TDC: Missing Scenes and What If Scenarios

By

Arrow4131

And

Leilani972

Chapter 16: Harry Hardying, The Blind Fool of Kings Landing

Summary: The reign of King Jaehaerys and Queen Margaery has begun, with all the Lords and Ladies from the Seven Kingdoms swearing fealty to them.

Among the Queen's entourage, Elinor Tyrell, Margaery's cousin and the oldest of her Ladies-in-waiting, watched from afar as the majority of the nobility looked forward to a new beginning.
Most of those who didn't agree with the dragons knew better than to poke their heads. Except for one.
Watch through Elinor's eyes as a Young Falcon disturbs the Crown's peace and becomes a nuisance that needs to be eliminated.

King's Landing, Red Keep, 298 AC

Elinor Tyrell

Queen Margaery's Cousin and Lady in Waiting

Elinor was angry. That much was very obvious to anyone who had the misfortune to be in her way as she walked as quickly as proprietary allowed to Lady Olenna's solar. But what no one knew was that Elinor was feeling more anger flowing through her body than she had ever thought possible.

The absolute gall of that man! To speak of such things about her cousin Willas to his betrothed was bad enough, but to do so even when it was very obvious that Sansa did not wish to be in his presence and had no desire whatsoever to break the betrothal made it even worse.

The poor girl was very clearly upset and uncomfortable. So much so that Fang felt the need to force the man to leave her be. When Elinor and the other ladies who were with them had tried to comfort her, Sansa simply said that she was fine and she wanted to be alone. So they adhered to her wishes and watched and she and Fang walked away towards the Godswood. But they all knew she had been lying because the encounter had left a terrible taste in everyone's mouth, so one could only imagine how Sansa was feeling at that moment.

As soon as her Northern friend was out of sight, the ladies gathered around and started ranting and raving, quietly of course, about the unfortunate encounter. All of the ladies were in complete agreement about Lord Harrold's behavior towards Sansa and were appalled that he would try something when he had already been publicly rebuffed by both the Queen and Princess Daenerys. They had all been present when Ser Loras had sparred with Lord Harrold and had believed that the fool had learned his lesson.

Apparently, he had not.

Instead, not even a sennight had passed before he tried to flirt with the Princess. She had rebuffed his advances by almost literally running from him in order to greet Aurane Waters after he and his brother had returned from fighting the Ironborn. Apparently, Lord Harrold had been quite annoyed at being turned down in favor of a bastard, but the fool didn't realize that while Aurane was a Waters, he still came from House Velaryon, King Jaehaerys lealest house. So a match between Aurane and the Princess in the future would not have surprised Elinor at all.

And now he had tried to pursue another Lady who had absolutely no interest in him for more than a few reasons. For starters, even if Sansa wasn't currently betrothed, she would have never wanted anything to do with the new Falcon Lord. Not after his past behavior towards His Grace when everyone thought he was a Northern bastard. Considering all of the crimes that his predecessor had committed against House Stark then his chances of her being interested were even slimmer. Had she been, then both the King and Lord Stark would have never allowed it. Besides, while Willas might walk with a cane, he was still a far better match for Sansa than an arrogant fool whose title was that of a mere lord from a tainted, traitorous family whose keep had been taken by dragons before. Willas, on the other hand, came from a leal house, had been named Master of Coin, was goodbrother to His Grace and Heir to Highgarden, the second richest house in all the realm. A perfect match that was made even better by the fact that even a blind man could tell that they cared very much for each other.

Yet this arrogant fool couldn't seem to see any of this. Elinor was far too angry to really think of what his behavior implied. All she cared about was making certain that this insult to her cousin would not stand. So with determination in her heart and her steps, she soon found herself in front of her Great Aunt's solar that was, as always, being guarded by her two guards Erryk and Arryk.

"Please tell Lady Olenna that I'm here to see her."

Arryk nodded and went inside the solar, letting her enter after he got the Lady's permission. Olenna was sorting some papers and frowned as she looked at Elinor.

"What brings you here, alone furthermore?"

Usually, when she was in the presence of the Queen of Thorns, Elinor tended to stay discreet. She had been a lady in waiting for Margaery since she had been of age to serve and Olenna Tyrell had always terrified her. Elinor was far from being shy around others, though, but always felt on the verge of crying as soon as Olenna would make a remark about her.

Today, though, she gathered her courage and looked her great aunt in the eyes.

"Something happened, my Lady. With Lord Arryn. This time with Lady Sansa."

"Speak."

She proceeded to tell Olenna all about the incident, stressing the fact that Sansa was deeply uncomfortable and Harrold oblivious to that fact. She could see her aunt tense as she recounted what had happened, her fists clenching when she got to the insults he said about Willas.

"Fang almost ripped him apart, my Lady. That is when he somewhat got his sense back and then left Sansa alone without making a scene. She didn't want to talk about it and went off to be alone in the Godswood, but I felt that I should tell you."

"If that little shit thinks he can disrespect my grandchildren and my former ward like this without being gelded…" Olenna muttered. "Thank you, dear, for bringing this to my attention."

"You are welcome, my Lady. But if I may ask, what do you plan to do about Lord Arryn, and is there any way I could help?"

Olenna leaned back into her chair with a thoughtful look on her face.

"I have a few ideas that I had been thinking about ever since that idiot sparred with Loras. But I hadn't done anything yet since up until now it would've looked petty if I had gone after him for how he spoke to Margaery. But thanks to his behavior towards both Princess Daenerys and now Sansa, punishing him will be much simpler since everyone can see a pattern emerging. Yes, this could work."

Olenna then looked up at Elinor with a look of determination on her face that caused the younger Lady to straighten her back knowing that she was about to receive important instructions.

"If you truly want to help then here's what I want you to do. I have a meeting with Lady Anya Waynwood fairly soon. While I am meeting with her, I want you to arrange a meeting with the Queen, Princess Daenerys, Princess Shiera, Lady Dacey, and Lady Ashara. Your cousins, Sansa, Lady Joy, and Lady Brienne will be welcome, you too of course, but make sure all the previous ladies are invited."

Elinor nodded and went quickly to the task. She went to the Queen's chambers and relayed her Grandmother's message, knowing that Margaery would be quicker to summon the other ladies. The Queen didn't disappoint, as usual, Margaery being more than happy to have a reunion with all the ladies on that matter. Once done, she went back to Olenna's rooms to announce that the meeting would take place at the Queen's rooms.

Elinor bit back a chuckle when Olenna grumbled about having to move her old bones to the end of the hall but admitted it could have been worse, as Margaery had arranged for her grandmother and the rest of the Tyrells to stay in the Royal quarters. She was surprised to hear her aunt call for Celesse Footly to come with them. Olenna's latest lady in waiting had been learning a lot with the Queen of Thorns and Elinor felt a pang of jealousy when she thought that Olenna might have a plan for the young Lady of Tumbleton. She would be cross should Celesse find a husband before her, as Elinor was the eldest of the ladies-in-waiting around Margaery's age and had still found no prospect.

All the ladies were already present when they arrived and Margaery smiled warmly at them.

"Now that we're all here, I thank you all ladies for coming on such short notice."

"You never make the Queen wait, else you find yourself in a bad position," Dacey said, making them all chuckle in response.

"I have called for this meeting on behalf of my grandmother."

"And I thank you, Your Grace. It has come to my attention that several women from this meeting have been, let's say, pestered by a certain Lord from the Eyrie lately."

Princess Daenerys let out an unladylike snort while Margaery's face sombered and Sansa looked down to hide her embarrassment. Elinor noticed the other ladies looked discontent.

"Pestering is a euphemism if we speak about Harrold Arryn." Daenerys pointed out. "That man is a nuisance. He even harassed Missy and said inappropriate things about foreigners. He's lucky that Sandor and I weren't there when he spoke to her or else we would've done some very, unpleasant things to him in the sparring yard."

"I had hoped that he would behave after Loras' lesson, but I was wrong," Margaery stated.

"I still can't believe that he tried flirting with you after what happened to Ser Justin. And then he had the gall to try his luck with the Princess and now Sansa after his poor performance against Ser Loras. Any other man would've had the sense to lay low." Lady Brienne said with a contemplated look. "But then again we are talking about Harry Freysbane so I really shouldn't be surprised."

"Why is he called Freysbane?" Lady Joy asked, saving Elinor from asking herself. But thankfully she wasn't the only one in the room who looked confused.

"Was he trying to copy Smalljon's moniker?" Sansa frowned.

"I hope not! I don't know which one is worse, Freysbane or Goatsbane!" Dacey grimaced, making the other ladies laugh in response.

Brienne chuckled and responded with an answer that was surprising and yet at the same time, it shouldn't have been.

"It's an unofficial nickname that some of the Vale Lords have whispered behind his back ever since he was knighted. From what I was told, Lord Jon had made arrangements for the Vale to have its own squires melee at Runestone in order to counteract House Lannisters' growing influence. Except it wasn't a very grand affair for several reasons, one of them being that most of the squires that had been invited to compete were from House Frey."

"Are you saying that the only reason that fool was knighted was because he defeated some Freys in a competition that very few people knew about?" Sansa asked in complete shock.

"Apparently so."

While Elinor knew that it wasn't completely uncommon for a man to be knighted for unknightly reasons such as nepotism and politics, the very thought that a Warden would rig a melee to make certain that his kin would win still shocked her. But there was something that confused her.

"I don't understand, why would Lord Yohn go along with that? A man of his integrity would have never knighted Lord Harold based on that alone."

"I'm not sure," Brienne said, shrugging. "But I got the impression that he didn't have much of a choice since the melee was sponsored by his Liege Lord. Plus it wouldn't have looked good if he had offered a knighthood as a prize for the winner but then turned around and refused to do so. Even more so since we now know about Lord Jon's true character. More than likely he would have punished House Royce as a whole if Lord Yohn had done anything that would have been seen as a slight."

"Good point. Now we know at least one of the reasons why Lord Freysbane is so arrogant, he thinks he's a better fighter than he actually is. When in actuality those Frey squires could have been beaten by Joanna with her eyes closed and one arm tied behind her back."

Lady Dacey stared at Lady Ashara in disbelief before laughing wholeheartedly. Elinor never heard the Lady of Castamere talk much. She'd always been the observant one, which made her last remark both surprising and amusing.

"Anyway; I have spoken to Lady Anya about him and the latest… incidents regarding his behavior," Olenna said and Elinor's heart broke as she saw poor Sansa sink deeper into her seat. "She didn't seem to have heard any of her ward's antics that occurred after his sparring with Loras."

"He's not her ward anymore, so I doubt her knowing about it would have changed anything," Dacey remarked.

"Aye, but she is still working on securing a betrothal for him before leaving King's Landing."

Daenerys let out another snort and rolled her eyes.

"The Lord willing to betroth his daughter to that man would be a fool, or an idiot, or both."

"Did she ask for him to wed one of my cousins, Grandmother?" Margaery asked and Elinor shivered at the thought of one of them marrying that despicable man.

"She did ask my council on choosing a Lady from the Reach for him, but I gave her a better deal," Olenna answered. "I offered her a betrothal between her grandson Roland and one of your cousins. I haven't chosen which one yet," she added, looking pointedly at Elinor whose heart started racing at those words.

Elinor didn't know much about House Waynwood, other than the fact that they were an ancient house from the Vale. She couldn't understand what benefit Olenna would gain by tying their House to theirs, but she wasn't the Queen of Thorns and she knew better than to underestimate her aunt.

At least, she didn't suggest Celesse, which is a good point for me…

"So now that she knows that he will have no support from the Reach, what is next?"

"I think we have to make it clear for her that she won't find anything either in the West or the North and Dorne."

"I can speak on behalf of the West," Dacey said.

"I can ask Arianne to send word after her wedding," Tyene proposed.

"And I believe my father could say something too regarding the ties between the North and the Vale, but I do not know if it will make a difference."

"We have to hurt his pride, ladies. To make him see that because of his attitude, he will never marry one of us. We must leave him with no choice but to wed a Frey or a commoner."

"There are other eligible ladies from the Riverlands than the Frey, though." Ashara said, "Plus those from the Vale and the Stormlands."

It was Lady Brienne's turn to snort and she quickly reddened from embarrassment.

"Do you want to say something, Brienne?" Margaery encouraged her.

"Well… apart from the Estermont widows, Lady Shireen and myself, there aren't a lot of women available for marriage in the Stormlands. And I definitely refuse to be linked to this man."

"I'm sure Shireen wouldn't either." Daenerys chuckled.

"I will discuss this with her, and with Lady Anya," Margaery said. "I know that the Lords of the Vale have unanimously decided to put their alliance proposals at the King's discretion, as proof of their good faith and their desire not to instill mistrust between them and the Crown. And I'm sure Shireen will see how bad it would look to ask for such an alliance and shut it down quickly."

"So if Freysbane tries to strike a deal with Shireen, it will be refused, right?" Daenerys asked.

"There shouldn't be any tentative at all, as it would be seen as the start of another rebellion. And I doubt that he would find anyone from the Vale. They will not risk associating with him, and his links to Lady Anya will weaken thanks to the offer given by lady Olenna," Celesse butted in and even though she was right, Elinor couldn't help but to roll her eyes.

"We never partake in idle gossip but some expect us to do so, about the King, the Queen, their relationship…" Elinor took the opportunity to speak, hoping her idea would be reasonable.

"Oh, do they?"

"Aye, your Grace, and we never say a thing, but I think it would be a good opportunity to spread the word about his character to other ladies. In sewing parlors, during dinners, everywhere we can, us Ladies in waiting should gossip about him and his foul behaviour."

"I like that idea, Elinor. The ladies we speak to will run away from him the moment he tries to woo them? Even more so if we spread the story about how he was knighted since it seems that not many people outside of the Vale even know that story. If we do this right, everyone in court will be calling him Freysbane without a care." Celesse said with a chuckle that Elinor couldn't help but join in, which caused the other ladies in the room to be amused as well.

"While I do wish we could do a lot more to punish this idiot, he didn't commit any crimes so ruining his chances at finding a good match is the best we can do. Moreover, it's not like we'll have to deal with him for much longer since the Vale Lords will be returning home within a sennight."

Elinor frowned as Olenna asked for Margaery and Lady Ashara to stay behind while everyone else was dismissed. She didn't have time to dwell on it though, as she didn't want to take the risk of being scolded if she lingered too much.

"Elinor, wait for me." She heard Celesse call behind her.

While Elinor really did not want to talk to her, it would've been highly rude to ignore her and people would talk about the snub. She also was a bit curious as to what the girl wanted, even if she would never admit it out loud.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Well, I just had a thought. All of the plans we just made with the other ladies are all well and good, but how do we know for certain that Lord Harold will even notice? After all, he didn't even notice that you were right next to Lady Sansa when he harassed her and insulted your cousin. And he acts like he's a Lord of great importance when in actuality he's been reduced to a lord of a mere keep. Plus, the name Arryn is now traitorous. If he's too much of a fool to see all of that then our plans might not work as well as we think they should."

At first, Elinor wanted to be angry and rebuke the girl for doubting her Great Aunt's plan, but she managed to stomp on her impulse and give it some thought.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you do have a point. Men like him tend to be very oblivious to things that even a blind man could see."

"Did I do something to offend you?"

"What? Why do you think that?" Elinor asked, taken aback by the sudden change of topic.

"You just said you hated to admit I was right, so I thought…"

"I… Do not dislike you. It's just… You are a newcomer and you took a lot of liberties during the meeting that other ladies-in-waiting didn't" she tried to explain. "

"I apologize for that. Lady Olenna told me to speak my mind when I was amongst friends and I thought -"

"You have to be more careful with those opinions, though. It is true that Queen Margaery is friendly, but you cannot speak out of turn in front of other ladies. That's the first thing they taught me when I came into the Queen's service. I'm surprised Lady Olenna didn't say it to you.."

"She said times were changing and women would be more heard under Margaery, I mean Queen Margaery's reign, so I shouldn't be afraid to say what I think during those kinds of meetings. I am really sorry for speaking out of turn and I wish it didn't give you a bad opinion of me."

"I… You're right, times are changing. I suppose I'm still unused to that, so don't apologize for that."

"I understand, truly. I don't want you to see me as someone disrespectful or as trying to distinguish myself from others. I would like us to be friends."

"Truly?"

"Of course! We are around the same age and to be honest, I feel lonely sometimes. Most of Lady Olenna's ladies-in-waiting are much older than us and it had been a real surprise to me that she'd ask my father to let me stay here with her."

Elinor paused and thought about Celesse's words. The Footly girl was indeed the youngest of Olenna's entourage and they've been wondering why the Queen of Thorns saw fit not to assign her with Margaery, to which the queen had answered once that her grandmother had seen the same potential in Celesse that she had in the girl's mother, who had been Olenna's lady-in-waiting before getting married. Elinor had found it strange at first, but they were also kin, even though far related to them, so knowing how much Olenna valued her family growing strong, she kept her doubts to herself.

Besides, she had more important things to think about.

"Knowing how Lady Olenna thinks she more than likely sees some potential in you that she wants to uncover. And I might have a way to find out for certain."

"You do?"

"I do. Now you may very well be right about Lord Arryn being too oblivious to notice what his behavior is doing to his already low stature. But we need to know for certain. We need to know what's going on in that tiny brain of his. Or at the very least find out if he had one at all."

"Aye, I agree that information like that could very well help our plan but how do we do that? It's not like he'll just outright tell us. And we can't just bribe any of his guards for information."

Elinor then smiled at her new friend.

"All true, but lucky for us, I happen to know someone who can help us in that regard. Come, we don't have any other duties for today so we might as well do this now."

Despite the look of absolute confusion on her face, Celesse followed her until they reached the kitchens. It was then that she finally understood what Elinor was planning.

"Ah now I get it, you want to ask a servant if they know anything. Why didn't I think of that?" She asked with a look of annoyance.

"Exactly! Servants hear and see everything and yet nobody pays attention to them. So they make the perfect spies. Anyway, this particular servant, her name is Janei and she has been working in the Red Keep for several years so she knows who will have answers to our questions." Elinor responded feeling a bit proud of her idea.

"How did you meet her?"

"I uh, accidentally ran into her a few days after we arrived. I got lost and she helped me figure things out." She reluctantly admitted.

Why did she have to ruin it by asking that question?

"It could've been worse. At least you didn't turn a corner and run into a Dornish Lord who ended up falling over from the shock." Celesse laughed.

"What? You didn't! Who was it?"

"I'm not certain. He might have been from Starfall but I was too embarrassed to stay long enough to find out. All I could do was apologize and rush off to whatever errand Lady Olenna was having me complete at the time." Celesse said with a small blush.

"Well, aren't we a pair?" Elinor said with a smirk causing both girls to laugh until they heard someone cough behind them. In surprise, the ladies turned around and saw an older woman wearing servant clothes who Elinor immediately recognized as Janei.

"Sorry to interrupt your fun m'Ladies but you are in the middle of a hallway," Janei said with a smirk and a twinkle of humor in her eyes.

"No need to apologize Janei. But I am surprised that you were behind us since I usually find you in the kitchen."

"I had to go into the market for some spices that we had run out of and I'm just now returning. But what about you and your friend? I'm assuming that neither of you came for a snack?"

"Oh right, of course. Celesse, this Janei, she's a cook but she also does a bit of everything else. Janei, this is Celesse Footly of Tumbleton, she is a Lady in waiting to Lady Olenna Tyrell." After Janei smiled and did a small curtsy to Celesse, Elinor continued her explanation. "And to answer your question, no we didn't come for a snack, we were actually hoping that you could help us answer some questions we have."

"Well, I can certainly try. Allow me to put these spices away and then I can take you both to someplace private."

After she had left them, Celesse turned to Elinor with a confused look on her face and whispered, "I'm surprised that she speaks so freely to you. The last time I was here before the war, all of the servants here barely looked at noble ladies unless they were spoken to."

"Well I wouldn't say that we are friends or anything like that, but I did help her out with a problem not long after we met so she feels more comfortable around me compared to other ladies. And before you ask, it's her story to tell, not mine. But I wouldn't bring it up if I were you."

"Fair enough." Celesse conceded despite the continued look of confusion, which she managed to hide when Janei made her reappearance.

"Come, m'Ladies, we can speak in this room that we use to have our own meals."

A few moments later the three women were in a room that had a fairly large table that Elinor imagined could fit about 20 people at a time. That possibility seemed even more plausible when she and Celesse sat on one side of the table while Janei sat on the other side.

"So, what questions are plaguing your minds today m'Ladies?"

"Well, would I be correct in assuming that you have heard about the latest incident with Lord Harrold?"

"Oh yes, I've heard all about the new Falcon lord." Janei scoffed with a frown on her face. "He's a disgrace to his knightly title. From what I've heard, even the Vale Lords that were very loyal to Lord Jon are embarrassed to be anywhere near him. Mostly because they fear that his continued behavior will put the Vale in a very difficult position with their graces. Even more so since the last Falcon Lord turned out to be the most dishonorable man in the history of Westeros. Maester Gormon's words, not mine."

"Well, I'm not entirely surprised by that. The fool is isolating himself from any and all potential allies thanks to his behavior, but for some reason he doesn't seem to notice. Which tells me that he's either a blind, oblivious fool or he's only pretending to be oblivious and he has some sort of master plan."

Janei raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Ummm, I think the former might be more accurate. The idea that he has some sort of plan would be giving him far too much credit."

"That may be the case but we have no way of knowing for certain. That's why we came to you. We were hoping that you might know of anyone in Lord Harrold's circle that may be willing to talk to us and help us understand what is going on in the mind of a fool."

"Hmm, I might know someone who can help. He used to be a guard for House Waynewood before he was assigned to the Eyrie after the war. He might still hold his loyalty to Lady Anya and probably knows this idiot better than some of the other guards. But he's on duty today so unfortunately, you'll have to wait a bit before you can talk to him, that is if he's willing."

"If you could find out for certain and make arrangements for us to meet with him then we would be very grateful Janei," Celesse said with a smile. "Also, I'm not sure if you're aware, but it seems that Lord Harrold has a nickname among the Valemen. So we would like you to spread the story amongst the other servants."

"A nickname? What do they call him besides an arse?" Janei asked with a chuckle.

"Freysbane," Elinor responded with a great big smirk. "They started calling him that after he was knighted for defeating a great gaggle of Frey squires in a melee at Runestone."

At first, Janei just stared at them with a look of disbelief with her mouth opening and closing in shock. But then she smiled and started laughing so hard that she almost fell out of her chair, which caused Elinor and Celesse to laugh along with her.

Finally, the laughing subsided into giggles and Janei was able to calm down enough to gasp out.

"That fool has been strutting around here like a damn peacock and acting like he's the greatest knight with magnificent skills that rival the Kingsguard. Yet in reality, he has no significant skills to speak of and the only battle he's fought in is a war against Frey squires? Freys?! Any other man would be embarrassed to be knighted after a pitiful display like that. Let me guess, Lord Jon made arrangements for his kin to be knighted for political reasons and the Valemen had to go along with it?"

"You would be correct, unfortunately," Elinor confirmed, rolling her eyes.

"Ha! Figures! Well, even if I can't get you the answers that you're seeking, spreading the story of Freysbane will be an absolute pleasure. By this time tomorrow, most of the servants in this keep will have heard the story and will be whispering the name behind his back."

"That quickly?" Celesse asked in surprise with her eyebrows raised.

"Servants tend to be far bigger gossips than most noble ladies. So stories tend to travel very quickly around here." Janei answered with a smirk.

"Well, in that case, Celesse? Why don't you go and tell Lady Olenna the good news? Something tells me that she will be quite pleased to hear this."

"Of course. Would you like to join me in my room to sup later?"

"I'll be there and I'll stay with Janei for a bit to arrange for dinner to be prepared for us."

"Wonderful! I'll see you soon and it was wonderful to meet you Janei."

"You as well, m'lady."

And with that Celesse left the room leaving Elinor alone with her… companion. That was the only word she could think of to best describe the older woman in front of her. After all, how did one be friends with a woman who was old enough to be a mother, was of a much lower status, and had experienced something that very few people can possibly comprehend?

That was a question that she couldn't see being answered anytime soon so the young lady opted to ask a different one before Janei beat her to it with one of her own.

"How much did you tell her about me?"

"Very little. It's your story to tell, not mine. I wanted to respect your wishes." Elinor answered truthfully.

"I greatly appreciate it. Talking about what happened with people I don't know is still very difficult for me."

"That's understandable and not at all surprising. You and your family went through a very traumatic period that not many people could ever understand. In fact, I would've been very surprised if you had opened up to Celesse."

"True," Janei said with a sad smile.

"Since you brought it up, how are the children? Are they doing any better?"

"A little better. Colton still cries for his mother every night but he's able to go back to sleep after I go to him. Taria still doesn't say much but the nightmares seemed to have lessened a bit. And Tobin remains oblivious as any other baby would be when bad things happen."

"And your husband?"

"He's doing well. The job that you were able to get him has been very helpful. I never imagined that one could get paid well and treated fairly as a builder. Opportunities like that were almost nonexistent when 'he' was in charge."

Elinor didn't need to hear the name to know who Janei was talking about. The hatred the poor woman felt for Robert and Jon Arryn was certainly understandable. To see your best friend's head on a spike right next to her husband after Robert's Rage was horrific enough. But to then have to explain to three young children that both their mother and father had been murdered and would never come home again just made the whole situation even crueler.

So it came as no surprise to Elinor that she couldn't help but feel a great amount of respect for Janei. To be willing to take in hurt, grieving and traumatized children to raise them as your own shows the quality of one's character. Even more so when you have your own grief and trauma to tend to.

"In any case, with both of the men responsible dead, the children don't feel scared to go outside anymore. And we now have enough coin to buy them whatever they need, even toys if we wanted to. And it's all thanks to you."

"Janei…"

"M'lady, please. Accept the compliment. You know I'm right. If you hadn't gone to the Queen on our behalf about how the servants here are paid and made arrangements for my husband's new job then our lives would've been far more difficult. And I thank you for that."

Elinor sighed knowing that she wasn't going to win this argument even though she was fine with that fact.

"Very well, if you insist. You're welcome," she smiled at the servant.

"Excellent! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my duties, spread some gossip and see about you and Lady Celesse speaking to the guard I told you about."

"Then I will leave you to it. But before I go, I have one more question. Has anyone ever told you that you are too stubborn for your own good?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Ha! You should speak to my husband. He once told me that my stubbornness was one of the main reasons why he married me."

"Really?" she asked, feeling a bit bewildered.

"You'll understand when you find a husband of your own," the woman responded with a laugh.

Elinor shook her head in amusement and left the room feeling much better compared to how she felt earlier that day.

The next day, just after she had her midday meal with the other ladies in waiting, a servant arrived with a note from Janei. Apparently, the guard was more than willing to talk to them and wanted to meet within the hour in the Godswood.

Thankfully, Celesse had been there when the note arrived so she didn't have to worry about trying to find her in time for the meeting. So with that taken care of, the two ladies walked out of the keep and into the Godswood, a place that neither had ever been to before. When they arrived, they found that Janei had already arrived and was waiting for them.

"Would I be correct in assuming that you were both together when my message arrived?"

"You certainly would be. Thank you for arranging this, Janei. We appreciate it." Celesse said with a smile.

"Oh think nothing of it, m'ladies. I must say that I have very much enjoyed spreading word of Freysbane's incompetence all around the Red Keep. And I have apparently outdone myself since even the story of his knighting is spreading all around the city. In fact, I wouldn't even be surprised if someone writes a song about it."

"I would gladly pay someone to write such a song and then sing it at the next feast Lord Freysbane attends," Elinor said laughing at the thought of such a humiliation for the poor Vale Lord.

"You wouldn't be the only one, my Lady." Said a voice that she had never heard before.

Why must we always be snuck up on? Celesse and I need to be more wary of our surroundings. Then we won't have potentially embarrassing moments.

When Elinor turned around, she saw an older man who was dressed in Arryn colors and had a small sword by his side. Of course, the man had a small smirk on his face when he saw that the ladies had blushed a little at being surprised by his entrance.

"You are early Silas, I'm surprised," Janei said despite not looking surprised at all.

"Well, my mother always told me that 'to be on time is to be late, to be early is to be on time'. And I always listen to my mother. But in any case, are these the ladies you told me about?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"They are. Silas, this is Lady Elinor Tyrell and Lady Celesse Footly. M'ladies, this is Silas Salver, a member of the Eyrie's house guard."

The ladies started to greet him with a small curtsy but the man raised his hand to stop them and said, "No need for any formalities my ladies, I'm just a simple soldier who technically shouldn't even be here."

"And yet you came anyway, why?" Elinor asked.

"Simple, I hold no loyalty to Harry Freysbane, I'm only a part of his guard because Lady Anya asked me to do so. She hoped that having a familiar face around would be a good way to keep him from doing anything stupid since she doesn't trust Ser Vardis to do anything more than just feed his ego."

"That makes sense. I've never met Ser Vardis but I've heard that he's still very much loyal to House Arryn to the point of stupidity." Celesse said with a grimace.

"Aye, but compared to Harry, Vardis is much better at being subtle." Elinor remarked. "Which is why we wanted to talk to you. Your new lord is alienating himself from every potential ally thanks to his stupid behavior and we'd like to understand his mindset for someone who knows him better than we do."

"Well then take a seat my ladies, this could take a bit." After they sat at the base of the tree he asked, "Where should I start?"

"How about Queen Margaery? Do you know if he had a plan in regards to his attempts at flirting with her?"

"Oh yes that." He said with a chuckle. "I overheard him talking to Vardis about the day after he had bent the knee. Apparently he hadn't originally planned on doing anything more than reluctantly bend the knee to His Grace. But when he saw that only the Queen was there, well, he saw an opportunity he couldn't resist."

"An opportunity for what exactly?" She asked.

"An opportunity for payback. A chance to humiliate the king the way he was humiliated for losing his chance to be Lord of the Vale. He said that seducing the Queen was a great way to do it because the King can't do anything to punish either him or the Queen. Doing so would make him just like Robert and would alienate him with both the Vale and Reach."

"Fair enough, I can see some logic to his so-called plan, but anyone with eyes can see that my cousin is madly in love with her husband and would never actually betray him. So his plan was never going to work," Elinor said, feeling completely dumbfounded at the idiocy she was hearing.

"Oh, I know that, and we tried to talk him out of it but he dismissed our worries and said that we had nothing to worry about. But Harry has never been good about being subtle and has always been impatient so of course everything backfired on him. Plus it doesn't help that he doesn't know how to play politics."

"I'm surprised that Lady Anya didn't teach him how. Lady Olenna always had good things to say about her political knowledge." Celesse said, looking just as dumbfounded.

"Oh, she tried, but you can only teach someone who actually wants to learn. Both her and Lord Jon always did the political work for him and he had no desire for that to change. So he's not just a fool, he's a very lazy one."

"Figures, that makes him even less desirable as a potential husband. So what happened after he sparred with Ser Loras? Did he say anything about the Princess or Lady Sansa?"

"Oh he was very angry that he had lost, but he told us that if he had properly warmed up then things would've turned out much differently. As for the Princess, we didn't know that he was planning on speaking to her. From what I could tell, he probably figured that if he couldn't seduce the Queen then he might as well try the next best thing. After all, he's so arrogant that he believes that he deserves only the best Lady for a wife and who better than a Princess? Now as for Lady Sansa, I think he was just simply getting desperate." Silas answered with a look of shame on his face.

Both Elinor and Celesse groaned and put their heads in their hands in disbelief. All they could think about was that the Vale was fortunate that Lord Yohn had been appointed Lord Paramount and not this waste of space.

"Elinor, I think we have heard enough. If we hear any more stories of Freysbane's stupidity then we might turn stupid ourselves."

"Agreed. Thank you for telling us all this Silas, your words have been most informative and I'm sorry that you have to serve such a man. You deserve better."

"You are most welcome my Ladies. And don't worry about it, it won't last forever. That fool will get himself killed sooner or later. Until then, I will do my Lady's bidding. By your leave?"

Elinor nodded and with that Silas got up and walked out of the Godswood, leaving the three women behind to contemplate what they had heard.

"Janei, I want you to tell everyone you meet what you have just heard. I want everyone in the city to know of this within a sennight. From the highest noble to the lowest orphan."

"Oh don't worry m'lady. I wouldn't be surprised if everybody is talking about this within three to four days." The older woman responded with a laugh. "I am very much going to enjoy this."

In the end, their plan worked out quite well and much quicker than Janei had predicted. Harry's reputation with the ladies was now tarnished and he would have a hard time finding any woman to warm his bed, as Elinor soon learned that even the whores from Chataya's wanted nothing to do with him. Those from other whorehouses who were willing to accept him charged him three to four times the usual amount and were also, by all accounts, very ugly. So the fool was rarely willing to pay so much for a night with someone so undesirable. There was also the fact that House Arryn wasn't very wealthy anymore thanks to the great loss in status to take into consideration, so even if he had been willing, he wouldn't have been able to afford it.

How unfortunate for the poor fool. Not that Elinor would pity him, though, as he deserved way worse for imposing his presence to court.

The Red Keep, 299 AC

After the incident with Joy Lannister

Elinor, like the rest of Margaery's ladies-in-waiting, was livid.

Her heart broke seeing Joy crying in the King's arms and they quickly excused themselves to give them privacy.

Lady Joy was exactly as her name said, a joy to be around. They were used to her little games throughout the years and it kind of brought a breath of fresh air in their group to have that carefree attitude displayed. Margaery loved her with all her heart and Elinor didn't realize until that moment how important she had been to her also.

Not once had she seen Joy in such a distressed state. Not when she got attacked by Joffrey in Highgarden, not when her father asked for a duel to protect the direwolf who had saved her life. The young Lady of Castamere had always put on a brave and fearless front, even though Elinor knew she had been afraid of what would happen.

When Margaery came to them with fire in her eyes, Elinor was even more determined to find out what had happened. It didn't take long for them to get to the bottom of the story, as Brienne quickly filled them in with what had happened in the courtyard.

Fury swept over Elinor as she heard what Harrold Arryn had said to the poor girl. Even when she wasn't legitimized, not once did they consider Joy as anything other than a lady. True, she had been born a bastard, and maybe Elinor would have been prejudiced against her once, but it was long before they had met Jaehaerys and Joy.

Back when the King was only Jon Snow, his proximity to Loras and Margaery and his character made it difficult for all of Margaery's cousins to see him as anything but noble and kind-hearted. When she got introduced to Joy and saw how Margaery interacted with her, it made no doubt to her that the Lady of Castamere was made of the same cloth as Jon. She didn't get offended, rather pleased when she got her name shortened by the little lady. She always smiled when she got called Liny, for it meant she was accepted in Joy's inner circle.

"I will gut this fucker!" she heard Tyene say, fury evident in the Lady's demeanor. "How dare he treat Joy like this? How dare he make her cry? Scratch that, I will not gut him, I will make him suffer and beg for mercy. I just have to find the right poison for it."

Elinor and Megga gasped as they saw the Martell Princess leave in a hurry.

"Shouldn't we stop her?" Megga asked fearfully.

"Should we, really?" Elinor said, feeling her anger coming back.

"She will get in trouble if Harry is poisoned."

"Not if nobody talks about it. Who would mourn this waste of air, anyway?"

"Elinor!"

"What? You would protect him after all he's done? He made Joy cry, for the Gods' sake!"

"And he will get his comeuppance," Sansa said, putting a hand on Elinor's shoulder. "Jae will not let it slide, Elinor. He will punish him accordingly. Should Tyene poison him before Jae gets to Harry's case, they will be forced to investigate and we don't want our friend to be dismissed from Margaery's service."

Elinor shivered and then nodded. Megga didn't waste any more time and ran after Tyene. When they came back minutes later, accompanied by a worried Celesse, none of the ladies-in-waiting's rage abated.

"I heard what Arryn did. Any news from Lady Joy?" Celesse asked.

"She's with the King and the Queen," Sansa answered. "I don't think we will know more for a while, until she feels better at least."

"That little piece of…"

Tyene was stopped in her sentence by Brienne coming back.

"I told the King what had happened. He was beyond furious." the Lady of Evenfall Hall said.

"Of course he was! Joy is his sister in all but name!" Elinor exclaimed, still angry.

"How is she?" Sansa enquired.

"She fell asleep, but it was obvious that she was still distraught by the whole ordeal. I must admit that I'm at a loss here. I don't understand… Joy never reacted badly for being called a bastard before. And she had been legitimized…"

"I think that nobody had dared to call her a bastard in the open before. Embracing who you are doesn't mean it hurts less when someone insults you, especially since her position has changed since Jae became king. We'll always be seen as bastards by some and even though we don't let our birth define who we are, they will not hesitate to belittle us every time they'll have the opportunity to do so," Tyene said, clenching her fists.

Elinor realized that her friend's reaction was as much for what she'd endured all her life as it was for Joy being hurt. Tyene could relate with Jae's sister on a level Elinor would never comprehend, as they've lived the same situation and been legitimized around the same time, thanks to Jaehaerys.

She didn't have time to dwell on this as Loras came to the room to enquire about Joy. They found themselves at a loss of what to do and Elinor didn't like that one bit. Assuredly she was used to following orders and staying around her Lady, but she never felt the need to act as much as she did at that moment.

One of the servants then came to tell them that they had been summoned into the Queen's solar and she arrived in time to catch the end of Margaery's conversation with the Master of Whispers.

"How did he leave? How come nobody has prevented him from doing so?"

"He didn't ask for permission to leave, Your Grace." Ser Richard answered, visibly annoyed. "He just did. He called for the remaining guards at his service to pack his things once he saw Lady Joy running away crying and rode as soon as he could."

"The King will be furious!" Margaery sighed loudly.

"Do you want me to tell him, Your Grace?"

"No, no, I'll do it. It will be best if I do."

"As you wish, Your Grace."

"Can one of you inform my Grandmother that I will not be available to sup with her tonight?"

"I will, Your Grace," Sansa said softly.

"Thank you, Sansa."

"Is there anything else we can do, Your Grace?" Elinor asked.

"No, but I thank all of you for your concern and I'll be sure to share your well wishes with Joy. I'm certain she will appreciate it when she wakes up." Margaery said, looking tired and on the verge of breaking down. "If there's anything new about Arryn, come to me."

Elinor stared at her cousin's retreating form and frowned. Since their trip to the North, she suspected that Margaery was hiding something. She'd caught her more than one putting her hands over her stomach unconsciously, and Margaery had done so all the time during their last conversation. She wouldn't bring the subject to the table, as it was not the moment for it, but she prayed for her instinct to be right.

As they were all dismissed for the rest of the day, she spent her time thinking back on what had happened with Joy. She was truly at her wits' end with Harrold Arryn and while it had pleased her to see her plan to sully his character to the other Ladies at the court had borne its fruits, the incident with Joy clearly proved that it didn't make him think about his attitude.

They needed to do more.

She tried to think of something, anything to get rid of the nuisance that he had become. Perhaps it was a good thing he'd run away since they wouldn't have to suffer the likes of him anymore, but she wouldn't rule against Jaehaerys flying with his dragon to burn him alive.

She went to the kitchens to grab something to eat and asked if someone had sent a meal to the Queen, as she used to do. She then grabbed a tray of fruit and asked a servant to bring more food before going to Margaery's solar.

"I brought you something to eat, Your Grace."

"That's very nice of you, Elinor." Margaery thanked her. "I must admit I am starving, but I hoped Joy and Jae would wake so we could share our meal together."

"They've been through a lot of emotions today, and so have you, Your Grace."

"Please, Elinor, just for this moment, call me Margaery. Would you eat with me?"

"With pleasure," Elinor smiled. She wasn't about to break protocol, but at least she could indulge her cousin by not calling her 'Your Grace'.

She watched as Margaery rubbed her stomach after eating a peach. It had always been her cousin's favorite fruit and it gave her comfort whenever she was upset. Elinor was glad that Lady Olenna had thought of requesting a shipment from the Reach.

"Why are you smiling, cousin?" Margaery asked, pulling her out from her thoughts.

"I'm happy to see that some things never change, and others do for the better."

Margaery looked at her with puzzlement and Elinor smiled warmly.

"Peaches. You always loved them."

"Oh! Yes, I did! I do, you're right. You know me so well, Elinor…"

"I do know you, indeed."

Margaery narrowed her eyes at her cousin and finally let out a sigh. Elinor knew she was not ready to talk about it so she didn't press the subject, focusing instead on the fruit and talking briefly about their time at the Reach.

"Do you miss it, Elinor?" Margaery finally asked. "Do you miss being home?"

"Not really. I mean, I miss Highgarden, but I knew there would be a chance I would have to leave the Reach when I get married, or to follow you, so I didn't think of it as my home."

"But if you had a choice in the matter, would you rather stay here with me or go back to the Reach?"

"Are you… Do you want to send me back?" Elinor gasped, panicking.

"No! Not at all! It's just… I know you've been hurt when you heard about Leona and Celesse's betrothals," Margaery started.

Elinor shook her head. Their cousin Alla was bursting with joy to see her little sister betrothed to Rolland Waynwood. Elinor wished she could have shared Alla's joy but she had a hard time figuring out why Olenna would bypass the older sister, or her for that matter. Part of her had also been jealous but then she figured that it was because they were ladies-in-waiting for the Queen and were supposed to stay as much as possible with Margaery.

Until she heard about Celesse's betrothal agreement. Her friend had busted into her room when she got back from her journey to Winterfell, with some wine and a brilliant smile plastered on her face. She then proceeded to tell Elinor that she was going to be the next Lady of Starfall, for Olenna and Lady Ashara Dayne had arranged her betrothal to Lord Edric. She was happy for Celesse, truly, but it also put her position within the Tyrell's household in question. She loved Margaery with all her heart, she was happy to serve her and proud to be in the Queen's entourage, but she also wanted to have a family on her own someday. Would she be allowed to do so?

"I know you want to be someone's wife, it has never been a secret that you want to find a good marriage, so when the time comes, would you rather be here or in the Reach?"

"I've never thought about it. I mean… I don't want to leave your side… But King's Landing is…"

"Not where you would want to live the rest of your life," Margaery finished, smiling broadly. "So, where do you see yourself in the future?"

"I don't know… The Vale is out of the question now, since Leona is betrothed to Rolland Waynwood," Elinor said with a little bite. "The North is too cold and Dorne too hot. And I don't think I would risk going to the Riverlands to fall into a Frey."

"I will never allow you to marry a Frey, even for love."

"Thank the Gods in that case!" Elinor chuckled.

"Grandmother thinks you would be better suited in the Reach."

"Better suited, Your Grace?"

"As you know, Sansa is going to be the next Lady of Highgarden. Grandmother thinks that she will need support from friends in other houses than ours, so that some of my Ladies in waiting will need to marry heirs from the Reach so they could foster a good relationship with Highgarden when the time comes for a change."

"I understand. Is that why none of us are betrothed yet?"

"Aye. Because you are needed here and also because we need to know what you desire to do. We will not force you to stay in the Reach if you want to marry somewhere else, but you need to figure out how it would benefit our family also."

"I wouldn't have minded Ned Dayne as a husband," she grumbled, making her cousin laugh.

"You said it yourself that Dorne would be too hot for you!"

"Yes, but he's rather comely…"

"If that's what you truly want, I can ask Grandmother…"

"No. As much as I want to be wed, I will not do that to Celesse," she said as she saw Margaery's smirk. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"I know you as much as you do me."

"Yes, Your Grace," Elinor pressed and Margaery rolled her eyes.

"So, is there a Lord in the Reach who might have caught your eye?"

"I… Haven't thought of any, but I won't mind if you have a suggestion?"

"As long as it isn't a Florent, right?" Margaery teased.

"You do know me well, Your grace." Elinor laughed. "Thank you for telling me about this. I have to admit that I didn't know where I stood,"

"You've always been by my side, cousin. I should be the one to thank you for everything."

"It's a pleasure to serve you and to see you create a better world, Your Grace. For us and our future children."

"Aye, our future children." Margaery smiled and nodded absentmindedly, putting her hand on her stomach and confirming what Elinor suspected before.

She suddenly realized that she wouldn't be happier if it had been her baby.

The Queen's chambers, 299 AC

After Harrold Arryn's trial

To say that Elinor was outraged was an understatement. The things that had been said during the trial were appealing, to say the least, and she didn't think she would hate Harrold Arryn more than she already did.

Until she heard he'd threatened little Elia's life.

Everyone wanted his head, Margaery justly so more than the others. Elinor was torn between the relief that Jaehaerys and Rhaenix hadn't been there to hear that statement, as she wasn't sure the Red Keep wouldn't be aflame at that moment, and the annoyance that Margaery seemed to deal with horrifying matters on her own every time he was away.

First Catelyn Tully threatened her cousin's husband, and then that pathetic waste of air who did the same to her daughter.

How dare he? How could this man think he would be able to make a rebellion and get away with this? Sending Faceless men after Jaehaerys? Kidnapping Elia? Who did he think he was?

She'd discreetly run to Elia's room to check on her, as discreetly as she could, seeing how Celesse and Tyene got the same idea. That she took the time to stop her friends from barging in the room in alarm surprised her, but she did anyway and was glad for it once she caught her aunt Alerie's stunned look.

"Are the Princess and the children well?" Elinor managed to ask without trembling.

"Aye, they are. Why do you… Is there something wrong?" Lady Dacey, who was there too with Lady Lynesse and their children, answered.

"We had to come in to check," Celesse said. "Apparently, Lord Harrold had planned to kidnap Princess Elia to force the King and the Queen to do as he pleased."

She expected the uproar in the room, but the way her aunt Alerie shielded Elia in her arms fueled her rage in a way she didn't expect. Alerie, Dacey, Lynesse, Jamie Lannister, Oberyn Martell, all the ladies in waiting and Margaery, plus all the Kingsguard… That fool wouldn't have been able to get through the number of people who were willing to give their lives to protect the bundle of joy that was Princess Elia Targaryen.

But still. He had the intention of doing it and that alone was enough for him to die.

So anguished were they of something happening to the little Princess that they didn't hear what happened next, so when Sansa came to inform them that a trial by combat was to take place and that Ser Arthur was the champion, they were all pleased by the outcome. They knew that the Sword of the Morning would not let Freysbane draw a single breath more than he should. Not that he stood a chance with the other Kingsguard.

Elinor was not surprised to see Margaery rush to her daughter as soon as the Queen entered the room.

"She's fine, Your Grace," The Queen's mother said as Margaery snuggled Elia into her arms.

"I know, but I needed… I had to…"

"We understand, Your Grace," Elinor said, glancing at the others who also felt the need to ensure the babe was safe.

"He is going to die, sweetling," she heard Margaery say softly to her daughter. "Ser Arthur and I will not let this man hurt you, I swear…"

Lady Dacey signaled for all the people in attendance to leave the room. They understood the need for Margaery to get some privacy after all that happened.

The sheer number of guards present in front of the Queen's room was astounding. Elinor was certain that Margaery hadn't called them and that they were there of their own volition. The birth of Princess Elia had sparked something in the Realm, something that even she couldn't explain by words. She was the symbol of a new beginning, of the start of the change of the Seven Kingdoms, a symbol of hope for a better future that Harrold Arryn had threatened by his words and actions.

A little later, Elinor was pleased to see Dickon Tarly blush when she smiled at him.

"Did you wait for me?"

"I figured you would want to see the trial by combat, so I asked my father to give me leave to accompany you there," he answered.

"My, how thoughtful and chivalrous of you, Good Ser!" she teased him, accepting his arm and walking with him as ladylike as she could.

"I cannot believe that fool dared to threaten the little Princess. My father wanted to defend her honor right when Lady Shireen said the words. I would have too, would I be older."

Elinor could hear how truthful he was at that moment and her heart fluttered at the thought of him willing to protect and defend Elia.

They were not betrothed but they had received permission for their parents to spend time with each other. She was certain that Margaery was behind it, because she'd encouraged Elinor to get to know Dickon more. At first, she'd wanted nothing to do with him. His mother was a Florent and she didn't hold Lord Randyll in high regards, as he was always condescending toward House Tyrell. But Dickon was different.

They had talked about a lot of things in the past few months and it had been clear to Elinor that behind the façade the young man was putting for all to see, was someone thoughtful and sensitive. Of course, given his father's treatment of Dickon's older brother, that was something he couldn't truly show, but she had been flattered to see him open up to her in that way.

He sat with her when they arrived at the tourney's ground and discreetly held her hand as the announcement of the trial by combat took place. She looked at Margaery's stiff stance and knew her cousin wished to be with her daughter, but she needed to oversee Harry's punishment for her peace of mind more than her queenly status.

"Do not worry, my Lady. It will not take long for it to be over," Dickon assured.

She pressed his hand in gratitude and sure enough, Ser Arthur quickly ended the affair without fanfare.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the Young Falcon, the bane of the Ladies of the court's existence, breathed his last. Bringing at long last, an end to Jon Arryn's ambitions and signaling a beginning to a long era of peace and prosperity.

The future now looked much brighter with no conflict in sight as she felt Dickon squeeze her hand in support.

A very bright future indeed.

Notes :

Sorry that this is late. Life got busy for us and we wanted to make absolutely certain that this chapter came out perfect.
We hope that you enjoy this look at Harry Freysbane from the eyes of Elinor. Writing about his stupidity was very enjoyable for us. It gave us both a chance to knock some of his teeth in.

Next Chapter: A new "What If?" Scenario is explored as we look into what would have happened if Edmure had been captured at Stone Hedge.