TDC: Missing Scenes and What If Scenarios

By

Arrow4131

And

Leilani972

Chapter 31: Brynden's Conflict

Summary : In this (very short chapter) we focus on a missing piece of correspondance between Brynden Tully and King Jaehaerys, for all of those who wondered what was in the letter given to Elle.

Brynden Tully

Winterfell, 298 AC

His talk with Jon Snow, Jaehaerys Targaryen, hadn't gone as he'd expected. The boy had answered his questions about his family, but with no room for discussion and no real guarantee he would do as he said. He couldn't blame him, truly, as both Edmure and Cat had wronged him and needed to be punished, and would he be in his place, Brynden wasn't sure he would be as lenient about his niece's fate as Jaehaerys seemed willing to be. Edmure's fate was sealed, he was going to lose his head, and Brynden wasn't even sure he would mourn his nephew, as he thought him responsible for feeding his sister's anxious thoughts and made her act on them. Knowing how bad Catelyn hated the boy and wanted to see him dead, exile looked like a slap on the wrist. Although he wasn't sure what the boy meant by what he had said about his niece's fate.

"Cat?".

"Is my sibling's mother, I'd not see her harmed but she'll end her days far from my sight."

Would he allow her to contact her children? To have a relationship with them? Would she be allowed to spend the rest of her days in Riverrun or will she leave for Essos, never to come back to Westeros again? Was she to become a Silent Sister or a Septa?

If only he could doubt the boy's chances to win this war, he could hope for a better fate for his niece. He knew he shouldn't after all that happened, but she was his family and he loved her still. The Northern forces had already left and no one, not even Robb could assuage his fears.

"I do not know of his plans. But he promised us, Uncle. He promised he would not hurt Mother because we are kin and he knows how important she is to us. We might not forgive her for what she did to our brother, but Bran and Arya are still young and while living without her will be hard for them, knowing that she is alive still will be a consolation for them."

"How can you be so certain that he won't betray you? How can you be sure he will not -"

"Because he knows how it feels to live without a mother and that's the last thing he would wish on anybody, especially his kin." Robb had cut him harshly.

He hadn't insisted, not wanting to turn his grandnephew against him by voicing his concern, but the more they heard about the war and the more anxious he felt. She had managed to escape from Riverrun and he had been shocked to hear that she had wed Petyr Baelish. The fact that she wouldn't surrender after the war had been won by the Targaryen side wouldn't bode well with the future King.

He knew what he said about not getting involved but he couldn't. If what they said was true then Lysa was not of this world anymore, nor was SweetRobin, and with the dragon he'd seen flying to battle Edmure wouldn't last long before following his sister. He needed to intervene, to plead for his remaining niece. But what could he do when he was stuck North? Not that being with Bran displeased him, the lad was a delight to teach and as eager to become a knight as Brynden was to see him grow into that title.

Bran needed his mother and Cat needed her uncle. So he needed to do something that would ensure her safety.

As if the Gods were preventing him from doing what he should, as he was prepared to forsake his promise to Ned and ride south, leaving Bran with Ned's new wife, they received a raven informing them of a possible Ironborn attack.

As much as he wanted to ignore the raven's message and continue with his plan to ride south, Brynden knew that he couldn't just walk away. His nephew needed him to lead the men against the foolish pirates. Family may come first, but duty and honor were just as important, if not more so. Something that his nieces and nephew failed to understand.

So he tampered down his fears and rode off to battle with Bran wishing him luck and outright ordering him to return safely.

Not surprisingly defeating the IronBorn was relatively simple. The fools had mistakenly believed that the Northern Lords would be caught off guard and outnumbered. However the thrill of the battle that occupied all of his worries and doubts had soon faded to give way to more of them. He'd heard that Arya had been attacked and almost kidnapped by Theon fucking Greyjoy and his thoughts immediately traveled to Cat and how she would have reacted if her daughter had been hurt. More estrangement from her children would do Catelyn no good. She had shown to what length she was willing to go for her family and he feared what distance would do to her mind, so he finally resolved himself to beg the future king to be her Guardian in riverrun.

To King Jaehaerys Targaryen, The Third of His name.

I understand that things will never be well between my House and yours, given the circumstances. I have been painfully made aware of my family machinations against you when you were only a boy, and the shame it brought me will never fade, however it is not as future only male of my House that I reach out to you, but as your kin's kin.

I believe that my niece has been manipulated by some to give into her worst fears. It is not excusable, and in no means do I expect you to do so because of your siblings. Yet I feel like she deserves a second chance now that you're on the Throne, to see how mistaken and misled she was and how you are a far better man that she thought you were. Again, not for your sake, but for your siblings.

I believe you know only too much, and again to my greatest shame, how difficult life without a mother could be. Arya and Bran are still young and they deserve a chance to see their mother change.

This is why I'm asking, no, begging you to give your young brother and myself as his Regent custody of Caelyn when you'll declare him Lord of Riverrun. As a knight I swear that I will never treat her more fairly than what my King would wish on me, and to give her back to your care should anything questionable arise, but I am convinced that Bran's presence would do her good, as the distance created by her own wrongdoings made her long for her children.

I hope that my plea will not fall on deaf ears for the sake of our family.

Brynden Tully,

Knight of the Vale.

This was the first of many letters that had been written and rewritten as the days passed and he was forced to await news from the front. How many times he sat at his desk, doing so, he didn't know. But he didn't want to seem too demanding nor to look like a beggar. Unfortunately for him, things took another turn and he found himself tearing the newest letter apart a few days after it's completion.

When he received word from Ned Stark that Edmure was dead, he didn't think he would really feel pain. He had reaped what he had sown and to die in these circumstances, not even in battle, but by fleeing it, was even more shameful. But it was the news about his niece that made him worry even more.

She had fled with Petyr Baelish, whom she had previously married.

What in the Seven Hells was wrong with this woman? Of all the things she could have done wrong, associating herself with the supposed father of her bastard nephew was probably the worst. It meant that she didn't care about her sister's fate and wouldn't be seen favorably at the Court.

Jaehaerys would not look on her escape too kindly either. She should have surrendered, instead of fleeing with someone as detestable as Littlefinger.

So once again he wrote a new letter to Jaehaerys in the desperate hope that he would be willing to listen.

To King Jaehaerys, The Third of His name.

I wanted to write something to plead on my niece's behalf and to ask that she be confined in Riverrun in hopes she would see the errors of her way, but the recent developments about her behavior showed me that it would not be wise to expose young Bran to her influence without making sure she atoned for her sins first.

Yet I cannot in good conscience leave things be, without trying to find the best solution for everyone. For Catelyn, who is still my blood and for her children who should have a chance to see their mother change for the better.

Please, do not send her away to Essos. Do not force her to leave Westeros, for I fear what effect this would have on young Bran and Arya, and that we lose any chance of making Catelyn see that you are not who she had been led to believe you were.

I am certain that she would be willing to go to the Faith, as a Septa, if you would be in agreement to let her see her children from time to time. Bran and Arya need not to live in a world where their mother would be unreachable to them. You better than anyone know how hard it is to live in said world.

So I beg of you to please show mercy to Catelyn and allow her the chance to redeem herself for your siblings sake.

Ser Brynden Tully

Knight of the Bloody Gate

Once he had finished the letter and was finally satisfied with what he had written, he carefully folded it and handed it out to Lady Jonelle who promised to give it to the King. After she and the rest of her party left for King's Landing a few days later, Brynden was left to continue training his grandnephew and await news of his dear niece. Hopefully he would be able to keep one of Hoster's children alive and he will not face the possibility of becoming the last of his house.

Some Moons Later

King's Landing

They had killed Catelyn and everyone except for him seemed to be affected by this. Not even her children were angry at the person who condemned her, who lied to them, to him, pretending she would keep her head. They were all defending Jaehaerys' and his wife's actions as if it was nothing. As if he didn't deprive them of their loving mother.

Sansa had been the harshest of the lot and were it not for her telling about Littlefinger and the Starks dealing with him, he might have cut ties with all of them. Even Bran seemed to walk on eggshells around him, not wanting to displease him by being too excited to see the so-called brother who killed his mother.

Bran swore fealty to the new King and Brynden kept himself from glaring at him and his wife. His hope for a quick affair went up in smoke when Jaehaerys invited his 'brother' for a spar.

"Ser Brynden, a word if you please." Jaehaerys said, already taking some distance from the sparring yard where Bran was having the time of his life.

Brynden clenched his fist but complied nonetheless, hoping he would contain himself enough to not insult the King and end up in a cell. The last thing he needed, as the last member of House Tully and regent of the Lord of Riverrun, was to show a bad image of him.

"I wanted to tell you that I have read your letter. For what good it will do to you, I know not, but I wanted you to know that would things have taken another turn, I would have granted your request of sending her to the Faith."

"Yet you didn't. You didn't even show up at her trial."

"Would that I have been present, I would not have changed my wife's sentencing. Your niece has shown no remorse, no regret except for the fact that I was still alive. Do you truly think I could have let her go after she had made clear that she would stop at nothing until she saw to my end?"

"She was not herself. She -"

"Publicly declared that she wanted to see the King dead. That is not something the Court, the Small Council and the smallfolk would forget easily. I understand your anger. I know that there will be no love lost between you and I, but I wanted you to know that you did what you could and you have been heard, even if the outcome wasn't what you had wished for. I also wanted you to know that this was the only reason why I gave you regency over my brother."

"I don't understand."

"Nobody doubts your attachment to your family, Ser, and in some points it could be seen as both a good and bad thing. You're a Tully, the last of your House, and I have been responsible for the loss of some of your family members. Politically speaking, it is a really bad move to give you the regency of Riverrun, even without the Lord Paramount status. Yet I have no intention of changing this."

"Why?"

"Because Bran needs you. He needs someone who can show him the true meaning of your House's words, of Family, Duty and of Honor, and I believe you to be this person."

Hearing those words made Brynden feel even more conflicted. He wanted to hate this boy, he wanted to rant and rave at him. Maybe even kill him for destroying his house. But deep down he knew that Sansa and this boy had spoken the truth. Edmure, Lysa, and Cat had all dug their own graves and Hoster had truly been the one responsible for the downfall of their family. It was a hard truth to swallow, but if he wanted to stay by Bran's side and teach him how to be a true knight of the realm who protects the innocent, a true and good Lord who cared for his people and took the true meaning of his house words to heart, then he needed to accept all of the changes that had been thrown at him these past moons. If he didn't, then he would have failed his grandnephew far worse than Hoster had clearly failed in regards to his own children.

Notes:

We hoped that you enjoyed this glimpse at Brynden and his grief. This chapter is much shorter than what we are used to writing but we needed a little break from writing novel size chapters. Lol!

Next chapter: We'll be looking into the relationship between the Faith of the Seven the Red Priests of Rh'llor.