Prologue


Duncan

Morning had dawned long ago, and rather than being outside enjoying the cool breezes of the North, Duncan remained inside his solar attending to his lordly duties. He was young, no older than eighteen name days old, and had been the Lord of Drakelow Keep since a young age. His father was the lord before him and his mother was the Lady of Drakelow Keep, but they had both died when at a young age he was no older than five years old.

He wasn't an only child, and had a sister who had left his mother's womb with him, but she was no longer with him. Where she was now was at the Dreadfort with her husband and children. She had been given away to her betrothed Domeric Bolton two years ago, a few weeks after her sixteenth name day, and would soon be giving birth to her second child. One he could potentially name his heir until he himself had a son of his own.

Countless people had offered their daughter or granddaughter's hand to him, and countless offers had been refused or flat out disregarded by him. He knew very well why they wanted to join their house with his, and it wasn't because of his handsome looks or savviness. It was because of what he had and could raise in the times of war.

His grandfather and uncle, Cullen Rutherford and Steffon Rutherford, had made it well known the number of men that could be raised, for the two of them raised well over twelve thousand infantry, three thousand cavalry, and three hundred knights.

Unfortunately, despite raising such a large number of forces, the two perished in Robert's Rebellion leaving him and his little sister the last of his family's branch. Of course there were distant cousins and whatnot that could inherit Drakelow Keep should they die, but there were none that lived in Drakelow Keep or carried the last name Rutherford, except for the ones in the Reach that lived at Adamant.

A small sigh escaped Duncan's mouth as he worked. His solar was a little warm, but nowhere near warm enough to where he was sweating uncontrollably and wishing he wasn't in leathers and wool. No, the room was thankfully just right. What he was working on at the moment was a response to Lord Richard Karstark, Lord of Karhold.

He had been tending to one of his ledgers moments ago, and was nearly done with a large chunk of his work when his maester, Ethan, came knocking at the door.

"Once again I beg pardon, my lord, I know you are very busy, but a few ravens have just arrived with one of them being from Karhold." Maester Ethan said after being granted permission to enter. He wasn't an elderly man, nor was he a young man. He was a man in his early forties who had black hair with streaks of grey in it that hailed from one of his vassals' houses, His eyes were hazel, and the robes he wore was black.

Duncan had looked at him with furrowed brows as he set down the parchments. It hadn't been that long since he came to his castle. No more than a year ago did he come to Drakelow Keep to replace his old maester who had passed away in his sleep one quiet night.

"Thank you, Maester Ethan. I will read it and the others once I am done with my work." Duncan told him with the faintest of smiles before starting to resume his work.

"You should read what it says as soon as possible, my lord." Maester Ethan said in response with a slight firmness in his voice. "No doubt is it from Lord Rickard Karstark offering his one and only daughter's hand with a substantial dowry."

Duncan stopped working once more, and said with a sternness of his own in his voice. "I will get to it when I am done, Maester."

"As you say, my lord, but I am only giving you advice on what you should do. I understand you have work that needs to be done, but you are ten and eight name days old and have yet to marry." Responded the slightly round and bearded man. "I fear if I don't remind you of these things you shall never marry and conceive an heir."

"I understand," Duncan said after a while, his voice no longer bearing sternness. "I will get to it in just a moment… thank you, Ethan."

At this, Ethan smiled slightly and said with a bow, "my lord," before leaving the room.

And so that was how he ended up where he was now. He had given Lord Karstark's paper two reads and while he did agree with Maester Ethan's thoughts on the dowry being good, Duncan found himself writing a refusal of Alys Karstark's hand. He knew this would upset her father, but his reasons for refusal were just.

At least that's what he believed, but he was certain somehow, someway Lord Rickard Karstark would take it as him finding his one and only daughter unworthy of him. That was how many lords took it which is why he started to ignore some completely. Should he write a refusal they would write back saying how he's too proud for their daughter or something along those lines.

It was stupid and not the case at all, well, at least not most times. He would refuse their daughter's hands because most of them were younger than him and had yet to bloom, meaning he would have to wait before he could even wed them and bed them. To add that, he had heard the younger the girl was the higher the chances of her dying giving birth. He did not want to wed a girl, become a widow nine months later and then possibly lose the child as well. He wanted someone that could give him a number of sons and daughters, and not leave him alone in this world.

Was that unreasonable and selfish? Perhaps, but to him, no he did not see it as that. To him he saw that as an understandable and logical reason to decline their one and ten or, two and ten, or ten year old girl they were offering him.

He exhaled once more upon finishing the letter and knew that Lord Karstark would not take kindly to the refusal, but it was better than being ignored like a few certain lords. Instead of going back to his work, Duncan decided to read the other two pieces of parchment. One was from Bear Island, requesting a few of his ships to help escort their own out of concern of the Ironborn attacking them at sea. A simple request and one that was met with swift approval.

The other was from House Frey, the Late Lord Walder Frey was wanting a few shipments of pelts, wool, and a few other things for the upcoming Winter, something he had no problem providing, but what caught his eye was the last part of the message. He was offering a daughter or granddaughter for him to wed with a very generous dowry.

If he was to wed one of Walder's girls, he would not only get the girl's weight in gold and silver, he'd also be getting a flock of sheep, four dozen horses, two dozen cows, and a wagon full of steel. Meanwhile, if he was to wed someone like Alys Karstark for example, he'd get some silver, copper, steel, wool, and a bit of land. Now that wasn't bad, he could always use all of that, but animals and gold? That was just far better to have in his mind.

"Lord Walder knows how much I'm worth," Duncan thought with a small smile as he tapped the parchment on the oak desk. "He may be old and bitter, but he's certainly no fool."

Not long after he thought this did his grin vanish and his brows furrowed as he started to contemplate the pluses and downsides of marrying one of Walder's spawn.

"There will be some, nay many who'll find this as insulting, but this will be not just the betterment of my people, but the North entirely." Duncan thought sternly. "If I marry a woman that's eight stones then that is a hundred and twelve pounds gold and silver. If I marry one that's twelve stones, that's one hundred and sixty eight pounds of gold and silver. She'll be fat, but with that gold I can rebuild one of the larger ruined strongholds here at Sea Dragon Point, and have a bit left over. It won't be much, but it won't be my own gold I'd be using."

That thought alone made him want to accept the offer, but there was just one concern he had that made him think more on the matter.

"Lord Walder says it'll be her weight in gold and in silver, but he does not specify. It could be half her weight in gold and then half her weight in silver." He told himself with a frown. "If I were to guess it'd probably be that, but that is not bad either. Eighty four pounds of gold is still a lot, not enough to repair Ambersfall, but enough to repair Aleswell Keep. However, that's assuming one of his girls weighs exactly twelve stones, no more, no less."

In the end it was a small and trifling concern, but he had made his choice. He may not have a happy and loving marriage like his father had, or a pretty wife, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make if it meant the betterment of his people.

"Tis unfortunate that many will not see the sacrifice I am making, but this is for the best. With that dowry I will be able to bring more prosperity to Sea Dragon Point and the North." He muttered solemnly to himself before beginning to write Lord Walder his response, while secretly hoping that this wouldn't upset his fellow lords too much.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Frey Girl

The air inside the great hall was stale and drafty, something she and many of her relatives found unpleasant, but had gotten used. They had all been summoned, by her grandfather, Lord Walder Frey, to present themselves to the Lord of Drakelow Keep, Ser Duncan Rutherford.

She had not seen his arrival, but she had heard of it. He came with wagons, and an entourage of men that was large enough to be considered a small army. What he brought was unknown to her, but if she had to guess most of the wagons carried the things her grandfather wanted for Winter while the rest had gifts.

They sat there for several minutes, waiting until the large double doors opened until finally they did where they were all bet by the sight of him. Many of those around her gasped at the sight of him, but not her. She had stared at him with her mouth agape.

He was tall, very tall, how tall she did not know, but at least over six feet and ten inches. His shoulders were broad, and his arms may have well been considered small branches, for they were thick. He had olive skin, something she did not expect him to have. His eyes were amber yellow, and his stubble, brows, and hair were raven black.

He carried a sword and wore a brown fur cloak on top of leather, wool, and plated mail. His cloak had an animal on it that went over his shoulders and around his neck, a wolf by the looks of it, but she wasn't sure. Either that or a very large fox.

"Lord Duncan," Her grandfather said, pulling her from gazing to see him sprouting a pleased smile.

"Lord Walder," the Northern lord said in response with a respectful tilt of his head. "It has been some time since I've last seen you."

"Yes, heh," her grandfather said with a nod of his own. "You were just a little boy back then, visiting your cousins in the Reach, heh. What were you? Seven back then?"

"Somewhere around there," Lord Duncan said indifferently. "I remember you wanting to arrange a betrothal back then."

"Yes, and I remember you refusing me." Her grandfather replied somewhat angrily as he narrowed his eyes. "Saying things like you're too young for a betrothal between you and one of mine."

"I was young and I didn't like girls back then, except my sister, but that was because she was my blood." Lord Duncan said with a tiny, amused grin that revealed a portion of his white teeth. "Nevertheless, you got a marriage between me and one of your own."

"Heh, that I did." Her grandfather said as if he was amused. "But at the cost of a fortune and more."

Once more there was anger in her grandfather's words, causing Lord Duncan's grin to disappear.

"If you want I can turn back, my lord." He said to her grandfather, his voice bearing no emotion, making her believe he meant it. "There are many others that desire me."

"Yes, many others who are fools and too proud to cough up some of their wealth." Her grandfather declared with an ugly grin. "Heh, but not me, I know your worth, and that is why I'm willing to part with some of my fortune."

As her grandfather said this one of his servants stepped out of the corners of the room bearing bread, salt, and wine.

"My lord is certainly no fool," Lord Duncan said with an even bigger grin reappearing as he took what was offered.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Duncan

After the invocation of Guest Rights, Lord Walder had his daughters, granddaughters, and others get out of the stand they sat in, so he could have a better look at them.

He had been expecting a number of his to be presented, but he did not expect well over twenty girls from him to choose from. A good portion of them looked to be his age, but there were some that looked to be twice his age, and a couple that looked like children.

He had immediately crossed out the older ones and ones that looked to be children, but that still left him with quite a number of girls to choose from.

So Duncan walked down one of the lines they formed, occasionally stopping and asking some questions.

The first one he stopped at was a girl that looked to be a few years older than him who had the Frey weaselly look, but large tits and brown hair.

"Your name?" He asked her with a curious look.

"W-Walvra, my-my lord." She stammered, clearly taken back by the sudden question and causing Lord Walder to snap and yell at her to answer with confidence.

"And what do you like to do?" Duncan asked after a moment.

"To read." She said nervously, but loudly. "I like to read, my lord."

"Interesting." He said as he smiled slightly. "May I ask what you are reading now?"

"The Dance of Dragons, A True Telling by Grand Maester Munkun." She revealed, not as loudly as before and a bit more calm.

"Good book," he said softly with a nod of his head, "how far are you into it?"

"Not very, I only just started." She told him with a small frown.

"Well, I won't spoil anything, but there are some parts that are inaccurate. I won't say what, but just know that Munkun wasn't entirely accurate with it." And with that said, Duncan resumed his walk, leaving her alone to dwell on what he said.

He took no more than a few steps before stopping at another girl who looked to be in her mid twenties and was shapely, but most definitely ugly. She had black hair, grey eyes, and was probably the tallest of them, but still had twelve or so inches to go before she stood on his level.

"What do you like to do?" He inquired curiously upon stopping in front of her.

"Lots of things my lord." She said with a hint mischief in her voice as she flashed him a smile, allowing him to see her teeth that were slightly yellow.

At this, Duncan raised an eyebrow and said, "oh? Like what?"

It was here she listed several things she liked to do, making it obvious to him why she was still unmarried. Men did not want a wife who could do little to nothing except laze around, they wanted someone capable of running their house.

He did not waste much more time with her and simply said "fascinating," before moving on.

He spoke to two more girls before reaching the end of the line and moving to the other side of the hall where the other line of girls were.

"Find any that catch your eye, my lord?" Lord Walder asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice as he licked his lips and gazed at him.

"A few, but none have really stood out so far. All seem lovely, but the one I choose is to be my wife for life, I need them to be more than lovely. You understand, yes?" Replied Duncan.

"Oh, I do, and if you want I could summon my bastards and my children's bastards." Lord Walder stated wryly as he laughed hoarsely. "Shall I have my sons fetch them now?"

"That will not be necessary." Duncan declared as he thought to himself. "Seven hells, he has more than this? I knew he had a lot of children, but I did not think he would have this much and more. Man and his family breed like rabbits."

With a "if you say so," from Lord Walder, Duncan resumed looking for his bride. He spoke to many, but the one that caught his eye was near the end of line.

She wasn't an ugly girl, nor was she a beautiful one. She was a plump girl with a huge bosom, and blondish hair. He took his time to reach her and upon reaching her he saw that she had light blue eyes that could easily be mistaken as light grey.

She smiled and blushed a little, but almost immediately after doing so she dropped her gaze to the floor beneath her.

"Do I frighten you?" He inquired as he furrowed his brows and frowned.

"N-No, my lord." She answered quietly in a fluttery voice as she looked at him for a moment. "It's just…"

"Just what?" Duncan questioned, his voice becoming more firm, but dripping with curiosity.

"Just rude to stare, my lord." She declared swiftly, her voice fluttering as she spoke.

"I see," was his response with a small chuckle as he loosened his gaze and scratched his beard. "And your name is?"

"Walda, my lord," She revealed before quickly adding. "I'm one of Merett Frey's daughters."

Duncan hummed at her words. "And how old are you?"

"15, soon to be 16, my lord." She told him.

"Interesting." Responded Duncan before moving onto the last few Frey girls. He spoke to the last two of them, and once finished, Lord Walder said in an eager voice. "Well? Have you decided on who you'll wed?"

"Yes," Duncan declared. "I have decided that I will wed your son Merett's daughter, Walda Frey."

At this, there was a number of reactions, but Duncan cared not for them, and simply looked at the large girl who could only look at him with shocked eyes.


Note From The Author:
If you've taken the time to read this thank you, I don't have much to say besides that. Thoughts on this story idea would be appreciated, but are not required. With that said, thank you once more for reading this little prologue of mine.