with the flow.

The three girls groaned softly at his words, while Simon and Edwina exchanged wry smiles.

"Stop with the groans. You three are princess consorts now, so you might as well let the people treat you like it," Aaric urged the girls playfully before turning his gaze toward his parents.

"And Mom, Dad, I highly suggest you two get comfortable with being royalty. You will be sitting on that throne for a very long time." He wriggled his eyebrows at his parents to tease them.

"You are such a devil," Edwina said, laughing softly as she walked up to him and affectionately pinched his cheeks.

She then stood before her husband with her hands resting firmly on her hips, giving Simon a knowing look.

"I mean, he will turn eighteen in three years. Let's just rule over our people for that short time. We will force him onto the throne in three years anyway," Simon suggested, completely ignoring Aaric's protests.

Edwina nodded in agreement at her husband's words. The royal couple walked away hand in hand, quietly discussing what they should do for the rest of the day.

"By the way, it was unfair how you just left us here to deal with all the celebrations while you went off to explore the world right after we arrived," Daphne chided Aaric, her eyes narrowing slightly in faux annoyance.

"We can go out together right now if you want. I actually met some fascinating people while I was out," Aaric said, completely deflecting from Daphne's real complaint with an easy smile.

Luna stood up from his lap as he spoke, taking hold of his hand and leading him directly toward their bedroom while Daphne and Fleur clung tightly to his sides.

"Let's do that tomorrow instead," Fleur whispered softly into Aaric's ear, starting to playfully nibble on his neck as they walked together.

"Fine by me," Aaric concurred with a wide grin.

| The next morning |

Winterfell was in an absolute frenzy because of the incredible events that had taken place on the previous day.

A mythical flying ship had suddenly appeared in their skies before landing gracefully just outside the castle walls.

Robb Stark had swiftly mustered whatever armed men he could find, marching out to the massive vessel on horseback to confront whoever might have dared to intrude into their winter domain.

To the young lord's complete shock, he was instead greeted by his weary, battered father and his tearful sisters.

A quick flicker of recognition had passed through Robb's eyes the moment he saw Ra and his family standing there.

Hence, the travelers were quickly brought inside the safety of Winterfell, where they were immediately granted traditional northern hospitality and given some quiet time to recuperate before any intense questioning began.

Now gathered in a private room, it was mostly Ned who answered Robb and Catelyn's frantic queries, while Sansa, Arya, and Jeyne Poole occasionally chimed in to add their own harrowing experiences.

Ned openly revealed the dark truth he had uncovered in the capital, explaining that the royal children were actually bastards born of incest between the Queen and the Kingslayer.

The king had been away on a royal hunt when Ned made the discovery.

"I did not wish to be the reason for the execution of innocent children," Ned said solemnly, explaining how he had directly gone to Cersei Lannister with his discoveries and warned her to flee the city.

It was not meant to be, however.

The king had become enraged during his hunt when he discovered that the rare white hart he had been tracking for days had already been felled and ruined by a wild pack of wolves.

In his blind rage, Robert Baratheon had become completely reckless. He loudly ordered his royal guards to stand back as he chose to fight a monstrous, wild boar entirely alone.

"Robert even managed to fell the beast himself. Though, he was not quick enough to see the second boar coming right at him," Ned explained with a heavy, sorrowful sigh, his hands holding his head in utter exhaustion.

The king had returned to the Red Keep alive, but he suffered from an infected wound.

The very first thing the monarch had done was place all his royal responsibilities directly onto Ned's shoulders by naming him Protector of the Realm.

Robert was still alive when Cersei ruthlessly ripped the royal edict to shreds and branded Ned a traitor to the crown.

It must have taken an immense fortune of gold to buy the loyalty of every single Gold Cloak willing to be sold.

Though, since gold was practically what Tywin Lannister shat, the staggering cost was never a problem for the desperate queen.

One of those treacherous Gold Cloaks had suddenly stabbed Ned's leg from behind to initiate the bloody betrayal.

Ned's personal guards were slaughtered on the spot, and the northern lord was thrown into the dark depths of the black cells to rot away in isolation.

She then made a show of entering Robert's chambert alone to 'discuss' what had happened and claimed the king had corroborated her words.

"Joffrey even confined Cersei and Mya Stone to their respective rooms not long after father's imprisonment," Sansa interjected, breaking her silence during her father's retelling of the events in King's Landing.

"I heard he did that specifically because they were both against father's public execution." The young girl added the detail just as Catelyn opened her mouth to ask about it.

Ser Jaime Lannister was away at Casterly Rock at the time, which aided in the confinement of the queen, as her brother was not present to put a swift stop to the young king's madness.

Mya Stone was entirely against the whole horrific affair, but she could not achieve much because she was a mere bastard, and the Lannisters had deliberately arranged things so that the volatile king would not be able to see anyone they did not want him to interact with.

Sansa swallowed a choked sob at this point, placing her head down onto her mother's shoulder for comfort.

Both Lord and Lady Stark could sense that she had gone through a tremendous amount of trauma during Ned's time in captivity, and she was not ready to share those deeper scars just yet.

"They will pay for this," Robb growled fiercely, his knuckles turning white because of his tight grip on his sword.

"My sword will bathe in Lannister blood, and Grey Wind will feast on Lannister flesh by the time I am finally done with them." He stood up abruptly from his seat and turned his head toward his father, his mind entirely consumed by thoughts of war.

The direwolf beside Robb gave an approving growl.

"There will be no need for a war, son," Ned said calmly, raising a steady hand to stay Robb's oncoming protest.

"The king will eventually wake up and learn of everything that transpired in his absence. His royal justice will swiftly follow his wrath." The silent wolf added the words in absolute assurance.

"The king?" Robb started in pure indignation. "Father, that king completely left you to the weasels the very moment you stepped foot inside his piss stained city."

Ned merely leaned back into his wooden chair with an utterly tired expression at his son's harsh words.

"The North remembers, Lord Stark," Theon Greyjoy spoke up for the very first time in the tense conversation.

His face remained a sharp mask of cold fury ever since he had learned what those southern bastards had put Sansa and Arya through.

"I called our banners the very moment I heard rumors of your imprisonment. It is high time the Lannisters finally pay their true debts." Robb said in support of Theon's declaration.

The heavy moment was suddenly interrupted by the unexpected arrival of a beautiful owl at the open window.

Her soft feathers were a lovely sandy brown, and her eyes shone bright like the deep night sky as she looked directly toward Ra with a sealed letter held firmly in her beak.

The custodian got up from his seat at once, gently taking the letter from Dune's beak before placing his open arm out in front of the magnificent bird.

Dune hopped gracefully onto his forearm as he carefully brought her over toward Sansa and Arya as a simple way to comfort the young girls.

The northern girls smiled brightly at the golden custodian before Arya gently took Dune into her lap, feeding the owl some dried meat while they both softly caressed her smooth head.

"What does the letter say?" Ned asked, glancing warmly at the small, rare smile gracing his daughters' faces.

"The letter is meant for you, Lord Stark," Ra said, handing Ned the sealed parchment.

"It is a direct message from my prince. A formal request to be officially allowed entry into your northern lands." He added the explanation with a much more diplomatic tone.