Piety got up from the bench. It was seven years since her father died, and she felt much better after praying for his soul. She should talk to Pypar about her father, and maybe tell him some stories - about Reynes and how they picked their unusual names. She should explain that poetry won the hand of her mother, who had a dozen ardent suitors and her parents' permission to make her own choice. So Poetry had to be the name of their firstborn, be it boy or girl. Her parents had lost three babies in the womb after Poetry's birth, and they credited prayer for the life of Piety. Sometimes the name of the baby was apparent by their character in the first few days of life. Steadfast had been a calm, quiet, and perhaps stubborn baby. Melody and Harmony cried in sweet tandem. The Reynes had stories, too. Good stories. She wanted to be well enough to remember the good parts, and share them with her husband.
The story she most wanted to tell Pypar was how she managed to forgive him. Sometimes he looked at her like he doubted she ever could have, but she did. It had just been so hard to put into words. He still did not know that most of her despair took root before he laid a hand upon her. Refugees to Castle Reyne had told stories, and she had seen terrible wounds on children. Her parents had tried to shield her and her little sisters, but some of the handmaids knew how badly the war was going, and what happens to girls during war. They told her in hushed whispers at night. Then, war was at her door, and she saw men, women and children die brutally due to her father's pride. She had loved her father, but on that night she hated him. She looked at everything happening as his fault. Why should the Stranger have been spared her from the brutality going on around her, when it as her own family that brought them to this point?
She realized that her father and his men would have behaved no better if they had been the victors, ravaging Casterly Rock. That knowledge wounded her soul.
It took time, but she came to know that Pypar was fundamentally a good man, and not himself that night. It made sense to her that she could hate Pypar and then come to care for him in this world of cruelty interspersed with moments of kindness and redemption. Her father built up love between them every day of her life, and then lost it in a single evening. Pypar had the opposite path - starting from a dark place and working his way into her heart, with patience and kindness.
Piety was on the path to forgiving and loving her father again, too, but it was slow. Courage had been so proud - afraid she'd be married below her station if he surrendered. What was the worst that could have happened? That Tywin Lannister ordered her married to a Kennel Master's son as a joke?
Pypar said once that he knew who she was. Well, she knew who he was. A middle-aged, minor knight sworn to House Reyne had sought advice from Courage - he said that the father of a young Lannister knight wanted to arrange a marriage between their children. The elder knight was considering it - he had five daughters and no dowries for them, so a landed knight seemed a good match despite a dubious family history. Courage told him to refuse. He said Clegane was a low-born brute, and if none at Casterly would have him, then none at Castamere would, either. Then he gave his sworn knight five generous dowries for his daughters as a gift so they could marry among decent kind. Everyone at court praised her father's generosity and wisdom. No one said anything about the insult levied on a young man he never met.
Now, she was married to the same low-born knight. Pypar was good to her and all the small folk, and devoted to his family and the Seven. She loved their daughter, and their life together.
She looked at the amber ring on her finger. Pypar had asked for it back from Baelor, just weeks after his return. Passing soldiers mentioned Tywin's Lannister's disappointment at its loss, its distinct nature, and priceless value. It could never be sold like the other valuables. Pypar gave it back to Piety when he married her. It was a gesture as wild as her blind leap from Castle Reyne's tower. Any disturbed girl could claim to be Piety Reyne, but only the one with this ring would be believed. If she still wanted to end her life, and end Pypar's as well, she only had to show this ring and they would be found out.
She did not realize the power of what he had put back in her hand. It was a gesture of trust, or acceptance of punishment, however she chose to take it. But that fact did not register in her clouded mind. She only knew that she no longer loved to look at the lioness buried deep inside, so she took a spool of gold embroidery thread, tatted a little seven-petal flower, and bound it to the top of the ring. It sat on her finger, new life hiding old life by a thread.
She now believed that the Seven guided her decision to protect herself, and live, when she chose to hide the ring in plain sight. It was a comforting thought.
Piety liked this little Sept in the foothills. It was far older than Clegane Keep. It had been a simple way station for travelers, but was now surrounded by a thriving community. The Cleganes had come up with the funds to expand it accordingly, without raising taxes. The Sept had a big new nave and a modest guest house attached. They installed three large stained glass window on the north, east, and west walls to honor Bolt, Aelinor, and Audra Clegane, respectively. Piety suspected that the sale of some of her rubies made it all possible, and she was glad of that.
The high Septon of her parents' court only talked about intrigue and gossip. The Septons in this little bit of territory talked about forgiveness of sins and feeding the poor through the winter. The Prime Septon was like a second father to Pypar, as they worked together to ensure that there was gainful employment for the able-bodied, and none were abused by the more powerful.
She liked her life here. If not for the fear of the evil of that long-ago night stalking her, it would be a blissful existence. She kneeled back down and began to pray for the Seven to protect them all from Gregor.
