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When Dunk came to he was under a sparse tree with the sun shining. He fiddled with the soft grass around him. His entire body jerked. His skin didn't have most of the wrinkles, scars or callouses he'd grown used to.
Maybe this is what the afterlife is. A comfortable seat under a tree, surrounded by late spring warmth. The thought made his chest feel tight. He wasn't sure he could handle complete solitude, not after decades of finally getting to love people.
Rafe's words from long ago floated through his mind, as they often did. 'Go out there, get a family.' And he had, despite losing soulmates over and over again, he'd found family with Egg and Betha, forged bonds with Shiera and Bryden, carved a place for himself that led to commander of the kingsguard.
But, all that had burned away in the inferno that consumed Summerhall, taking away Egg, Betha, their children, and Dunk's own will to live. He felt guilt twist that he hadn't held out long enough to apologise to Shiera and Brynden, to explain that without his son, his strongest soulbond, he could not survive.
He was pulled out of reverie by a damp tugging on his hair and out of a decades old instinct exclaimed, "OI, Chestnut you menace!"
When he looked up he gaped, it really was Chestnut, the mischievous mare back in all her glory. He looked around frantically, there was Thunder, Sweetfoot and… a grave, a familiar sword.
Dunk had an awful sense that this was not simply the afterlife.
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Baelor felt like he'd been whacked over the back of the head with the sudden and intense wave of emotion that hit him. He spun, looking desperately for the owner of this mysterious bond, but he was completely alone.
Maekar swore violently. Where the fuck had this new connection come from?? Who recently had grabbed his wrist? Leaving a mysterious orange mark. He ran off to send a raven to his uncle, who would surely know.
Daeron fell out of bed, the mysterious griefconfusionpainforeboding was way too much for a hangover. Though from his place on the floor he ended up laughing raucously when he saw Aegon had somehow changed half of the top of his hair gold? His little brother had his arms crossed as he glared at Daeron.
Valarr threw up. He'd been tending to his horses when a sudden activating of a bond hit him. He was used to the calm, somewhat detached affection of his other bonds, the strength of this was like nothing he'd felt before.
Lyonel choked on his wine. Appearing from nowhere on his chest, accompanied by insanely strong emotions, was a sunset handprint. He had been lounging in bed, drinking, while other lord finished setting up their tents for the coming tourney. He bound up from his rest, going to tell his squires of the impossible mark.
Raymun, in his shock, cut his leg with the sword he was polishing. His palm somehow turning sunset orange, despite there being no one around.
Shiera dropped the potion she was holding. Sunset appeared, between one blink and the next, on her arm. Not the slower forming of a new soulmark, but as if the bond had been there for years. It certainly felt like an old bond, just new to her. A smirk spread across the witches face, this would be interesting.
Brynden faceplanted into a wall. All his other bonds were in turmoil with the same shock at the sudden addition.
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Dunk spent a while murmuring to his horses, it had been so long. He can to the decision, with no small amount of dread, that he would have to ride for the Inn, then to Ashford. He had to know. Had to see Egg again, check if there was even a chance Prince Baelor was still alive. So he reluctantly pulled himself onto Sweetfoot, leaving the sun lit tree on the grassy hill for a place both unknown and horrifyingly familiar.
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Egg managed to persuade Daeron to shave his head. Partially for the reason he'd given his brother, to get a closer look at whatever had changed the colour, more so because he'd been trying to find some way to stop looking quite so much like Aerion.
He had sit on his hands to stop himself from wiggling and making his brother nick his scalp with the razor. He spends the time concentrating on the new bond. It feels distinctly parental, the strength of it overwhelming. Though fortunately the sharp spikes of grief have mostly faded.
Daeron finishes, swigging from a wine bottle now he's not holding a blade to Aegon's skin.
Egg hops down, bobbing to the mirror. He stares, letting out an outraged gasp. It's a massive handprint, sunset orange, covering most of his head!
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Maekar is repeatedly stabbing the table that's been hastily set up while they camped. Baelor rubs his sons back, Valarr had not taken too well to this new development, but at least he was no longer vomiting. Baelor is internally screaming, though not quite from the belief that this is witchcraft - that his brother is currently loudly ranting about while Baelor tunes him out - more that somewhere the three of them share a soulmate. One who is so overcome by grief that the seven above chose to send them all marks before even meeting them. He needs to find and wrap this mysterious soulmate in warm bed covers, he tries to send reassurances down the bond, but cannot feel if they make any difference.
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Bloodraven and Shiera Seastar stare at the letters between them. They exchange a look.
Brynden sighs,, massaging his temples. "I guess we're riding out to this stupid tourney then."
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Dunk tensed slightly when he saw the Inn ahead. He was terrified that he was wrong. Egg wouldn't be there. And he would just be left, wandering the world alone, no idea how to find his soulmates.
Egg felt a tug on the new bond, the one him and his brother had spent the last day and a half trying to figure out. It was pulling him outside. He dragged a now sober Daeron with him - after his brother shaved his head he'd confiscated all the wine, forced him into a bath and bargained with the Innkeep to deny his brother all spirits.
Riding closer, on a white palfrey, was a very tall man. He had dark blonde-red hair and blue eyes. He wore dirty, torn clothing, and had a sword tied with a rope at his waist. He had two other horses with him.
The man lowered himself, then stared at Egg and Daeron. Surprise and something like relief pulsed through the bonds.
Dunk felt choked up. His son was so, so small. He could not have been this young where they met? Surely not. Beside him, which was a change from last time, was Daeron.
The usually drunken prince whispered, tone awed. "I dreamed of you." Then he shook his head and continued, louder now. "The bonds. It's not how they're supposed to work, feels wrong too."
Dunk's gut twisted. He hadn't realised, perhaps having already died of bond sickness and awaking with the affliction again was hurting his soulmates. He hadn't realised that the wrongness could seep in before a bond properly formed. They clearly didn't remember, but they were in well made enough clothing that he could still give some of the respect that he was supposed to.
The tall man dropped to one knee, bowing surprisingly well for one of the small folk. The sudden guilt confused both the princes, unless the man was about to admit to impossible sorcery there was little he could have directly done to cause this mess. "I am very sorry, my lords. I have been Bondless for nearing a decade now, so do not know how that would effect potential soulmates."
Daeron choked. Shit. Well, he certainly wasn't avoiding the tourney now. Him and Aegon would have to rush there with their newly acquired soulmate, find Maestors and summon their great aunt, who might have various potions that could help recovery.
Egg did not freeze like his brother, instead cannoning into the man, little hand catching his neck. Dunk relaxed, finally feeling the bond. His boy. His most important bond. He knew he had gone all soft and mushy, wrapping Egg up and cradling his lad in his arms. But Egg didn't protest.
Daeron squared his shoulders. They didn't have time to settle here, they needed to leave immediately.
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Maekar was tearing his hair out. The heir had already had to stop his little brother from fleeing back to the red keep, twice now. Baelor himself was just as confused about this new tumultuous bond, though relived at the joy filling it now, a vast improvement on the overwhelming grief of before.
Valarr was outwardly improving, but was now sending several letters every time they stopped, and he did not know if their host at the tourney would have enough ravens to handle all the many correspondence Valarr would wish to send. He sighed, hoping they could figure this all out soon, for he feared for his son's sleep. Baelor did not want a repeat of last time Valarr became this anxious, when he didn't sleep for three days and ate so much sugar that he had been seriously worried for his son's heart - the young prince consumed half his weight in cakes in far too short a time. Eventually, it had taken him, Matarys, Maekar, three of the kingsguard and the king himself to catch and force the jittery, sleep deprived Valarr into a bed.
His son's knee started jumping, a sign he was about to run off to pen another letter. Brynden's ability to receive letters via burning them was probably very inconvenient at the current moment. He suppressed a chuckle at the image of his uncle puffed up like an angry chicken from inside a pile of hundreds of anxious letters.
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Dunk was deeply confused. He had not even started changing things yet, but Daeron was riding beside him into Ashford. Egg too, and they were revealing their identities as princes?
It was a massive alteration to last time, probably an improvement? Either way it was certainly odd.
Egg's little brow was furrowed, watching the hedge knight as if he were seconds from fainting, which melted Dunk's heart. Such a serious expression on his bald head, tiny nose scrunched up slightly, his son was truly adorable at this age. Daeron nervously talked, mostly about Taverns and a little, for some reason, about feathers. Though, he too had positioned himself as if to catch Dunk, arms moving as if to do so at the slightest swaying. He knew that Bond sickness was serious, having spent the majority of his life with it. But, he hadn't really thought to mention it to people last time, so his health had not been of great concern. Except for Egg, he supposed, who he had later found out had during their travels often sent letters to his brother at Oldtown asking how best to treat the ailment.
Still, it made him melt to see such open care, albeit from Daeron it was more weird. He barely knew the man, never seeing him again after a frayed soulbond forming at Beesbury's funeral, and while he did become good friends with Kiera, that was a couple of years after her second husband's passing.
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Daeron barged into the castle. Finding the spluttering Lord, who ordered who he thought were a minor lordling, a random bald child and a peasant trespassing in the early hours of the morning to be removed from his home.
Daeron bristled, he flashed his father's ring. "I am Prince Daeron Targaryen, who rode ahead with my brother, Prince Aegon. And that 'Peasant' you speak of so disrespectfully is our soulmate. We require a spacious room and our horses stabled." Daeron hoped he sounded imposing, it usually just sounded like he was whinging when he tried to be. But from the way the lord was grovelling it probably had some of the intended effect.
So that was how Dunk found himself curled up in a large bed, being cuddled by two princes. Definitely not the elm tree he'd been expecting, he thought as sleep dragged him under.
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Daeron slowly awoke, dreams of sleeping dragon nests wrapped around a knight still at the corners of his mind. He hummed, surprised at how pleasant they had been, the last time he'd slept had been two days earlier for only a couple of hours, and those had all been dark prophecies of his family dying.
His mattress and pillow were cruelly shaking for some reason. He buried himself further into the all consuming warmth, it chasing away the chill that usually clung to his bones, a constant cold that other Targaryens didn't seem to suffer from. A giggle made him crack his eyes open, finding a grinning Aegon and a smiling hedge knight.
Daeron smirked lazily, propping himself up and playing with his new soulmate's sleep tunic. "I had though it would take a bit longer to drag you into my bed, Ser Duncan, I am very… pleased it did not."
Daeron pouted as his little brother unceremoniously shoved him off the bed, stealing his cuddle spot on Duncan. Rumpled and mourning the loss of warmth, he sat up. Though perhaps the bruise was worth it, for the blush spreading across the hedge knight's cheeks. Of which his enjoyment was unfortunately diminished by Aegon loudly gagging.
He glanced outside, frowning. They had managed to sleep into the late afternoon, which made sense, they had arrived in the early morning. Baths were in order, he thought, then a nice meal.
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Dunk watched the princes, smiling softly. He had no idea what happened to do this, but he thanked the gods for it anyway. They ate a comfortable meal together, easy laughter and conversation aplenty. Already this was more than he'd hoped for in this mess.
He knew the bond sickness had probably done its damage, but the lifting of the last 30 years of loss and worsening health had left Dunk feeling lighter than he'd ever felt before.
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Daeron's heart could've melted as he watched Dunk easily lift Egg onto his hip, the lad sleepy. Neither Daeron nor his little brother had slept at all between the new bond appearing from nowhere and arriving at Ashford, so even a few hours had already tired them out again.
Dunk was also feeling drained. He knew his body had struggled a lot with the toll of forming soulbonds the first time, but he had kept himself from giving into rest through force of will and deeply ingrained habit from being a squire. Decades had softened him, letting the knight accept when relaxation would be beneficial and take as much of it as he wanted, provided one of his soulmates was there.
So a meager four hours later the three soulmates collapsed back into bed, a warm pile of limbs and contentment.
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Maekar groaned as they entered Ashford, already wanting the ridiculous affair to be over. Baelor sent ripples of admonishing disappointment though their bond. Maekar suppressed the infantile urge to stick his tongue out at his older brother. Anyway! Wanting to leave and find their impossible soulmate was not mere pettiness!
Baelor sighed, at least the mysterious soulmate was happier now, the bond positively oozed contentment. He hastened his horse forward.
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Dunk grinned at Daeron and Egg tearing into their sandwiches. They'd had a lovely early morn stroll, after which Dunk had persuaded them to let him make a sandwich for them. It was the same one he'd made for Egg decades ago, his fondness for the memory mixing with his comfort in the current one. He supposed if he agonized he'd find it bittersweet, but Dunk had lived too long to fret quite as much as he often had in his youth.
They walked idly back, Daeron casually slipped his hand into Dunk's as they strolled. Egg's chattering about the coming tourney was interrupted by the din announcing the arrival of the rest of House Targaryen.
Egg seemed irritated, but not the intense anxiety edged with fear that was clear, in hindsight, he had been filled with last time.
They sped up slightly, towards the castle. Dunk's heart was probably beating far too quickly, which he couldn't slow. He was about to see Baelor. Alive. And Maekar, alive and whole again, not broken by grief.
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Maekar collapsed onto a chair. His sons hadn't even had the decency to be here when he arrived. Valarr had already thrown another letter into the fire. Baelor shot him a look when he kicked a leg out to lean against the table. Before Maekar could flip his older brother off he noticed a cloak at the edge of the doorway.
Dunk leaned against the wall, overcome by nervousness, Egg balanced against the knight's leg. "You'll be meeting them as our soulmate! They'll hardly have you dragged off to the wall for the impertinence of speaking to them." Daeron whispered.
"You! Who are you? What do you mean by spying on us? Show yourself."
Dunk inhaled deeply stepping out, accidentally dragging along the two princes who had physically attached themselves to him. And, he couldn't breath anymore. Baelor was stood, so casually, alive. The sudden wave of surprisereliefjoygrief through the bonds was so strong Daeron stumbled, Egg squeaked, Maekar's knee hit the bottom of the table and even Baelor jerked slightly.
Egg recovered first, bounding forward. Oh god, Dunk thought. He loved his son, but even as king he had failed to be tactful more often than not. "Father! Uncle! Daeron and I have both found a new soulmate! He's a hedge knight and he has really nice horses and magic soulmarks!" He paused, looking remarkably stern for a lad so small. "You better had brought Maestor Yormwell, cause Ser Duncan has severe bond sickness and I will never forgive you if you let my soulmate die."
Dunk choked on a barely suppressed laugh. Well, he supposed that was one way of doing this. Throw it all out there at once in the most haphazard way possible. As Maekar gaped at him Dunk was very grateful for the bath, soap and clean clothes - they were a servants pair but far better than his previous attire.
Baelor surveyed at the tall knight, he looked sheepish at his nephews pronouncements but made no move to deny them. He felt protectiveness curl in his chest at the idea of this man with such earnest eyes, bonded to two princes, suffering from such an affliction. Tough his mind did linger on the odd claim of 'magic soulmarks'.
Maekar could not contain his shock. He left his sons alone for less than a week for a short journey and they somehow found a shared soulmate? A hedge knight with bond sickness of all people.
The heir strolled closer to the knight, reaching to shake his hand. "Welcome, Ser Duncan."
Baelor then near jumped out of his skin. The world bathed in sunset, a battered but strong elm with impossibly large roots, wildflowers growing in the crevices. Honour, kindness, resilience, and loyalty.
He let go, spinning to look at his brother and son. "This knight, it seems is the owner of the mysterious soulmarks we are experiencing."
Maekar fell out of his chair.
Valarr angrily strode over to the knight, fingers stained with ink and eyes wild. He grabbed this Ser Duncan, not noticing the purple blooming on the man's face, and soundly kissed him. Actually dipping him as if the ridiculously tall knight were a maiden.
Daeron made an outraged sound. "Hey! I found him first!"
Baelor leaned against the table. He was delighted to find their soulmate, but he was now very aware that his family would make an absolute mess of this entire situation.
Dunk pulled back slightly, hand pressed to the side of Valarr's neck, where it slotted against his sunset mark. Warmth bloomed in his chest, finally completely a bond that had been abandoned then dormant for decades. "Nice to meet you, my prince." He whispered against his soulmates lips.
Before Valarr could pull Duncan in again he was dragged back by the scruff of his neck. Maekar was there, eyes blazing. "You are marked by two of my children and I have felt the last few days plagued by your stupidly intense emotions. We are finding a Septon right fucking now and have him marry us."
Dunk blinked, confused. Maekar in his time completely ignored their bond, letting it mortify for fifteen years before he died. He had thought, not matter what changed, this was the bond he would never experience. He just nodded.
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So in a short, odd ceremony Duncan the tall married Maekar Targaryen at Ashford.
They stumbled into the large cuddle pile bed after soundly consummating the marriage more than once and bathing after, Dunk limping more than stumbling.
Baelor kissed the back of Dunk's hand, pointedly saying that any other marriages would be waiting until after the tourney.
As they all settled, relaxed and half asleep, the door was thrown open.
"WHERE THE FUCK IS OUR HEDGE KNIGHT!?" Sheira Seastar furiously demanded, flanked by Lyonel Baratheon and Brynden Rivers.