Chapter 10: Winter Is Coming
It was two and a half weeks after meeting Gendry that I heard news about the Starks, when Varys told me that Lady Catelyn was about to enter the city by boat from white harbour. This perplexed me as I had presumed that all was well when I left. I surmised that the only reason she would come to King's Landing herself, and not send Ser Rodrik Cassel as her proxy would be that something big had happened in Winterfell, something secretive that was too important, or too dangerous, to put in a letter.
I wanted to find her soon, so that the Lannisters would have no idea she was in the city, but I knew that other people would also be interested in her, and decided to watch and see who made the first move.
She arrived on a trading galley, and, almost as soon as she had stepped off the boat, five gold cloaks approached her in the name of Petyr Baelish. Gods, did that man have no cunning at all. Pulling my hood up, I moved behind them during the conversation and raised my hands, putting them under a spell which would knock them out for the next thirty minutes.
As they all dropped to the floor, I rose and removed my hood, before beckoning Lady catelyn and Ser Rodrik to join me, as I led them through the labyrinth of King's Landing, in an attempt to shake off any followers, before arriving at the back courtyard of my house, where I found Tessa teaching Gendry how to swing a Warhammer. As we entered, both Tessa and Gendry turned and kneeled before the Lady of Winterfell, until she asked them to rise, although she seemed a little awestruck at Gendry's appearance. I then realised that, wielding a Warhammer, he must have looked the exact image of my father during his rebellion.
"This, Lady Catelyn is Gendry, my bastard half-brother, and this beautiful maiden is Tessa, the first of her name, of the house Ambrose." Once all the formalities were done, we all went inside and sat around the round table. I decided to break the silence by asking, "Why are you here Lady Catelyn?"
"This." She pulled out a valyrian steel dagger and placed it on the table. I picked it up, examining the blade and dragon-bone hilt, before putting it back a=down and looking at her, asking for an explanation.
"Arya was attacked the night after you left. The assassin had this, and was obviously a commoner. He had this though. How would a common catspaw have a valyrian steel dagger if he wasn't hired by someone with considerable wealth."
"So you believe that this was the work of the Lannisters?"
"Indeed. Who else would do this? It was obviously intended for Bran. I think you were right when you said he saw something, and that something almost got him killed."
"Impossible, the Lannisters would never do something like that. Tywin would want to horde all the Valyrian Steel he could get his hands on. Jaime would do the deed himself. Cersei would get Jaime to do the deed. And Tyrion-"
"The imp did it of course. Bran might have been crippled, and he probably feels slighted that they were not made equal."
"Tyrion is far too clever to do this. He would know that Valyrian steel would be recognised immediately, and so would never send someone with Valyrian steel. Anyway, the Lannisters do not own this blade. They own no Valyrian steel, much to Lord Tywin's chagrin." I paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "This blade belongs to my father." At the shocked looks on their faces, I smirked and added, "But he could not have done this. It's been in the Royal Armoury, here in King's Landing, since he won it in a bet on Joffrey's twelfth nameday. He feels that daggers are weapons only good for women, and plans to give it to Mya on her wedding day. She prefers a shortsword however.
"There are only a handful of people with access to the Royal Armoury: The Small Council, The Kingsguard and Ser Aron Santagar, the master-at-arms of the Red Keep. Ser Aron would have no motive and the Kingsguard, of which only Sers Barristan Selmy and Preston Greenfield remain here, would all do it themselves. In addition, Ser Barristan would never think of such an act." The entire table was now listening intently, with attention rapt.
"That only leaves the small council. Stannis has too much honour for such an act, and Renly is far too nice to consider it. Varys would be much sneakier, and Pycelle would only do it on Tywin Lannister's orders, which he would not receive. That only leaves Littlefiinger."
"Petyr could never do that," said Catelyn. "We grew up together, we're like siblings. He sent some goldcloaks to come and find me, so that the Lannisters wouldn't know of my presence here."
"Is that really how he thinks of you? He fought Brandon Stark and almost died for your hand. He claims to have taken both your maidenhead and that of your sister. He manipulated your sister into getting his job as customs officer in Gulltown, and later Master of Coin, and kept that connection to carry out an affair with Lysa Arryn for many years here.
"Now the Lannisters and Starks are at each other's throats, at her word. She would never have done anything without his word. She cares very much for her son, it's possibly her one redeeming quality, and she would never have sent that letter if she did not have his assurances. She practically worships him.
"Who would have more to gain from your husband dying and war starting? He would think he had another chance to take you as a wife. The Tullys and Starks, should they lose, would both lose their position as Lord Paramount, and he would hope to take one of those positions with you as wife for his service to the Lannisters. Should the Tullys and Starks win, The Lannisters would be deposed of their position and who better to take over The Rock than the former Master-Of-Coin. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain from a war. Do not trust him, I beg you."
"What would you know? You are only a boy. I would trust Petyr with my life." She gave me the same look I had seen her give Jon hundreds of times, as though I disgusted her. Seeing that I would not get anywhere with this discussion, I got up from the table, along with everyone but Catelyn and Rodrik, before replying:
"Would you trust him with your husbands?" After a pause, I continued, "You cannot leave here, as there are spies everywhere in King's Landing." As she was about to protest, I shushed her, "Lord Renly will soon be leading a welcome party to meet the Royal Party in Lord Harroway's town. When we return, I will bring Lord Stark, Bran and Sansa here to see you, but you cannot leave before then. If the Lannisters know you are here, this placed will be swarmed by the five hundred red cloaks in the city." With that, I swept from the room.
Jon, Tessa and I met Renly at the Lion Gate an hour later, and set off along the Kingsroad soon after.
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We reached Lord Harroway's Town two days later, and had just finished making camp when the Royal Party arrived, along with the news that Robert Arryn had been deprived of being Warden of The East instead of Jaime Lannister.
Upon reaching Lord Stark's tent, I walked in to see him sitting in a chair, obviously very tired and wary, although he smiled upon seeing me. "I come with grave tidings and a warning." I said. "Your wife is in the capital, because there was an attempt on Arya's life." He seemed shocked by this, but allowed me to carry on. "It was presumably meant for Bran, due to what he saw before he fell. Your wife wishes to put the blame on Tyrion Lannister, as she mistrusts the man for his condition. I would however say that it was the work of Petyr Baelish. I warn you not to trust him." I then detailed everything I had told Lady Catelyn.
"This is most worrying, although I would agree with you in the fact that Baelish probably is responsible." He sighed. "Jaime Lannister has been named Warden of The East. Robert decided that with the Targaryen girl marrying a Dothraki, the east needed to be secure, in case they invade."
"If he is planning for their invasion, he need just name Randyll Tarly as Warden of the South. Viserys Targaryen will want to ally with Dorne first, as Rheager's wife was Dornish. The only Lords he will need to be competent will be my grandfather, although probably my cousin by then, Lord Beric Dondarrion, who will bring the Daynes, the second most powerful Dornish family, to our side, due to his betrothal to Allyria Dayne, and the Tarlys. As Randyll Tarly is already one of the best generals in Westeros, Beric is well liked and good with a sword, and The Cross is perfectly situated to repel any Dornish attack from the Boneway, he has nothing to worry about."
"When you put it that way, your father might just listen to reason. My argument about honouring the Arryns went in one ear and out the other." I laughed at that, before telling Lord Stark all about meeting Gendry, minus the new armour or sword.
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The following morning, the Royal Party decided to remain in the town for a day in order to repair the gigantic wheelhouse. Personally, I would have just burned it down. I decided to train Bran in archery with Jon and Tessa. He took a particularly long time on one shot, and when he missed the target by a good distance we all burst into laughter. Hearing Lord Stark clear his throat behind us, all four of us wheeled around.
Tessa and I were still grinning, Bran looked as though he was afraid of being a disappointment and Jon looked sheepish. "And which of you was a marksman at eight?"
Tessa and I both kept grinning and raised our hands, and Bran broke out into a smile. Seeing he wouldn't get anywhere with us, he simply walked off to join the King's hunting party.
That afternoon I decided to practice and help Bran with a sword, so we moved off with Summer from the town, near the banks of the trident, so that no-one would interrupt us. Much to our disappointment, however, Joffrey soon came by, with Sansa swooning behind him, and him insisting on her drinking.
Seeing Bran practicing with a wooden sword, he pulled out his own steel shortsword and asked for a duel. Before it could get out of hand, I stepped in front of Bran, telling him no.
"What's wrong brother?" he sneered. "Afraid that I'll beat him. A boy of his age should be taking on those older than him."
"Very well then, brother." I replied. "You are six years Bran's senior, and I am only three years your senior, so by that logic you should be able to beat me. To make it easier, I won't use a sword."
He laughed before charging at me. I walked out to him and ducked under his swipe, grabbing his wrist and twisting it until he let go of the blade, and then pushed him onto his back. I picked up the sword and threw it into the river. He pulled out a dagger and threw it at Bran.
Time seemed to slow down as I reached out to pull it from the air. I could hear Sansa crying and Bran screaming, before I pulled it out of the air and leaned down to press it to Joffrey's throat. "If you ever threaten the life of a Stark again, I will cut off your balls and then your limbs so you'll be completely useless," I growled, before putting my hand on his forearm and crushing the bone.
As he wailed and ran off, I moved over to Sansa and hugged her until the tears stopped, at which point I took both Starks and their direwolves back to the camp. I had barely put them in their tent before several Lannister men-at-arms and Jaime Lannister arrived and demanded to have the Starks so they could take them to the queen.
I simply smiled at him and said, "Lannister, do you remember what happened the last time we fought? I didn't even have a blade then. The Starks did nothing wrong, it's me your bitch of a sister wants."
At that he clenched his teeth and put his hand on his sword handle, before following me towards the great hall, where my father and the queen were waiting for us.
"I told you to bring back the Starks," she said to Jaime.
"And I said no." I decided to interrupt. "What crazy tale has your son decided to spout this time?"
"He claims, and rightly so, that you led an unprovoked on him and he was tragically disarmed when he shifted his attention to protect his betrothed when you threatened her. After that, you had the wolves attempt to bite his arm, but lion skin is too tough and they only broke his arm."
At that, I laughed, surprising most in audience. "He could not be further from the truth. He challenged Bran to a fight, despite the fact that he had live steel and Bran, who is six years his junior, had only a wooden sword. I forbade that battle." I could see my father shaking his head at Joffrey's arrogance. "I then in turn challenged him, even though I refused to take out my blade, and pulling his from his grasp when he attacked me. To teach him a lesson, I threw his sword in the river. In retaliation, he threw a knife at Bran, but I caught it. He had meant to kill Bran, and that I would not allow, so I threatened him if he did it again, and crushed his right forearm."
Cersei looked beside herself with rage, but Lord Stark spoke up first, "Your Grace, the punishment for attempted murder is the removal of a hand."
"How dare you?" Cersei screamed. "You would dare harm my child. He is worth one thousand times what yours is worth. It is simply his word against the truth. The punishment for attacking a prince, which is treason, is death." She pointed at me.
I ignored her. "Father, I have two more witnesses who will testify the same-"
"Those wildlings are not trustworthy." Cersei screeched. This seemed to be the final straw for Lord Stark, at which point he moved towards her, his hand on ice, only to be held back by Jory, who was looking at her with as much venom in his eyes as there is in all of Dorne. "You see, even their father is a wild animal."
At this, Robert finally spoke up. "Their father is my hand, and has more power than you. He sacrificed his love for me during the rebellion. He killed Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Gerold Hightower. Their father is the most honourable, most courageous, most loyal, best man I have ever known, so don't you even dare to talk badly of him in my presence."
At this, she seemed culled. "Father, who would you believe, that snivelling, psychotic, pathetic excuse for a human being, who hides behind his mother's skirts," I pointed at Joffrey, "Or would you believe me, your son: The very copy of yourself at this age. A man who can actually fight, rather than just hide behind a crossbow. Would you believe a lion or a phoenix?
"Remember what would happen were you to try to take my head. The Stormlands and The Reach will rise up against you, as will possibly the North and Riverlands," I glanced at Lord Stark, and he nodded. "That boy will cause more trouble than he's worth."
"You are talking about your future king! He will be supported by the full might of the Westerlands" Cersei shouted, infuriated.
"You are talking to the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, the future goodson of the Lord Paramount of The Reach, the future goodbrother to the Warden of the North, who is the cousin of the Lord of The Vale and the grandson of the Lord Of The Riverlands. You will have one house backing you, I will have five."
"Dorne-"
"Princes Doran and Oberyn have wanted your father's head since the sack, and before you say anything else, Balon Greyjoy will be forced to support the side that has his son as a hostage. Stannis will support me as well, meaning you will have no navy to bring over sellswords from Essos. Who knows? Perhaps even the Dothraki will support me if I offer Viserys the throne. Where will you look to for aid then? The Summer Isles? They will not support you as you have so cleverly sheltered Jalabar Xho. Qarth? They do nothing but sit and trade. Braavos? They will support whoever will be most likely to pay back the debt, which will be the side without a moron like Joffrey at the helm."
My father remained silent throughout this, biding his time. "Enough. STOP! I have made my decision. There will be no punishment."
"But-"
"I'm sorry Daniel, I am, but I can't take Joffrey's hand, as I'm three bloody million dragons in debt to his bloody grandfather, and I won't take Daniel's head because he did nothing wrong. I want to make myself clear though!" He looked around the entire chamber. "If there is any retaliation, any at all, I'll have all your heads."
I smirked, knowing I had won. This was the best possible result. Had my father attempted to punish Joffrey, the large numbers of Lannister guards would have taken him back to Casterly Rock unscathed and there would have been war sooner.
If I was going to be a respected king, I would have to win it on my own merits, and it wouldn't do to have my father fighting my battles for me.
Cersei now spoke up. "How can you do this? The man I thought to marry would have put his head in front of me within an hour, and then decorated my chambers with wolf pelts."
As my father grew red faced and Lord Stak, now free of Jory's restraints, put his hands back on his blades, I decided to put her down. "The man you thought to marry is long dead. He died on the Trident when my father knocked his breastplate in and renamed that ford 'The Ruby Ford.' No, he died before that, when he abducted Lord Stark's sister and raped her repeatedly. How does it feel, knowing that you weren't even second? After he picked a wife, who was as far from you as is possible to be, and then absconded with another lady who was nothing at all like you. Did you weep at the fact that you never had a chance to be in either his affections or those of Aerys?" After my rant was over, she cowed, knowing that I had beaten her.
Before anyone could leave, I spoke out again. "Lord Stark, with this knowledge, I would advise that you break the betrothal and send Sansa home."
Cersei, for once, did not appear angry, although that was in the most part due to the fact that she had for a long time wanted to marry Joffrey to someone from the Westerlands, to further their hold on the throne.
"Daniel," he replied, "I believe you are correct. Robert, as much as a union between our houses would be favourable, but I cannot allow any child of mine to marry someone like that."
This time, he responded faster. "Very well, Ned. I don't like it but I understand it. I hereby dissolve the betrothal between my son Joffrey and the Lady Sansa of House Stark. I take it you'll want to send her back to Winterfell then?"
I interrupted before Lord Stark had a chance to speak. "It would be unfair to Sansa to bring her this far south but not to show her the capital. I can take her there in two days and show her all the sights quickly. There is a ship heading to Riverrun in a week, and that may be Sansa's last chance to see her grandfather before he dies, and his last chance to see his most Tully-like grandchild."
Lord Stark and my father both nodded. "Very well then, it shall be done."