Carliene Stark

Part II - Autumn's Gain - Chapter 1

Part II

AUTUMN'S GAIN

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Carliene

I stood on the bow of the ship, watching as the isle of Dragonstone emerged from the mist. The wind was cold and filled with salt and my heart quickened with the enormity of the size and the realisation that I had made it. Even my sea sickness seemed to be forgotten for the moment.

Suddenly there was a strange kind of deep shriek piecing the sky. A sound unlike any I had ever heard. As I raised my gaze to the sky in confusion I found its origin and for a moment the world froze. 

Although I had never seen one before and had never believed that I would ever get the chance I recognised the creature on the spot. A dragon, flew across the sky at an almost impossible height, disappearing between the clouds a moment later. 

My chest filled with a deep sort of wonder and amazement. I felt like I had just managed a glance back in time. To when Dragons and their riders still ruled the world. And suddenly I was assured in my journey again and it all seemed worth it. 

The dragon queen would reconquer Westeros and the lions' reign would finally be over.
I kept my eyes on the sky for the rest of the journey, hoping I would get to see the magnificent creature again. I had to think back to the largest dragon skull in the Red Keep, trying my best to imagine how large the whole rest of the animal would be. 

We docked at the harbour and I nodded to the captain as I disembarked, weaving through the crowd of sailors and traders. As I looked around to determine the best way to get into the fortress and an audience with the dragon queen, I caught sight of the flag of the ship I had been sailing on for the first time. A golden kraken on a black field. I frowned slightly, thinking back to a loud-mouthed boy and a castle on fire. But I had better things to think about than what a Greyjoy ship was doing all the way over at Dragonstone.

I walked up to the castle, trying not to be distracted by searching the sky for dragons or staring at the warriors that where clearly not native to Westeros. There were guards clad all in black, with spears and round shields and olive skin. And there were savage looking men, clad in skins and furs, with long beards and even longer braids in their hair.

I found my path blocked by two of the more civilised looking foreigners as I approached the large gates that guarded the serpentine steps which lead up to the fortress. 

"I demand an audience with the queen" I stated as proudly as I could, though I feared it would not canvas the sorry state I was in. 

The two men looked at each other confused. 

"My name is Carliene Stark, I wish to swear my allegiance to Daenerys Targaryen" I announced. It occurred to me suddenly that they probably didn't even speak the common tongue and that I was utterly waisting my time by trying to convince them.

I gave a small sigh. "I" I pointed a finger at my chest. "want to go see" I pointed at the gate and the fortress in the distance. "the queen" I tried mimicking a crown upon my head, fearing that I was failing at whatever I was doing. 

The men looked at each other again, then exchanged some words in a foreign tongue. Some part of my performance must have gotten through to them as one of them opened the gate and the other told me to follow. At least that is what I thought he said before guiding me through the gate and along the stone path. By the end of the climb my legs were shaking, but that did not discourage me from taking in the greatness of the castle, which never in my wildest dreams I would have thought to see. It seemed impossibly tall and a steady wind pulled at my dirty coat even once we were inside. The walls were covered in great carvings of dragons and scenes of battles and if it hand't been for the soldier providing the steady pace we were going at I surely would have stopped and gotten lost in marvelling at the grandeur of it all.