The beginning
Feel free to skip to the ------ line to get to Stark!Reader dialog. Lots of babbling because details matter, always. Ship: Jacaerys Velaryon x Stark!Reader, hinted at(subtly) @sins-of-the-dragons Context: Stark!Reader, the younger sister of Cregan Stark never dealt well with the cold. With the change of the seven realms and a bond formed between the crown prince of the black queen and the younger sister of the northerner lord, she finds a way to spin her words to make the first step in order to get to the point where she desires to be. Bonus: I made the characters a tad older as they are in the show. After all Harry Collet is 21 while he plays Jacaerys so.
Established Jacaerys Velaryon x Baela Targaryen which guess what, will end up down the drain down in the long run in favour of Stark!Reader. Sorry Baela but the Sea Snake messed up when he switched sides to save you and Rhaenyra(who in this AU survives) punished the brief betrayal by ending the betrothal established long ago to reward House Stark which stayed loyal throughout the whole deal and, yk, Cregan coming down into the south to deal with things diplomatically while she was bed bound after nearly escaping dragon death(IT'S A LONG STORY HOW THINGS UNFOLDED DIFFERENTLY FOR HER TO SURVIVE AND IT'S FOR ANOTHER TIME BUT THE HOUR OF THE WOLF STILL HAPPENS! Also side note, I love Baela as a character, no hate to her, she is amazing, but the whole plot is Jacaerys x Someone else than Baela so- yeah, gotta make it work.)
This AU has two timelines, this one follows the latter: The first timeline is where Jacaerys retunrs with Reader and quite plainly goes 'Cregan Stark agreed to help us if I get betorthed to her sister and protect her here at Dragonstone so here she is' which is a partial lie, partial truth. Therefore Stark!Reader ends up working herself day and night with proposals and studious time to prove herself worthy of beign Jacaerys betrothed(Example: "It's her or no one else" the prince of Norway when he fell in love with a waitress). Or the second timeline where the two love birds aren't so hasty and while Stark!Reader does pretty much the same as in the first timeline, the way the situation is approached to slowly persuade Rhaenyra, and the whole court/lords/realm at that, for these two is more careful then just a sudden change everyone has to deal with.
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"Winter is coming. To the North. To the realm. My health can't allow me to stay in our homeland for much longer. Your duties can't allow you to just drop everything and march south. The Crown Prince's duties can't allow him to come back before his queen mother without a solid promise. So I have thought of a compromise that benefits all parties likewise." The lady said while looking at her dear brother. The crown prince was in the same room with them, as she had requested to have them both present during this discussion, for it was a matter that concerned them both. Duty and desire alike. Something both the Warden of the North and the Crown Prince struggled with in the moment in parallel. Lord and Prince gave each other a brief look. They were brothers by the oath they gave one another and by their shared experiences. If only the prince knew at the time that gaining a brother means losing another for the balance of all things to remain in place...
"We have duties to ourselves, yet above that are the duties to our house, and even above it, to the realm. You are my warden, therefore responsible for my health and well-being. However, you are also responsible for our House and our external relations. You can't send me off for my own good at the risk that I could be used against you to break our father's oath or your own." The lady clarified to her brother. Servants weren't blind. They knew better than to speak foolishly, but at the end of the day, their loyalty was laid with their lord and not his sickly sister. Besides, Cregan Stark was a wolf after all. He had a sharp eye and a keen sense of hearing. He was more aware of it than they knew he was. However, he allowed for it, for not that is, for it didn't cross any boundaries that would ignite a dragon's consuming fire. Not to mention the lord trusted his sister, for she by nature was lawful, a true tribute to her house's name.
She took a moment to wait and see how her brother would react. Once he gave her to go to with a small nod, she continued. "As lord of our house, you have duties to the common folk under us. As the Lord of a House under the rule of the Iron Throne, you have duties to the ruler of the seven realms, too. As the lady of this house, I, too, have duties. If I can't fulfil them for now through an advantageous marriage of political alliance childbearing, which I am most grateful for you not indulging it to take place anytime soon, then I must play my part otherwise." Indeed, despite being of age, the sister of Lord Stark was yet to be wed. When his uncle ruled in his stead, he had tried to set an advantageous marriage for her for his own gain many times, and what did she do? Be beastly and wild like dire wolves as a form of revolt to his wishes to estrange her from her own brother and weaken their bond, furthermore, to ruin his attempts at gaining himself support that could have helped him keep his place as lord of the north instead of Cregan. Once Cregan became the Lord of House Stark as it should have been, he allowed his sister to deny courtships or suitors that tried to sway her if she believed them to be of the ill kind. For example, the Boltons, who reached an olive branch, only for the young lady to deem them as horrid people she'd sooner die than be bound to. Talk about a harsh crowd. The lord trusted his sister, but he was becoming increasingly worried about having her end up an old lady and forever maiden on his hands, something which she was much more aware of.
"If the crown prince would allow it of me, send me away to Dragonstone with him when his grace must depart from the North. I will be your representative in the Red Keep. I will be the representative of our house and of the North in the court of the Queen, our father, and likewise, you have promised to serve and aid. That way, I will be amongst our allies, the side of the Targaryen House our father swore to follow, I will be safe, and I will also be able to show my support to the cause through my presence there. Where House Stark goes, the North follows. I believe the Black Queen would be most pleased to have my presence as a guarantee of our House's loyalty to her. I'll be the bridge of trust between our houses." Lady Stark said while holding her hands together, her elbows resting on the arms of the chair. A bold proposal yet spoken in a casual tone. However, she wasn't mouthy without reason. She could contemplate how her wishes could be the communal wishes of many others. The benefits, the cons, she was much more aware, but you must be able to narrate your story properly to convince a crowd. "If it so pleases her highness, she can dispose of me, and you are left without a sister." The young lady said with a small shrug. "Our showcase of profound and sincere vulnerability plus loyalty will be annihilated, and you will know from afar that she isn't the type of queen our father would have wanted you to serve, even if it costs you our entire bloodline. Or, she will appreciate this gesture, understand its meaning, and respond accordingly by offering me safe sanctuary in the Red Keep. That way, you will know you haven't made a mistake by forming a brotherhood with the crown prince and following our father's oath. I will be safe, you will be able to focus on your duties here, and Prince Jacaerys will return to his mother with more than just proof of word of the alliance." That much was true. While Lord Stark would honor his house's reputation and his late father's wishes and oath, at times, honor and duty don't get you far if the one you serve is the one who would carelessly and cruelly ensure your own wipe out. Things could perhaps clear out this way.
"Neither of us knows her as a ruler, brother. Her reign has barely begun, and we already have an usurper trying to dethrone her. However, her chosen heir is right before our eyes, and if one day he is to be the king you will rule under, then I believe it's a safe guess to believe she is by far and with ease a better choice than the green 'King' as he proclaims to be." That much was true. Prince Jacaerys has proven to be a great man, one that Lord Cregan Stark grew fond of quickly for his character. His sister grew fond of him too if the fact that she sought out to see him when it was just the two of them was anything to go by; given she was the same lady who needed no more than a week or two at best to turn away or down a suitor who she could feel in the depths of her bones wasn't someone who'd honor the Stark values or do as much as accept them. Prince Jacaerys saw it as the moment he, too, would have a word. To reinforce the showcase of his bravery and character to the man with whom he struck a brotherhood oath, but likewise to subtly declare his admiration and fancy to the lady he found himself lingering closely to as much as the bounds of decency would allow in their delicate situation. He made a bold claim at that, that he would protect her. However, as much as she too fancies him, she is the cold from the edge of the fire with which he burns.
"Ensure it how?" Her voice cut through without hesitation or warmth. "With your life at risk in favor of mine? You are the heir of your mother. You should know the order of things. Who stands where in importance? It's your mother, the Queen, and after that, it's you. You cannot risk your life, not even for the ones you love the most, because on you depend a whole realm of lives, and to rule means to care for them first. You don't get to make promises that would bring ruin to everyone. If you wish for my safety, I much appreciate it, my prince. Yet I hope you know that said protection is to be ensured through personally appointed guards and not by yourself in harm's way. Or, well, of course, I merely lay out the obvious, for my prince wouldn't dream of doing anything any other way than by firstly taking into account all of this." Jacaerys' bold statement had now led him down a path where he stood almost frozen like a sleeping volcano, while Cregan gave him a sympathetic wince at his sister's tone that was, as always, unminced. Yet, this character was the one thing that gave Cregan his trust in his sister when their own kin sought to replace him and discard him back then. When other houses have their tensioned moments, there aren't as many spotlights on it, but House Targaryen gets the special privilage og coyotes and vultures waiting to eat the scraps of dragon carcasses without being burnt. "With that being said, I don't underestimate the crown prince's ability to keep his word, likewise to ours." She said all diplomatically as if nothing at all had happened while looking back at her brother.
"If neither of you two has an answer now, then I shall take my leave. I am sure you will come to an agreement by tomorrow morning." She stated calmly while getting up from her seat. The two men follow suit in standing, her brother and the prince, out of respect for her, but once her steps had carried her outside of the room and far from the roaring fireplace, the two sworn in brotherhood stared at each other. On one side, not knowing how to continue without their own feelings in this regard as separate beings, the brother of a sister and the admirer of said sister, and on the other as two good friends.









