The North will rise again.
Summary:
Tywin Lannister did not plan the Red Wedding. Lady Stark is rescued from the clutches of the Freys and Boltons by the Lannisters. Can there finally be peace in the Seven Kingdoms?
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1. An Intercepted Package
"From: Lord Walder Frey.
To: Lord Roose Bolton.
As agreed, the package will be on its way to the Dreadfort in three days.
Enjoy"
After the so called Red Wedding, Tywin's men had been spying on the Twins for three months. They had camped out of sight, not too far from the Freys' castle. Lord Tywin and his son Tyrion, were discussing this parchment the captured raven was carrying.
"We arrived at the Twins the day after the bloody wedding. Nobody has left the castle since and this is the first raven we have seen in weeks. What are they doing behind those walls? Stupid Freys can't follow simple instructions! They were supposed to hold the Starks, not massacre them!. What does he mean by the package? Why is Walder Frey sending Bolton a package? I should just raid the Twins and kill everyone inside. Eliminate the Freys from Westeros once and for all. Good riddance" Lord Tywin was raging.
"So, Father" said Tyrion, "why don't you? As much as I disliked the Stark boy, what the Freys did to them was despicable. I would have preferred to have him arrested, or better yet, have Jamie kill him in battle. The Freys are a good for nothing bunch of thugs."
"We would lose too many men. Besides, useless as they may be, I might have need of them again. Tyrion, get Bronn and a couple more men and go see about this package. They should be on the Kingsroad in three days."
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Three days later, on the Kingsroad.
Tyrion Lannister, his hired sellsword Bronn, and three other men were hiding on a hill top behind the trees waiting for the Frey men to appear.
"I see them. There's a cart. There are two men riding in front and two men in the back, one of them is wearing a hood in his head. The two in the front seem to have swords on them. One of the men in the back is holding a sword, but the other one, the one with the hood, is very still. I don't see no package, milord."
"Sonnis, are these the men you saw leave the Twins?" asked Tyrion.
"Yes, milord"
"What do you think Bronn? Can we take them."
"Pff.. I can. Can you?" replied the sellsword.
"I should deduct money for every disparaging comment I get from you."
"But you won't . …"
"I won't if you take all four men and find the package."
With a grin, Bronn took his bow and shot the man holding the reins. As he fell dead, confusion gripped the other three men in the cart: his companion tried to take the reins; the armed man in the back looked around to see where the arrow had come from; and the man with the hood jumped off the cart and started running towards the forest but he was stumbling and didn't seem to be able to run very fast.
"Jaced, shoot him! He's running away! You three" Tyrion said to Bronn and his other two men, "go attack the cart and kill the Frey men".
Bronn waited no time and ran towards the cart. Three against two was no contest and the fight was over before it began. Meanwhile, Jaced was able to hit the running man in the shoulder. He fell and cried and moved no more.
Tyrion inspected the cart and found no trace of any package. Maybe this is not the right envoy, he thought.
"So Bronn, who will tell my father we caught the wrong envoy?"
"You don't pay me enough to risk my life so", Bronn replied with a smirk.
"Well, before my father puts me on the stocks and has me publicly whipped, let's go see the hooded man."
As they approached, the hooded man started stirring but remained quiet. Tyrion lowered the hood and was shocked to the core by what he saw. The resigned sad face with pale blue eyes staring back at him belonged to a person he thought he would never see again.
"Seven Hells! Lady Stark! I thought you were dead!"