Lois folded her arms. "Why do ya want Gendry?" she demanded.

"The Lord of Light has need of him," Melisandre said.

"I know you," Lois said. "Don't you work for Stannis? You had somethin' to do with the Shadow Monster that killed Renly, didn't ya?"

"And I remember you too, Lois Griffin," said Melisandre. "But I must say, I'm surprised to see you here. I heard you died at the Red Wedding."

"She did," said Thoros of Myr. "But through me, the Lord of Light brought her back."

Melisandre gasped. "You should not have that kind of power!"

"So, usin' the Lord of Light's power to kill people is okay, but bringin' 'em back to life is wrong?" Lois said.

"I have no power," Thoros countered. "I only ask for favors, and the Lord of Light sees fit to grant them. Before I resurrected Lois, I brought Beric Dondarrion back from the dead six times. But the final time he died, he wanted me to save her instead."

"Where are you goin' to take me?" Gendry asked Melisandre.

"She's not takin' you anywhere," Lois said before the red priestess could answer.

"I urge you, reconsider," Melisandre said to Lois. "This boy has powerful magic in his blood. He is crucial to defeating the Great Other."

"Powerful magic, what does that mean?" Gendry wondered.

"Surely you must have always wondered who your father was," Melisandre said.

The boy's eyes lit up. "Do you know who he is? Is he still alive?"

"Yes," Melisandre lied. "I've come to bring you to him."

"Wow!" Gendry exclaimed. "I'm finally goin' to meet my father! I bet he turns out to be a lord or somethin'!"

"Don't go with her!" Lois begged. In the short time she had known Gendry, she had taken a liking to him. He had told her all about his friendship with Meg as well. Lois didn't want Gendry to come to any harm. "She's a witch! She's gonna hurt ya!"

"She's hardly a witch," said Thoros. "She's a red priest, just like me."

Lois turned to Thoros. "So, you're just gonna let her take him?"

"Gendry is free to make his own decisions," said Thoros. "He chose to join our Brotherhood, and he can choose to leave us if he wants to."

"Goodbye, Lady Griffin," said Gendry. "If you ever see your daughter again, tell her I said hi." He and Melisandre turned and walked off.

Melisandre brought Gendry to a rowboat moored by the riverbank. They got in and started rowing down the river.

"So, who's my father?" Gendry asked.

Melisandre said, "Your father was King Robert Baratheon."

"But… he's dead. You told me my father was alive."

"That was just a white lie to get you into this boat with me," she explained.

"Oh. Okay. So, if my father was a king, does that make me a prince or somethin'?"

Melisandre laughed. "I'm afraid it doesn't quite work that way. Since your father was not married to your mother, you're an illegitimate child, with no claim to the throne. But you still have the king's blood in you. That's the powerful magic I was talking about."

All of a sudden Gendry didn't trust her, but now they were in a boat in the middle of the river and there was no getting out. "So, where are we really goin', then, if we're not goin' to see my father?"

All Melisandre said was, "You'll find out when we get there."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brian had gone with a group of black brothers to find and punish the mutineers. But when they got near Craster's house they found them all dead.

Craster's former wives came by in a big group. "What happened here?" Brian asked one of them.

"A big man was passin' this way," she said. "He had a bunch of kids with him. Your brother crows tried to ambush them, but the big man killed 'em all."

Brian realized she was describing Stewie's group. Stewie must have warged into Hodor and fought off the mutineers. "Look at the bodies," Brian told Snot. "Is there anyone missing?"

"Let's see," said Snot. "There's Scott Tenorman, Trent Boyett, Barry…" His voice faltered a little when he said Barry's name. "Terrance Mephisto, Bill Allen, Fosse McDonald, Grubbs, Garth of Greenway, Mawney, Orphan Oss, Alan of Rosby, Muttering Bill, and Rolley of Sisterton. As far as I can tell, the only one missing is Bertram, that kid who killed Craster."

"Hmm, he might have gotten away," said Brian. "But he's only one person. How much harm can he do on his own?"

"So, you think we should head back to Castle Black then?" said Snot.

"Yeah." Brian turned to Craster's wives. "You can come with us if you want. We can offer you shelter."

Morag, the wife who had spoken before, shook her head. "Meanin' all respect, Ser Crow, Craster beat us and worse. Your brother crows beat us and worse. We'll find our own way."

"You want to stay here in Craster's Keep?" Brian said.

Morag spat. "Burn it," she said. "Burn it to the ground, and all the dead with it!"