Chapter 29:
"A Targaryen?" Lord Edmure Tully exclaimed, "And on these lands as well? Are you sure, child? Perhaps you are mistaken."
"No. she is of House Targaryen and as far as we know, the last remaining member and the rightful ruler of Westeros."
"Heir to Dragonstone, you mean." Lord Tully answered, frowning.
"No, queen of Westeros." Spencer replied with conviction.
"And you say she is now ruler of the Dothkari as well?" Glen asked, stopping the impending argument.
"Yes. She was the wife of Khal Drogo and in their ways, once the khal died, she became their ruler."
"And she seeks an alliance with us?" Glen asked again.
"She would prefer if an alliance was formed. She has no wish to shed unnecessary blood but will not hesitate to kill any who oppose her."
"If the North refuses to follow her, what can she do? She is nothing but a child. What does she know about war?" Brynden Blackfish said.
"Enough to have conquered Slaver's Bay, those behind the Wall and removed Theon Greyjoy from Winterfell. I say she is more than capable." Glen answered. "We must consider this offer. It may the only way we can remove House Lannister from King's Landing."
"Why? Did we, and our brothers now gone, not fight to remove the stain of the Targaryens from our lands? How can we dishonor their battles and victories by joining this girl who wants to return that house back to Westeros?" Blackfish countered
"Because we must," Glen stated. "If Spencer is correct then she has a more than capable army and enough numbers to overrun us all. Her offer for an allegiance shows she is does not want to become a tyrant and force us under her rule. Do you think the Lannisters would give us that consideration if the roles were different? I do not like it either, Blackfish, but we may not have a choice soon."
"How is that she has sent you Spencer, as her emissary?" Lord Edmure asked. "To lure us into a false view of her?"
"She believed I could reach you where others under her command could not. You may not want this, sers, but I have been with her for a long time now. I have seen what she can and cannot do, what she will and will not do, and I for one, have cast my lot with her."
"Let us think on this more. Now we need to look at this invitation by Lord Walder Frey that Lame Lothar has brought. He asks for our presence at the Twins. He wishes to marry Roslin to me. I have accepted and so he wishes for the wedding feast to be held at his home instead of here at Riverrun."
"Why?" Spencer asked, not knowing what this news meant. From the look on her mother's face, neither did she.
"Because we need to appease the old man since our liege lord here has decided that a Frey is beneath him for a wife."
"Your son, my lady, has taken Jeyne Westerling for his wife. And has lost the Freys." Blackfish commented, disgust in his voice.
Glen winced. Spencer understood the angry voices in the courtyard now, why those they called Perwyn Frey and Martyn Rivers had left in such haste, trampling Glen's banner into the ground as they went.
"Dare I ask how many swords come with your bride, Glen?" Lady Carlin asked her son.
"Fifty. A dozen knights." His voice was glum. Spencer had heard of her brother's promise to the House Frey and, even with her limited knowledge in the game of thrones, knew that her brother had made a mistake, a costly one. No wonder he considers joining Ashley. When the marriage contract had been made at the Twins, old Lord Walder Frey had sent Glen off with a thousand mounted knights and near three thousand foot.
"Jeyne is bright as well as beautiful. And kind as well. She has a gentle heart." Glen said, defiance filling him once again.
It is swords you need now Glen, not gentle hearts, Spencer thought.
"Tell me how this came to be." Paula Carlin asked her son.
"I took her castle and she took my heart. When the Greatjon brought me the news of…of Winterfell. That night, she…she comforted me, Mother."
"And you wed her the next day."
"It was the only honourable thing to do. She's gentle and sweet, Mother, she will make me a good wife."
"Perhaps. That will not appease Lord Frey." Blackfish said. "You have done House Frey a grievous insult, Glen. You cannot appease Walder Frey now. Not only have you broken your oath, but you've slighted the honour of the Twins by choosing a bride form a lesser house."
Glen bristled at that. "The Westerlings are better blood than the Freys. They're an ancient line, descended from the First Men. The Kings of the Rock sometimes wed Westerlings before the Conquest, and there was another Jeyne Westerling who was queen to King Maegor three hundred years ago."
"All of which will only salt Lord Walder's wounds. It has always rankled him that older houses look down on the Freys as upstarts. This insult is not the first he's borne, to hear him tell it. Jon Arryn was disinclined to foster his grandsons, and my father refused the offer of one of his daughters for Edmure." Paula answered.
Spencer spoke up quietly. "Glen, where is Grey Wind?" The constant game of wits that the Houses played did not appeal to Spencer and she longed to go outside, even if to play with the direwolves.
"In the yard, with a haunch of mutton. I told the kennelmaster to see that he was fed."
"You always kept him with you before."
"A hall is no place for a wolf, Spencer. He gets restless. Growling and snapping, I should never have taken him into battle with me. He's killed too many men to fear them now. Jeyne's anxious around him, and he terrifies her mother."
"He is part of you Glen. To fear him is to fear you." Paula replied.
"I am not a wolf, no matter what they call me." Glen sounded cross. "Grey Wind killed a man at the Crag, another at Ashemark, and six or seven at Oxcross. Grey Wind doesn't like her uncle either. He bares his teeth every time Ser Rolph comes near him."
"Send Ser Rolph away. At once." Paula said. Her face had paled.
"Where? Back to the Crag? Jeyne loves him and he is a fair knight besides. I need more men like Rolph Spicer, not fewer. I am not going to banish him just because my wolf doesn't like the way he smells."
"Glen." Spencer watched as her mother reached out to him and held his arm. "I told you once to keep Theon Greyjoy close, and you did not listen. Listen now. Send this man away. I am not saying you must banish him. Find some task that requires a man of courage, an honourable duty, what it is matters not… but do not keep him near you."
Glen frowned. "Should I have Grey Wind sniff all my knights? There might be others whose smell he mislikes."
"Any man Grey Wind mislikes is a man I do not want close to you. These wolves are more than just wolves, Glen. You must know that. And you as well Spencer. I think perhaps the gods sent them to us. Your father's gods, the old gods of the North. Five wolf pups, Glen, five for five Stark children."
"I am a king and I can protect myself, Mother." He sighed. "I will find some duty for Ser Rolph, some pretext to send him away. Not because of his smell, but to ease your mind. You have been through enough."
Relieved, Paula kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"We must win back the Freys. That is why my nephew here," he gestured at Edmure, "will marry Roslin. It will give us a chance to appease the old man until something more can be done." Brynden Blackfish
Glen nodded his agreement. "Once this is done we shall deal with what Ashley Targaryen brings with her."
