It's been some time since I uploaded new chapters. I got mixed in a lot of stuff lately, including a great move into a new house and work on my original stories. Know that as a compensation, there will be a new chapter every week for three weeks in a row, at least.
We are going to have a bunch of chapters that will take place at Riverrun. These chapters will be mostly negotiations. You'll see with who.
CATELYN VII
The gates of Riverrun slowly opened. For Catelyn, the delay was a torture. All these days since the news of the battle in King's Landing had been an ordeal for her. Knowing that her son was in danger was unbearable. It wasn't the first time that people she loved went to war, but even if she maintained a dignified exterior whenever it happened, it didn't change how she felt inside. Most of the time, she managed to continue her life. Her worries remained there, but she got used to their presence and almost became numb to them. But this time, when she heard that Robb faced Stannis Baratheon in battle…
The first riders came in, slowly again. Where was her son? Couldn't they ride faster so she could see him. And there he was, sitting straight on his horse, proud and strong like his father taught him. She closed her eyes and allowed some small relief to pour into her. Her son was alive. Right behind him was Jon Snow, but she barely noticed his presence. Robb came down his mount and walked to her.
On a closer look, it was obvious he was very tired, even more so than the last time she met him at Riverrun. Though back then, he had been the one to welcome her. This time their roles were reversed.
"Mother," he said once he stood before her.
"Son. How are you?"
"I'm fine, Mother."
"No, you're not." Right next to Catelyn, Arya spoke the truth. "Neither are you, Jon. You both look terrible."
The bastard had approached with Robb. Slowly, Arya gave him a big hug, then she did the same for Robb.
"We were worried about you," Arya said after she broke the hug.
"As we were for you," Robb replied. He looked to her brother who stood at her side. "Uncle Edmure, we need to talk, and quickly. Ser Brynden is helping to set up our camp. He will join us soon."
The Lord of Riverrun nodded gravely.
Not long after, they were all together in her father's solar, she, Arya, Robb, Jon Snow, Edmure and Ser Brynden the Blackfish. Only two days ago, her lord father Hoster Tully was still spending his days in there, laying on a bed. Catelyn had spent much of her time taking care of him. She had wanted to be there for Arya, to spend time with her, but her daughter would rather use her time training.
Her youngest daughter had always been the most undisciplined of the two. Catelyn believed that Arya's turbulent nature would recede as she grew up, but no such thing was happening so far. She spent her days fighting with boys and squires, holding her ground against future knights and even actual soldiers who were twice or thrice her age. She held the sword, threw the lance, shot the arrow. After a few initial attempts, Catelyn had given up, leaving Arya to do as she wanted. With the current situation, she thought it might eventually prove to be a blessing that her daughter knew how to fight and survive. Anyway, someone else required her attention.
Catelyn spent most of the time after Robb and his army left attending to her father. Finally, the man who once ruled the Riverlands surrendered his last breath just before her son came back. The last moments of Lord Hoster Tully's life were marked by the death of the king he helped to bring on the throne twenty years ago, the execution of his son-in-law, the beginning of a war that tore the Seven Kingdoms apart for the second time in his life, and the crowning of his grandson, proclaimed King in the North by the northern lords and half his own bannermen just outside of King's Landing, right under the eyes of a king he swore to serve. Then his grandson was defeated and almost died in a great battle against the latter king. When Lord Hoster Tully died, more and more of his bannermen were switching their allegiances, thus rebelling against him, and two armies were closing on his castle, one seeking shelter and help, the other seeking battle and surrender. They placed his body in a small boat and sent it down the Red Fork. Edmure failed to fire it with an arrow, so men were sent forward to make sure her father's body would burn. It didn't bode well for the beginning of Edmure's rule.
"Stannis chased us through the Riverlands until we reached Harrenhal. There he changed his course to besiege the castle and sent parts of his army to seize some other castles along the way," Robb explained.
"You didn't try to help them?" Edmure asked, outraged.
"Our men were all exhausted and many were injured," Catelyn's uncle stepped in. "Stannis would have cut us into pieces. He made sure his detachments were close so he could gather them back into one big army anytime he wanted."
"And now that Harrenhal has fallen, there's nothing standing between Stannis and Riverrun, and half my bannermen have turned on me," Edmure said resentfully. "And on The King in the North," he added.
Catelyn had a long and tumultuous discussion with her brother when they received news that Robb rebelled against Stannis and declared himself king. Edmure was furious. She was as well, but there were more important things than to be angry. They had to protect their family, and Catelyn knew they would never survive this war if they didn't remain allies.
"Don't hold anything against Ser Brynden, Lord Edmure," Robb said. "My bannermen chose to make me their king. Your bannermen who were present made this choice as well. Your uncle just followed them."
"And so did I. For family."
Edmure said the words, but without any joy or confidence. Catelyn wasn't happier about this turn of events either. How could Robb put them in such danger? How would they ever be able to get Sansa back now? After all the battles and the losses they suffered, she thought it unlikely that they would ever have the necessary power to defeat the powerful Tyrell-Lannister alliance. The Imp must be laughing at them. Just like his father during the rebellion, he would watch his enemies consume each other, then step in at the end to collect the fruits of this war.
"So here we are, stuck between Stannis Baratheon one one side and the Lannisters on the other one," Catelyn's uncle summarized. "What about the situation in the west?" He was talking about the western part of the Riverlands, bordering the Westerlands.
"Not good," Edmure replied. "They're holding some of our castles, and since the news of Stannis' victory at King's Landing and my continued alliance with House Stark reached them, many decided to side with the Lannisters and swore fealty to Tommen Baratheon. They slowly gained territory, and there's been nothing I could do to stop them. My lands are being ripped from me and divided between our two enemies."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Arya's voice thundered through the solar. "You're all complaining that we're surrounded, that everyone is attacking us. So strike back. Against the Lannisters or against Stannis, what's the matter? We won't defeat them if we sit on our asses here."
"Arya!" Catelyn rebuffed her.
"Look, Lady Arya…" began the Blackfish, but he could never finish.
"I'm not a lady."
Her uncle seldom looked surprised, but this time when he met the gaze of his grandniece, he did.
"I cannot abandon Riverrun," Edmure said. "It might soon be the last of my lands I have control over."
"So you want to wait for them to kill you?" retorted his niece. "Like my father did."
The mention of Ned almost brought tears to Catelyn. Not only the fact Arya talked about him, but the way she did. Her fierce expression, the defiance in her voice, the implication that she disapproved and condemned her father's actions. Her daughter had turned harsh and hard because of the recent events. She always was more impulsive and stubborn than her siblings, but never like this. Catelyn barely recognized her in this instant.
"Arya, it's not that simple," Jon Snow told her. "All our men are tired. They've been traveling without any rest for months now, and they faced two battles in King's Landing. By the time they've gathered enough force to head for battle, Stannis will be on us. He won't stop until we're all dead."
"Then let's attack him as soon as we can. Just take a day or two to rest, then march against him."
"That will allow the Lannisters to march on Riverrun right away. They're very close and could attack us any time," Robb said.
"And with my own men, nonetheless," Edmure added. "But you shouldn't even be here, Arya. This is not a conversation for you."
Edmure was right, but Arya had insisted so much that her brother finally gave in and let her come. Her daughter was about to protest.
"Lord Edmure is right. Arya's place is not here." To the general surprise, it was the bastard who spoke. Arya was again about to protest but again Jon Snow cut her. "The Lannisters and Stannis will be here soon. When they come, we must be ready. So we better prepare ourselves. I can help you to train, sister."
Catelyn's daughter found herself speechless. She always regretted that of all her siblings, the one Arya was the closest to was Jon Snow. However, right now, she should have thanked him. Although reluctantly, Arya accepted to leave with him. Catelyn was now alone with her son, her brother and her uncle. Someone who looked at their features would believe they only represented House Tully, although House Stark was equally represented.
"We will stay here," Robb declared. "Our men need rest. With our combined forces and our defensive positions, we may have a chance to defeat whoever will attack us, let it be Stannis or the Lannisters. With some luck, maybe they will even meet before our walls and fight each other." He turned to his uncle. "You should command all your troops to come back to Riverrun right away, or else they will be destroyed by the Lannisters like at the beginning of the war. You don't have enough men to face them."
"Alright," Edmure replied after a moment.
"We must fortify Riverrun," Ser Brynden Tully said. "Make sure our men are rested, armed, well fed and ready for battle, with the best defenses we can find. Edmure, you better accompany me."
"Yes, probably."
Edmure shot one last glance at Catelyn's son son, then he left the room. She was now alone with Robb.
"He's not happy with me," he told her. "Neither is Ser Brynden."
"Why would they? With the situation you put all of us in… Robb, what happened? King in the North? How did it happen? Why did you do this?"
"It wasn't me, Mother. Stannis refused to let me send half my men back home to fight the Ironmen. My bannermen were angry. So they proclaimed me their king. What could I do? Refuse? Tell them to follow a king most of them didn't know? To abandon their homes for a war that didn't concern us anymore?"
"It does concern us still. They still have Sansa."
"And you see me demanding from my bannermen to stay in the south maybe one or two more years only so I can save my sister? They would ask themselves what kind of lord I am, who refuses a crown but beg them to sacrifice their sons for my sister." He let himself drop in a chair. "I tried to explain it to Stannis after they named me their king. I proposed him my help against the Lannisters and the Iron Islands, but he refused. He wanted my submission, not my help. So we fought, and I lost."
"You should have come back right away."
"And let Stannis burn the Riverlands on his way north? No, I couldn't."
"Then why didn't you just hide it from him? Why come forward and give him all the reasons in the world to kill you and your men?"
"It was the only honorable thing to do."
"No, it was a foolish thing to do, Robb! Don't you realize what this means for all of us?"
"Yes, I do realize it. I'm living it, seeing it. I've lost ten thousand men in King's Landing. I know what the consequences are. You don't need to remind me of them, Mother. I'm the Lord of Winterfell now."
"For how long?" she whispered. "And for how long are we going to live now?"
She sat as well. This wasn't how she hoped her reunion with Robb would happen, but she suspected it would go that way.
"I'm sorry, Mother. There's nothing else I can tell you. All I can do now is my best to protect our family."
He stood and proceeded to the door, but she caught his hand. "Bran and Rickon are gone. Your father is gone. Our home is gone. Sansa is in enemy hands. You and Arya are all that's left, and I can't… I can't lose you."
He placed his hand on hers. "You won't lose us, Mother. I promise."
Slowly, he removed his hand. She let him go. Her son left her alone again.
Later, she went to the sept to pray. On her way, she saw Arya sparring with Jon Snow. For the first time in forever, she saw her youngest daughter smile. Her childish smile came back as she practiced with her half-brother. It was still difficult for Catelyn to accept it after all this time, but Jon Snow was the half-brother of all her children, and in the eyes of most of them, he was their brother just as much as Bran or
Rickon had been. She never stopped her children to spend time with him. Even if she had tried, she wouldn't have succeeded. She would have faced a rebellion from her own children, joined by their father. She didn't encourage their friendship with the bastard though, even made attempts to distance them from him at times, but now she didn't want to do that. How could she deprive Arya and Robb from their brother with everything that happened lately? Anyway, like when they were younger, they would refuse if she tried.
She lit candles to the Mother for herself, to the Warrior for her son and even for Jon Snow, to the Maid for Sansa and Arya, and to the Crone for all of them. She also lit a candle before the altar of the Father for her deceased husband. His bones were still here at Riverrun, while Winterfell was still in ashes. They would need to wait for the castle to be retaken to bring her husband to his final rest in the crypts. She went to see the coffin that contained them every day to make sure they were still there.
As time went on, Arya came to join her. Without much surprise, she lit a candle for the Warrior. She was still wearing her ragged clothes, covered from head to toe by sand, dust, earth, mud and grass. Catelyn used to think every time she saw her daughter in this state that the time to stop behaving like a child would come too soon for her. How right she was, but Catelyn hadn't realized to what point her thoughts were prophetic. Arya was becoming a woman at an accelerating pace. One day she would marry and bear children. That day was getting closer. But that day wasn't today, not yet.
"You never liked septs," Catelyn said.
"No. I always preferred the godswood," she replied.
"Because there you could train?"
Arya looked only a little surprised. Catelyn smiled at her, and she was rewarded by Arya's childish smile. The child wasn't entirely gone.
"For how long have you known?"
"Long enough."
"You never stopped me?"
"No. Sometimes I wanted, but I thought better." A small laugh rewarded her comment. "When you were taking too long, though, I would send one of your brothers."
She said one of your brothers because she got the habit to mention the name of Jon Snow as rarely as she could.
"You sent Robb more often. You only sent Jon when you had no other choice." It was as if Arya could read her mind. "Why?" her daughter asked.
Catelyn sighed. "Why, Mother?" she repeated.
She had hoped the matter would disappear by itself when Arya would see she would rather not answer, but before her insistence, she had no other choice.
"He isn't my son."
"But he is my brother. And Robb's as well, and Sansa's, and he was Bran's and Rickon's brother as well. We all had our mother, but Jon never had his own. You never tried to treat him like your son, if only so he could have a mother?"
There had been a time when she actually wanted to be his mother. It had been when he was still a baby, after he got the pox. For an entire night, she had wanted to be his mother. She promised to the gods that she would be a mother to him, that she would convince her husband to call him a Stark like all her other children. She had prayed for his life, and he lived. But she could never hold her promise. All those terrible things that happened to her family ever since was because she couldn't love a motherless boy.
"I wish you tried."
Arya spoke without an ounce of anger in her voice. She just sounded sad. Catelyn was as well. Arya came to sit by her side, and together they prayed. Catelyn's prayer found itself to turn around Jon Snow. She swore to try, to make amends for her past mistakes, for her broken promises. Maybe it was too late for being Jon Snow's mother. Maybe the time for that was long gone. But she could try to be better with him. She could try to make him a Stark, since she couldn't make him her son.
Arya went back to the courtyard in a very short time. Catelyn went back to the Great Hall and looked at the Trident whose currents her father's ashes flowed through. Her uncle came to join her not long before supper. He stood behind her as she looked to the river.
"A person could almost be forgiven for forgetting we are at war," she said. A moment passed before her uncle said something.
"Sometimes, it gives me comfort to think that even in war's darkest days, in most places of the world absolutely nothing is happening."
She turned her head to look at him. "I missed you, Uncle. All these years in the North. I missed you. Father missed you too. During his last days… He wasn't very coherent, but he talked about you, and he missed you. He probably never told you before how you were dear to him…"
He chuckled. "Never. Your father was a stubborn old ox. I was surprised when I learned he died, even with all this war going on. I didn't think death had the patience."
"I wish you were with him. I wish to the gods you had been."
"Me too." He looked down to the floor.
"Did you make peace before he left?"
"After thirty years of fighting, I don't think he remembered what started it. One of the last things he asked of me was to stop calling myself Blackfish. He said it was an old joke and it was never funny to begin with. I told him people had been calling me the Blackfish for so long they don't remember my real name."
That brought a smile on both their lips. Catelyn knew he was lying. Every boy who dreamed of becoming a knight someday knew the name of Ser Brynden Tully, and knew that he was the Blackfish. She also was certain this wasn't the last thing her father asked of his brother… though it was probably among the last he asked before he began to ramble.
"Every time he would leave for the capital or fight in a campaign, I'd see him off. Wait for me, little Cat, he'd say. Wait for me. And I would wait for him at this window. How many times did Bran and Rickon looked through the windows or over the battlements, waiting for me."
She looked outside to hide her tears just as a knock came to her door. Catelyn wiped the tears from her eyes as Ser Brynden headed to open it. Catelyn didn't hear what they said, but her uncle didn't close the door behind him when he walked back to her.
"The scouts have found a group of a dozen riders bearing a white flag and the banner of House Arryn."
The name of the house brought Catelyn's attention. Was Lysa finally consenting to help them? After all this time and all the ravens that were sent.
"They're approaching the gates as we speak," her uncle added.
Quickly, Catelyn found back her composure and headed with the Blackfish to the courtyard. He placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her before they headed out. The Knights of the Vale had already passed through the gates. One of them, however, wore no armor. He was no knight. As soon as he looked at her, his smirk appeared. It had been an eternity since he set foot in this castle and, when he left, it was with a scar from Catelyn's betrothed at the time.
"I see that I arrived just in time."
Petyr Baelish was back at Riverrun, and Catelyn wanted to strangle him.
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