Chapter 243: Demands
Winterfell, Stark Lands
POV of Domeric Bolton
Domeric started making his demands one by one.
"Thirdly, House Bolton will be able to train as many men for its army as it wishes, and build and purchase as many ships for its fleet as it wishes, without needing the permission of the Warden of the North or the Crown."
"Fourthly, House Bolton may send an expedition beyond the Wall at any time without the permission of the Warden of the North or the Crown. And for this expedition, they may pass through the lands of any lord in the North. Lord Stark, as Warden of the North, shall inform all lords in the North of this."
"Fifthly, House Bolton will be able to build any buildings and structures it wishes on its lands, and establish any settlement it wishes, without needing the permission of the Warden of the North or the Crown."
"Sixthly, for the next 100 years, no member of House Stark shall set foot in Bolton Lands without permission. House Bolton will decide who may or may not enter the Bolton Lands after House Stark's request. For his past disrespect to House Bolton, Catelyn Stark is to set foot in Bolton Lands under no circumstances for 100 years."
After this point, Lord Stark opened his mouth as if to say something, but Domeric knew that he would most likely object to the part about Catelyn Stark, so he added after his words.
"I know, Lord Stark, that your wife, Lady Stark, has long desired to see Sansa as a princess. And I am certain that, following the King's proclamation, she is at the forefront of those trying to persuade you to accept this order. Therefore, Lady Stark also must suffer the consequences of her actions." Domeric said.
And Lord Stark closed his mouth, which he had just opened to speak, and leaned back in his chair.
"And finally…" Domeric said, and after a long pause, he continued. "The lords and ladies of House Bolton shall no longer be required to bow their knees and heads to the Warden of the North, House Stark, and the Crown, the Royal Family."
"I can accept that House Bolton does not kneel or bow to House Stark. But that is impossible for the Crown. Even if Robert were to accept it, the rest of the Royal Family and the other Great Houses would oppose it." Lord Stark said.
"Then, as I said before, you had better convince the King of this. Otherwise, the entire realm will witness a civil war caused by the King's crazy order. Perhaps King Robert will even go down in history as the new Mad King because of this." Domeric said emotionlessly.
"I... I need to discuss these matters with the King." Lord Stark said, finally.
"I know. This parchment contains my written demands. I'm leaving it with you, so you don't forget anything." Domeric said, and he pulled a rolled-up parchment from his pocket and placed it on Lord Stark's desk. Then he continued speaking.
"All of my demands must be agreed to in writing, signed and sealed by the King and you in the presence of the other Great Lords of the North. The King must then send word by raven to all the Lords throughout Westeros of the terms of this agreement."
"Your demands are increasing, Lord Bolton. I don't know if I can convince the King of all of them." Lord Stark said, a little annoyed.
"Accept it or not. I don't care. You'll have to live with the consequences, whatever they may be." Domeric said and turned his back on Lord Stark, starting to walk towards the door.
"Lord Bolton." Lord Stark called out.
"Yes," Domeric said, turning back to Lord Stark.
"Does House Bolton intend to reconsider what he wrote in his newspaper? The King is not happy about this being reported throughout the realm." Lord Stark said solemnly.
"It depends. If the Crown and House Stark agree to my demands, House Bolton can move past this situation and focus on other matters in its newspaper. Otherwise, Worldwide News will continue reporting the facts. And if the King doesn't like hearing about what he did, he shouldn't have done it in the first place. If nothing else..." Domeric said and turned again, walking towards the door.
"What about the Ice Sword? When will you send it? The King needs to see it." Lords Stark asked.
Domeric stopped walking, but this time he didn't turn back; he just turned his head to the side and said to Lord Stark. "What Ice Sword? I'm sorry, Lord Stark, but some news I've received lately has filled my mind, and I can't think of anything else. I hope you haven't made a promise to the King that you can't keep."
Lord Stark turned even paler at Domeric's answer. At that moment, he realized that perhaps Domeric held more cards than he had shown. If the King hadn't seen the Ice Sword, would he still believe the White Walkers and help the North? Even if the King did, would the Southern Lords?
"But..." Lord Stark began, but was unable to continue, unsure of what to say. Domeric spoke instead, giving Lord Stark information he did not want to hear.
"Oh... By the way. I heard Prince Joffrey takes pleasure in torturing animals and people, making them bleed, and hurting them. I wonder if Sansa will grow up to hate you for the decision you made today, Lord Stark. Of course, she'll have to survive first. But I'm sure the Lannister Queen will come up with a good excuse for Sansa's death. Maybe one day, like Jon Arryn, you'll hear that Sansa died of high fever."
After finishing his speech, Domeric turned his head forward again and continued walking, leaving the solar.
"Wait…" Lord Stark said, but Domeric had no intention of speaking further. And he didn't need to see Lord Stark to know that he was even paler than before.
Perhaps Lord Stark and Lady Stark's breaking their promise to Domeric and remaining silent about Sansa's betrothal to Joffrey would be a punishment in itself for them.
Of course, Domeric couldn't just leave them like that. As long as Domeric was at the helm of House Bolton, no one could insult his House like this and get away with it.
And what better way to prove it than by making an example of House Stark and the Crown?
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.244: Ygritte's New Admirer
Ch.245: Bran Stark's Situation
Ch.246: Confronting the Kingslayer