Chapter 66 - Betrothal?
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Winterfell Castle
POV of Doric Bolton
"Lord Bolton," Lord Stark said with his usual stoic face when Doric entered his solar.
"My lord," Doric replied.
"Please take a seat, Lord Bolton." Eddard Stark said as he pointed at the chair. Doric nodded and sat down.
"Call
Doric, my lord." He said, "There's no need for formalities when only two of us are here."
Eddard Stark looked a bit taken aback at his words and frowned in confusion for a mont before he slowly gave a cautious nod.
"Very well. Then you can call
Ned as well." He paused and then continued "In private."
"Alright. Then let's get straight to the point Ned. What do you want from ?"
His directness surprised Eddard Stark who probably wanted to start the conversation by praising him for leading his people to prosperity despite becoming a lord at such a young age to put him at ease before talking about the betrothal.
But his directness left Eddard Stark fumbling over what he should say next even though none of his emotions showed greatly in his stoic face.
After a mont, Eddard Stark started "You're a clever lad Doric. Your recent inventions of the Printing Press, Paper Mill, Frost Steel making device, the dozens of iron mines being opened in your lands, and the enormous increase in the amount of food that your people produce. All these things have made your house far more powerful in recent years."
At this point, Eddard Stark stopped talking for a while before starting to talk again. "Such power imbalance usually leads to civil war. So, we can't allow you to gain any more power. Not unless sothing is done about this whole situation."
Just as Doric expected. When soone becos direct to Lord Stark, he would also beco direct and co to the point. In a way, Eddard Stark wasn't good at politics. Good thing that he was in the North and not at King's Landing. Otherwise, the sharks there would eat Lord Stark's alive.
"And by sothing, you an betrothing your daughter Sansa Stark to ?" he stated without any preamble and Eddard Stark's eyes slightly widened in surprise before he took control of his emotions once again.
"How did you know about it?" Eddard Stark asked cautiously, and he shrugged.
"I didn't." He replied "But my aunt guessed that you would ask for such a thing on my visit here because of the new wealth that my house had accumulated. And I agreed with her in that regard."
Eddard Stark gave a stoic nod of understanding, but he looked more relaxed than before. Probably he was relieved that he didn't find this bit of information from any spy that he might have planted in Winterfell.
"Yes, Sansa is only 7 nadays old at the mont and won't marry you until she is of age. And to tell you the truth, I don't want to promise her hand to soone just yet. But given the circumstances, I have no other choice. So, what do you say? Do you agree with this betrothal?" Eddard Stark asked, but he already seed convinced that Doric would not object to this pairing.
If that's what Eddard Stark thought, then Lord Stark has no idea what's coming for him.
"I'd like to et your daughter Sansa Stark before I make my decision, Ned." He said and Ned looked a bit surprised for a mont but then he gave a nod of understanding.
"That's perfectly understandable. You have my permission to court my daughter during your stay here in Winter fell." He said with gritted teeth. Clearly, he didn't like the idea of anyone courting his daughter at such a young age "But I want your answer before you leave Doric."
"I am not going to court her Ned. She is 7 nadays old. And if you forget I am 11 nadays old even if I am more mature than my peers. I want to et her because I want to know her personality and asure our compatibility. I don't mind building a marriage bridge between two houses to protect the North's stability, but also, I want to have a good and peaceful relationship with my wife in the future so both of us have a happy life."
Lord Stark froze for a mont. Probably because he rembered Doric was 11 nadays old. And didn't expect this kind of pragmatic and mature answer from a 11 nadays old boy.
After a while he said. "I appreciate that Doric. You have my permission to et my daughter."
He gave a nod and asked, "If there's nothing else Lord Stark?". And upon Eddard Stark's nod, he left the solar.
For the next few days, he spent his ti talking with the other lords or in the company of Robb and Jon as well as in the Library of Winterfell.
The other lords had also brought their children along with them to betroth them and make new alliances. He did not doubt that Wyman Manderly would have tried to betroth one of his granddaughters to him if Lord Manderly had not known about his deal with Lord Stark.
Robb and Jon also called him for a sparring in the courtyard. An invitation that he easily accepted as he never had a chance to train with his peers from other Houses. He usually trained with Varko and Raksa and sotis others who had different fighting styles to gain more experience in lee techniques and styles.
Actually, he was already the best swordsman, spearman, archer, and jousting master in Bolton Lands if he judged only from the technique, style, footwork, and control side. His eidetic mory was not a joke.
But still, he couldn't win against Varko and Raksa. His weaknesses were strength and stamina. He had worked hard to improve his body in the last 4 years, but it was still not enough to win against an experienced adult warrior.
So, he wanted to spar with Robb to understand the strength of a noble peer.
Well, it was a disappointing spar. After a few clashes, the spar turned into a teaching lesson, and he was the teacher. At least teaching Robb was enjoyable and he could feel that Robb's admiration for him increased every mont as they sparred. So, they continued their teaching... cough sparring session.
Robb, being a good friend, inford him that if Doric challenges heirs, pages, or squires from other Houses and shows his talent, other lords would think more highly about him.
He simply replied that he didn't care about the other lords looked down upon or thought highly of him as long as his people lived in prosperity.
From the way that Jon Snow looked at him after he said that, he had a feeling that he made another admirer today.
Actually, he thought of waiting for a few years before joining a tourney and winning against adults to gain so prestige.
And of course, he didn't forget the reason for his stay at Winterfell. He had to give his answer about the betrothal to Lord Stark.
And to do that he had to et Sansa Stark and evaluate her.
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Ch.67: Four Proposals and an Agreent
Ch.68: Ice Cream and Pyromaniacs
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