Chapter 158: Epilogue
I woke up feeling like crap, my body aching in parts they shouldn't be any aching, worn out, tired. Besides me, my wife laid sleeping, the dark circles in her eyes showed she had been worrying sick about me.
I slowly stood up from stretching the one arm I had left, as I inwardly chuckled, this was going to make some stuff a living hell. As I stretched up, I noticed I felt different.
For a moment I could really understand exactly what was different, but then I realized my fire was gone, the blessing the god of fire had given me was no longer with me, meaning everything was already over.
Well, it was a bumpy ride. It has its ups and downs, and now. Well, here I am. Alive but crippled in a way. But in reality I would've given my entire body if it meant saving my children. So losing an arm was a pretty good deal if you ask me. Black Friday shit.
"Ronard," Daenerys muttered as she woke up, hugging me immediately after.
There were no words between us, just a comfortable moment of silence, one that helped us more than any words could right now.
With a smile, and my wife on my side, I dozed off back to the world of dreams, holding my little piece of sunshine right. Today I was no King, just a man… wanting some peace.
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[6 Months later]
And so time passed, the first few months after the war were hard, especially since some important lords had died, the Tully's among them were wiped out. From father to son, none remained, except for Catelyn who was now considerably more… friendly.
In the end, everyone had lost something, some lost minor things like me, and others lost irreplaceable things like Oberyn, who lost two of his daughters. Obara and Tyene, who by what my ravens and Oberyn told me, fought to the very end like true warriors. Needless to say, Oberyn was destroyed with this. I couldn't even imagine my children dying. The idea was… beyond anything I had experienced so far.
Ned lost more than eighty percent of his army, and the battle had left his heir Robb with a bad leg, nothing that would threaten his life or impede him from having heirs of his own, but he would never fight again, limping on the battlefield, would be his end.
Jon, was… in perfect health, a few cuts here and there, but besides that? New like a porsche the son of a… it seemed even here the plot armor protects him.
The point was… everyone had lost a lot during this war, me included. My once almost unstoppable army was now nothing but the shadow of what it once was. With a few hundred unsullied alive, and the Dothraki… mostly gone.
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[1 Year Later]
It has been officially one year since the war ended, and I have yet to fully recover, but everyday I feel better with my strength slowly coming back. As for news, the Tyrells tried to rebel as soon as the matriarch of the family died, aka the only smart person in there…. so yeah… I wiped them off.
I gave them many chances, fuck them. But this made the seven kingdoms feel more like… the five kingdoms, or four. Huh, I need to do my math.
As for the Kingdom? It… was a work in progress, it was in need of fixing… with so many things to fix after the war…my bills were high, good thing I owned the bank, otherwise, well, I rather not think about it.
But things were looking well, for one I had trustworthy people in my council, Oberyn as the Master of Laws, Ned Stark as the Hand of the King, Tyrion who I had personally hunted down, as the Master of Coin, Dacey Mormont as the Master of Ships… some tried to complain because she was a woman and such… well, fuck them, Lancetot as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and secretly but officially Nick Fury as my master of whispers.
I had my reasons why I had chosen every single one of them to those positions. Not only I trusted them, but they were good in the areas I had given them.
I can wait to see how things turn out.
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[10 Year later]
Everything was… perfect, the life I never knew as a young impulsive brat that I wanted, was on my present. My son, training with me. And my daughter obliterating my royal ass in chess… every time. Though that last part is not new. She has been doing that since she was nine.
And while Geralt shows more prowess in battle, she wasn't so far behind. Her style was more fluid, and with lethal intentions.
"How is the training going?" Daenerys inquired, coming into the training yard.
"Dad keeps being the one arm menace he is", Geralt pouted.
"Stop crying… and get better," My sarcastic, sour and adorable teenage daughter commented with a slight smirk.
"Oh shut it," Geralt rolled his eyes at her, "It's not like you can beat him,"
"In combat? Not yet… but in chess and other games… I do, unlike you… I have wins against father,"
Sibling rivalry, it's so beautiful to see it as a father, and fun, I love seeing them argue, it's sometimes relaxing. Especially because my little princess outwits my poor son, he was by no means stupid. But she is by no means normal, a genius… among genius.
They each excelled in something, my son was a social butterfly, while my little princess hated social interactions, saying it was a waste of time, that the only people she cared about were us, and that others only wanted something from us.
A very harsh truth she learned by herself making her own conclusions when she was seven.
My son on the other hand, wanted to see the good in others, though not in a blind and moronic way, he knew some people were bad and wanted to use us, but he believed everyone deserves a chance. But even with his carefree friendly demeanor, he was no fool, seeing through plots better than most adults.
Needless to say, I was proud of them beyond words.
As for my other sons…. Well, after I gave highgarden to Jon because well, those lands were highly profitable and Jon was trustworthy, my sons claimed the Targaryen homeland for them. As a place to have eggs if they ever found mates.
This in turn made all of my animals migrate there, turning the place into an animal kingdom, House Wildfire… or House Chimera as some call it.
A good use for that place.
"What are you smiling about?" Daenerys asked, kissing my hand.
"My… I feel like a lady being courted," I chuckled.
"A muscular and hairy one…" Geralt added with a smirk.
"It would be educational to see father with a dress," My little princess added with a mischievous smile.
"Well… I'm happy just because," I chuckled, ignoring my children like a good father, "Just because," I finished hugging them.
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[Ten years later]
I had finally discovered what I had lost during my resurrection, I had lost a massive part of my life span, instead of aging slowly like I would've done, I was aging faster than a normal person.
"What happen dad... having troubles keeping up?" My son smirked, as we continued to spar.
"Kiddo you are still too green to best me," I chuckled, as I disarmed him with a single move all while putting the training sword on his throat.
"I will eventually best you pops," My son smiled.
"I have doubts about that," My daughter said rolling her eyes, as while grabbing a training sword, "Let's have a one on one brother... I assure you, this time I will win,"
"As if," My son snorted, getting into position.
In the meantime I sat... watching them fight with a smile on my face.... here I was... a man in his middle age... with his two loving kids... and loving wife living the day by day with no problems, who would've thought I would be here thirty years ago, who would've thought.
*We will take care of them... once you are gone,* Neltharion who had come to visit today hissed, *We will protect them,*
"Thanks," I smiled, as I watched them fight... feeling somewhat tired.
"Ronard," Daenerys greeted, giving me a kiss while sitting down besides me.
"You know I love you right?" I asked with a faint smile/
"I do," Daenerys nodded.
"Good," I yawned, putting my head in her lap, as I slowly drifted into sleep feeling my body getting heavier and heavier, all while thinking... I had very eventful life, but I had no regrets, I would've done the same thing all over again just to get this result.
I used at one point think my existence here was a curse... what a stupid boy I used to be.
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The end... next coming up... Percy Jackson: The God of Magic.