Asha I

The journey from the mainland to Pyke had been a rocky one. A summer storm had caused the greenlander ship to bob about while its crew struggled to keep the vessel from being swallowed up by the sea. While her husband had been sick most of the voyage, throwing up a half dozen times, she had been made proud by her little boy. Dagon was just four, but his sea legs were already the match of any greenlander.

He'll make a fine Lord of the Rivers and Isles.

The babe in her belly found himself restless and kicked about throughout much of the journey. The sickness that comes with being an expectant mother had emptied her stomach twice on the rough venture, but she would weather it all again for Pyke. Though Edmure had been reluctant to depart from his duties at Riverrun, given the sickness that had taken hold in his father, he had made the choice to go with her as she returned to her home. She thanked him for that, which felt odd, because less than a half dozen years prior she would have hated being marched back to Pyke like a dog on a leash.

For the first time in a long time, she wore her colors, not those of House Tully. She wouldn't return to Pyke looking like a river trout, she would go home as a kraken. Originally, she had intended to step onto Pyke in mail and pants, a kraken hanging from her neck, but there were something that she was willing to surrender to Edmure. Instead she wore a dress of black and grey with yellow and gold trimmings, though it was covered by the heavy greatcoat she wore to protect against the storm.

There was no great procession waiting for her return to the Iron Islands at the dock, only a few old reavers turned fisherman, refusing to yield to the Storm God while most others hid in their decrepit hovels. As Asha, Dagon, and Edmure left the ship, their party of attendants followed while the household knights sent by Lord Hoster led the way. An old man, drenched to the bone and yet still covered in grime, looked queerly upon Asha.

"What're you trouts doing on our island? Come to make Lord Rodrik kiss your babe?" He croaked.

"Naw, she's a fine lass come to try and get him to fuck her so that's er babe might not look like a fookin' trout," the other coughed.

Edmure reached for his sword, as a rash man defending his wife's honor would, but before he could act, the man nearest to Asha was clutching at his throat having been punched in the adam's apple. The retinue of Tully men drew their blades, but Asha raised her hand to steady them.

"I'll not have you slaughterin' my subjects when the quarrel doesn't involve you."

"Asha." The inflection in Edmure's voice made it clear he wanted vengeance. He was a man full grown, she knew that rather intimately, but in so many ways he was still a boy. He wanted to show that he was a man, that he could take command like his father, but looking like a man a man that had come to occupy the Pyke was a damned good way to get them gutted in the night.

"Asha?" The still standing man responded.

"Lord Balon's daughter?"

"Aye, you raggedy old man."

"But then, Lord Rodrik…," he sort of droned off when he realized what her return to the island meant.

"He's not long for this world, if the little grey remora has it right."

By this point the man who had fallen to the ground after the punch to the throat was scrounging around for a fish scaling knife that must have been knocked to the ground in his fall, only for Asha to step forward and rest her foot on the back of his hand.

"Aaaggghh." The old man croaked.

"Stay down, Goren." The other man hissed.

"I ain't gonna stay down for no greenlander whore. I fought in the rebellion. Lost all me son whiles I rotted in a Lannister prison camp. I ain't gonna turn tail from dis," he cried as he tried to pull his hand out from under Asha's thick wooden soled shoe, only to find Edmure's sword in his face.

"I'll gladly reunite you with your children."

By this point others had started to emerge from the hovels and shacks to see the commotion upon the docks.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Asha asked.

The man said nothing, he simply glared up at the pair while the rain fell upon his face. Asha turned back to Dagon, who was being held by one of her ladies-in-waiting, the Wayn girl who arrived in Riverrun just a year earlier. Then she looked back to the old man.

"You want to die old man. You crave it, that's why you're going on that shitty little boat of yours in the middle of this fuckin storm. That's why you wanted to pick a fight. Isn't it? I'll give you that death then. I won't skewer you like I should, but I want to see you get in that little dinghy and row out into storm."

The old man nodded slowly.

"Mayhaps you'll make a strong oarsman for the Drowned God," she added.

That's too bad, cause I'm gonna do something so much worse."

"Ser Vance,take that knife and make sure this man gets onto his boat. If he tries anything, I want him split in half."

"Aye, My Lady."

Edmure looked grim, as though he'd wanted a different outcome, an outcome that might of seen the man hung or speared through on his sword.. The smallfolk looked confused and wary of the new arrivals, but there were no further disruptions and the host made its way to Pyke's ancient stronghold.

Within the walls of the decrepit fortress, the new arrivals were greeted by Asha's lady mother and Rodrik's frail Frey wife. Her mother had been driven half mad by the loss of all but one of her sons, the death of her husband, and it looked as though time had not been well to her in the years since Asha had been shipped off to Riverrun. Still her mother smiled.

"Where've you been dear, you poor brother's taken ill. He'll want to see you. Maron should be home any time now with your father, though your brother seems to think they won't be coming. They must've had a bit of a row, but brothers are still brothers and Maron will show. I'm sure of it," her sing-song voice reminded the Asha that though she was a woman grown, she loved and missed the mother she remembered from her youth.

What have you become, mother?

Lady Alannys Greyjoy looked down from Asha to Dagon and her eyes swelled with tears.

"My boy," she said abruptly.

"My booooy!" she wailed out as she lurched forward and held Dagon's face in her hands and drew Asha's squirming and frightened son closer to her. Despite the boy's protests, she cried and kissed his cheeks and his forehead and tried to smother him in her love and affection.

"My Theon! My Theon! Oh my sweet sweet baby boy! You've come home to me! You've come home!"

Her shrill wails were half of joy and half of pain, and for the first time in a long time, Asha knew not what to do. She looked to Edmure who was himself taken aback by the revelation that his mother by marriage was in fact quite mad, but judging by his expression he also saw the pain in the woman. He wouldn't say anything to interfere with Lady Alannys, it would be in Asha's hands to deal with the sobbing woman before her.

"I'll never let them take you from me again, Theon. Never!"

"Mother."

"Oh my sweet little thing, you've c-c-come back to me."

"Mother," Asha tried again, to no avail.

"Your father will be so happy to see you."

"Mother," Asha's voice wasn't raised or angry, but this third time she placed a hand upon the old woman's shoulder.

"Yes, dear?"

Her mother looked up at her, eyes reddened by her sobbing. She was happy.

What right do I have to take this away from her?

So much of her wanted to give her mother this. Just this little thing, but she couldn't. They would be living together soon and she needed to understand who Dagon was and what he was to her.

"Mother, that isn't Theon."

"What do you mean? How can you say such a thing about your own brother? Of course he's Theon. He's the spitting image of your father when he was just a little lad," her voice was almost pleading, as if she were desperate for this to be the son cleaved in two by the Mountain.

"Mother, Theon died in the war," she spoke softly as she tried to comfort the woman.

"Oh," was all she seemed to be able muster. Her expression was largely blank and the tears of joy that had come with her discovery of little Dagon had not turned into tears of pain or sadness.

"Mother, that's my son, Dagon."

"Dagon?"

"Yes, mother."

"I have a grandbaby?"

Turning away from Asha and back to Dagon and repeated to herself.

"I have a grandbaby."

Little Dagon simply groaned.

"You'll have two soon, mother."

Lady Alannys' gaze darted back to her daughter, and she took in the sight of her extended belly.

"You're with child?"

Asha nodded, yes, and then found her mother embracing her belly bump and kissing it.

"Hello sweetling, I'm so excited to meet you. So excited."

"Mother…" before she could go on, she found her mother kissing her on the cheek and holding her tight.

"My baby girl's bringing me grandbabies." she sobbed.

"My baby girl is bringing me grandbabies," her voiced cracked and as she repeated herself

Asha held her mother, embracing her for the first time since they'd taken her from Pyke.

"You're soaking wet." Her mother was aghast. "We can't have you walking around in that state. Think of the chill…" She cut herself off as she finally took notice of Edmure who had remained silent awkwardly watching the reunion between mother and daughter.

"Who are you?"

Ed extended his hand, "I'm Edmure Tully. It's an honor to meet you, goodmother."

"Good Mother?" Her face contorted in confusion.

"Yes, your daughter is my wife."

"You're married?" she seemed shocked by this revelation.

"Of, course I am mother. I have a son and am expecting a second babe in weeks."

"Yes, but you don't need to be married to be with child."

"Mother."

"My daughter was married and I wasn't at the wedding. Was your father there, at least?"

Asha shook her head in frustration.

"You were talking about a change of clothes?" She hoped to end this line of conversation a quickly as possible.

"Oh, yes. We mustn't let you catch a chill while with babe."

After they were all changed and the attendants and guards from Riverrun were allowed to settle in, Asha left her son and husband to see her her brother. Standing outside his door was the dower Frey girl that Rodrik had been forced to wed. She looked ill herself. As one might expect a flower or bush too look if it given seawater rather water from a stream or well.

"Is he awake?" Asha asked.

"Yes, the pain's too much for him and the milk of the poppy isn't helping. But… um, you might not want to see him. He might get cross."

"Let him be."

"I mean to speak with my brother alone. If anyone tries to enter, tell them I'll have them thrown from the Great Keep."

The girl meekly nodded.

The door hinges creaked loudly as Asha entered into her brother's room. Immediately her sense of smell was assaulted by scent of festering flesh, vomit, and other excrement.

"Shoo's zaw fugs dere?" came a heavy voice from the bed. "Dat you Tyta? Shwear I'll fuggin beld you," he shouted through labored breaths.

"It's not your Frey girl, Rodrik."

"Shom udder wench den. Don madder, lease me be."

She stepped forward until she was at Rodrik's bedside.

"I can't do that, brother."

The stench of him was all the more powerful when she was near him and he looked like a different man that the one she had known from before the war. His hair was long and thin, greyed far before its time, scabs and open sores covered his face. His muscles had all but completely faded away and now the flesh clung to his bones. He was gaunt and ghoulish in appearance, and the smell of him made her think of death.

He sluggishly looked up at her with his sunken eyes.

"Fat." he made a clicking sound with his tongue when the "t" rolled out of his mouth.

"You's godden fat, sinz laz time," he slurred.

"One of us had to."

"Huhh," he strained himself with a chuckle.

"They say you're dying, Rodrik. That you wouldn't let the maester care for a cut you got on your thigh and that it's festered and turned 're rotting. Bein' poisoned by your own blood."

Her brother closed his eyes and nodded his head slowly.

"Shoulda… died… in… der.. war," he weezed between every breath. "Woulda… bin bedda… den…," he took in a heavy breath and exhaled the word, "disss."

"Aye." was all she could say.

Rodrik began to cough violently. He hacked and hacked, but couldn't cough up whatever was plaguing him.

"Dey won't… gif… me… more milk… zay id'll kill me. I… zay… let it."

"I'll speak with the maester. I'll make him understand."

Rodrik smiled ever so slightly, before he turned to hacking again. With that, Lady Asha left her brother be.

Though the maester had protested, she'd ordered him to give her brother what he needed to make the pain stop, and by the day's end Lord Rodrik Greyjoy was dead.

Her mother had howled with grief when the last of her son's have been taken from her. She'd clung to her son and pleaded desperately with the Drowned God to give her back her boy, at least until Lord Balon and Maron could come home to say their goodbyes. It had taken several men, to separate her mother from Rodrik's body so that the the drowned men could do what needed to be done for his funeral on the morrow. After they'd taken her mother away from Rodrik, Asha had instructed Dagon to care for his grandmother. The little lad hadn't wanted to, but there was nothing he could do about the matter. Lady Alannys cradled her grandson for most of the night, before her exertions eventually led to her being taken by sleep.

While her mother mourned and her brother's body was being attended to, she went to her brother's study to see if there was anything that could help her in the days to come. As she rifled through papers that looked like they had been undisturbed in years she heard a knock at the open door. Standing in the door frame was large figure.

"Lady Tully." The gruff voiced man greeted her with a slight dip of his head.

"Yes, who comes calling upon me in the hours after the death of my brother?"

"Urek Ironmaker. I've been sent by my father to discuss with you the governing of Pyke."

He means to make me leave.

"My father has been ruling for a long while now. Your brother's been in now shape to command anything in years. He wants you to know that given his experience he would be the best choice as castellan when you leave for Riverrun."

Asha remembered Erik Ironmaker. The fat old man claimed to have sailed with Dagon Greyjoy, now he meant to steal the Islands and her Lady Paramountship from her.

"I'm not going back to Riverrun," she was curt.

"But your husband…," he started only to be cut off.

"Will remain with me. Should events force us to temporarily return to Riverrun, I will gladly consider employing your father's services while I am away. As you say, Lord Erik has experience so he should make a fine castellan."

"I'll tell my father about your intentions on staying, Lady Tully," he said as if dismissing himself.

This man wasn't a smart man, his father might be, but his slights while small were too easily noticed to come from someone adept at playing the game. He was a blunt instrument that his father was like to use against her.

"One moment, Urek."

The large man halted his departure and turned back around to face her.

"Are you married?"

He eyed her for a moment, there was an uncertainty on his face that was all too easy to read.

"I've a Summer Islander for a Salt Wife, but I'm not married like you are to Lord Trout."

"Tully," she responded sharply, "Lord Tully."

"Aye, Lord Tully."

"Send your Summer Islander away, or drown her, or give her to me, I don't give a fuck which, but she needs to be gone from your household."

"What?" He questioned as stepped towards her.

"I'm mean to marry you to one of Ser Quincy Cox's daughters. He's like to complain, but he's a landed knight. He won't pass up an opportunity to marry his daughter to a proper lord."

"I might rape one of these Cox girls, but no one's gonna force me to marry one."

He was now within arm's reach of Asha.

"You will marry one, or I'll chain you to the top of one of the keeps and let the Storm God take you."

"Listen, here bitch…," he leaned forward, his hand outstretched as if to grab her by the throat, but found a blade at his groin.

"Suddenly less talkative now?" she laughed.

"You've been calling me Lady Tully or bitch, or really anything but what you are supposed to call me since the moment you first spoke to me. Now I want to know that you can say My Lady."

He grunted and Asha pressed her blade more firmly against the man.

"Say it."

"Yes, My Lady."

"Good, now I'm gonna forget you threatened me and I'm gonna forget your other treasons, and you are going to get rid of the Summer Islander and agree to marry the Cox girl."

"I could agree and then walk out and tell my father to revolt against you. I'm sure many of the other lords would follow him."

"I'd crush you rebellion, your father knows that or else he wouldn't have tried to be diplomatic about this. We Do Not Sow are my words, but they're the way of the Ironborn all the same. If your father thought he could win he'd of done away with my brother and proclaimed himself Lord Reaper. He knows he can't beat the greenlanders, not with Harlaw in greenlander hands."

"You talk like you're not one of them."

"Because I'm not one of them. I'm going to eat all those fish and drown that fucking lion. Not all at once, but I'll do it all the same. One day, the few that remain will wake up and realize that the kraken has been making a meal of them, but they won't be able to do a thing about it as they'll already be held tightly in its arms."

"So are you going to marry the Cox girl, Lord Urek?"

There was a long pause, but Urek eventually agreed, "Yes, My Lady."

"Good, now get out and tell your father I want to see everything accumulated while he did my brother's job."

After her conversation with Lord Urek, Asha checked in upon her sleeping mother and little Dagon before going to her chambers to find her husband.

Edmure was pacing about, a bit like a caged animal.

"Ed, could you help me undress?" She thought that a more tactful way to get him to stop pacing than simply commanding him to stop.

"Course, love."

He fumbled about with the ridiculous ties and laces that held the dress tightly around her form. He'd always had trouble with them. When they were younger and he a bit more rash, he'd ruin her dresses by tearing them off and she'd do something like smack him, and then they'd laugh together and love one another.

"I worry about this place, Asha."

"Quite right to, Ed," she said trying to be honest without telling him about Urek so as to avoid him trying to challenge the man to a duel.

"I worry about father too."

"Aye, he's a strong trout though. I'm sure that he'll be well soon enough."

"I worry about Dagon and the baby growing up in a place like this. My sister Cat has sons, Robb, Bran, Rickon, and she's never had harsh words for her husband in the letters she'd send father. Mayhaps, we could send Dagon to Winterfell to foster there."

Asha turned around slowly, her unfastened dress falling down around her chest, and she looked at Edmure.

"Ed, I love you. I think you can be painfully thick at time, but that adds to your charm; but I won't hear another word about you stealing my baby boy away from me and sending him to some frozen castle in the North. You understand?"

"I'm sorry, I know how you must feel after seeing your mother like that, it's just I'm worried."

"I know you are Ed, but this place is my home, and Dagon is safest here with us."

Edmure's look of worry didn't vanish with her reassurances, but his face softened some.

"I love you."

"And I you."