I'm back again. I'm sorry for being absent for such a long time again. I was in a deep revision of my first original book and wanted to focus my whole attention on it. I should be able to update again regularly for some time.
MARGAERY XXIII
The walls of Riverrun finally came into sight. It was about time. The journey had been a nightmare from the very beginning, the rains of autumn slowing their progress at every turn and straight line. If this fall was any indication of the coming winter, then this one would be an ordeal. The air was so thick due to dampness that it felt as if everyone was carrying sets of twenty heavy gowns on their shoulders. A few in her retinue had already fallen ill. Margaery wasn't left unaffected. So, in her tired state, the image of the closing enemy castle was a sight to warm her heart. But first, they would have to go through the military campgrounds that surrounded it.
Escorted by the Tully patrol that spotted them, Margaery and the hundred people who followed her, mostly soldiers, slowly rode among the muddy spaces around the tents. All around, banners flew with sigils from the Riverlands and the North, and men from every corner of these lands looked at them as they passed with peace banners. She hoped they would focus on the white flags rather than on the red and green displaying the golden lion and the golden rose.
Mira rode by her side. Margaery noticed that her handmaiden was looking all around her, probably searching for the white tree of her family on a white field. Margaery placed a comforting hand on hers.
"You'll have time to see your father, I promise."
"Yes, my lady. Please forgive me."
"There's no need to apologize, Mira. We all lost someone dear. No one should go through such pain alone."
She thought about how she and Tyrion grieved their respective brother separately. They were barely there for each other in such a time, and they didn't have enough time to catch up when finally they set aside their quarrel. Not that Margaery agreed with what he did, but that was something she should have expected from her husband, especially considering the fact that he ignored the truth about Jaime Lannister. She wasn't about to tell him though. The truth would die with her, engraved in her heart for no one but her to know.
"Yes, my lady. Everyone here lost someone."
Mira now gazed all around at the people who stared at them with hostility. Margaery got the meaning of her words. Most of those men fought her own soldiers and suffered in battle. Who knew how many women and children were left without a husband and a father after the Battle of the Kingsroad, or the Battle of King's Landing, or the fighting in the Riverlands as the Lannister troops took one castle after another.
"We're here to make sure nobody else suffers, Mira."
"I know, my lady. I hope it will work."
She had a long discussion with Mira on one evening during the journey. Margaery was still certain of Mira's loyalty towards her, especially after she showed her the letter Sansa hoped to give to her family in secret, but she couldn't just believe that the girl held no loyalty for the North. The release of Arya Stark to the hands of her family might have been in the interests of the Lannisters and the Tyrells, and Mira was probably persuaded of this, but it changed nothing to the fact that Mira took an initiative that clearly served the interests of House Stark. If Mira was so determined to help for establishing peace between the North and the Westerlands and the Reach, it was because she believed it was in the best interests of the North. If the interests of her country and her family turned opposite to those of Margaery… Maybe Mira would just leave her service. Margaery didn't imagine her friend actually betraying her. Anyway, Margaery wasn't white as snow either, far from it.
This trip through the muddy camp populated with hostile faces still allowed Margaery to gather important information on the state of the enemy forces. The northern and river troops were in a pitiful state, obviously exhausted. If Robb Stark and Edmure Tully had wanted to show a strong army, then they failed. For certain, it was still an important force, and it benefited from the proximity of a strong castle, but its territory was shrunk by the recent advances of both Stannis and her army and the men were certainly weary after a long walk followed by a long period of inactivity. She didn't recall seeing such scenes when she saw the Lannister army after the Golden Tooth. Perhaps this was the result of the defeat these men suffered at King's Landing.
They arrived in front of the gates. On the battlements, rows of crossbowmen were watching them, weapons ready to fire, while many more men were pressing around them. Her escort of a hundred soldiers wouldn't survive to a fight. The gates opened after a moment. Margaery and her men were accompanied inside. In the courtyard, only more soldiers and more knights waited for them. No trace of Robb Stark, the self-proclaimed King in the North, nor of Edmure Tully, Lord Paramount of the Riverlands and lord of this castle. No lord was there to welcome her either, only a burly knight she never met before, with a score of swordsmen right behind him, all wearing Tully colors.
Her guards dismounted at the same time as she did, and the burly knight approached her.
"Lady Lannister, I am Ser Willam Grey, knight in the service of House Tully. Lord Edmure Tully is waiting for you. He tasked me to escort to the main hall."
"Thank you, good ser." Whether he was or not a good ser was irrelevant, only saying it to be somewhat in his good grace mattered.
"Lord Tully has told me to offer you bread and salt too."
A servant came with those. Once Margaery had tasted it, she was under the protection of guest rights. She suddenly noticed that no Northerner was to be seen around. Conjugated with the fact that this knight said he was sent by Edmure Tully told her there could be some strife between Robb Stark and his ally. She made sure to not forget that during the negotiations.
"Please follow me. We will give your men decent lodgings. I hope you'll understand they'll have to settle for something rustic. The castle is quite full as we speak."
"I take no offense in that. You will not oppose that my handmaiden, Lady Mira Forrester, accompanies me."
"No, of course. This way."
He only raised his brow for a second, but now Margaery knew this knight was probably better at manning words than swords. Edmure Tully didn't send anybody to welcome her. Still, he was surprised when he heard Mira's name. She smiled inwardly, thinking about the doubts it would sow in Lord Tully's mind as he saw the Lady of Casterly Rock assisted by a bannerman of his nephew.
On their way to the main hall, she and Mira remained silent. Margaery shot a few glances at her friend, who did her best to remain calm and mostly succeeded. A very small quiver was to be noticed if you looked carefully enough, but Margaery doubted the others would notice it. She needed over three gazes before she realized the involuntary movement, and she knew Mira very well. Maybe her state was due to the presence of a scroll inside her gown, a scroll that could contain the salvation of her people and her family.
The large doors opened wide when they neared them. Inside, a very small committee was waiting for them. Margaery knew all of them. At the center of the dais, side by side, sat Edmure Tully and Robb Stark, and with them Ser Brynden Tully, Catelyn Stark and Jon Snow, Robb Stark's bastard brother. She and Mira halted not far from the steps of the dais.
Quickly, she made a tour of everyone who was present. Edmure Tully had an even face. He showed no hostility, but no kindness either. Margaery had met him when she and Tyrion travelled to the North, and again on their way back to Casterly Rock. A man who was neither handsome nor ugly, she didn't catch anything significant about him. Back then, he was the future Lord of Riverrun, aware of the upcoming responsibilities and privileges that would come with it, good-natured and well intentioned, but not very realistic, and proud of course, like most noblemen and noblewomen in this country. He didn't seem much different today, though a little tired. Margaery had established a courteous relationship with him while she visited Riverrun, but it remained to be seen if she could capitalize on this during the next days.
One thing she realized was how Edmure Tully leaned away from Robb Stark. Corporal language told a lot about the state of mind of people. The Lord of Winterfell, on the other side, was sitting straight in his chair, directly looking at her. That was his lord's attitude, just like his father, and Margaery knew what to expect from this. Robb Stark was quite easy to predict in the games of politics, far more than on the battlefield. A shame for their men who died on the Kingsroad. However, Margaery felt he wouldn't leave her any place for what was to come.
Catelyn Stark tried to look strong and stern, but she failed to hide her trouble. Margaery saw her gaze with uncertainty at both her son and her brother. Another sign that some kind of conflict was going on between them, or perhaps the fear that they would do something they would regret.
The Blackfish had crossed his arms and looked straight at her. It wasn't hard to guess that he would be no ally of her in this case. He had been courteous enough with her and Tyrion when they visited the castle, paying respect to his dying brother, but the man was obviously better on a battlefield with a sword in his hand than sitting at a table and discussing treaties and alliances. Still, if he was a man of war, representing the soldiers, he was no actor to ignore.
Finally, Jon Snow looked the most uncomfortable of all people here. He spent time at Casterly Rock at their service, and according to Mira's report of their conversation at the Crossroads and the fact he released a friend who was prisoner of his brother's army, he probably still had sympathy for the Westerlands. If she played well, he would be on her side and his voice would be decisive.
She noticed a strange detail. He seemed to look at her in a very strange way, unlike any time he was at the Rock. Mira, at her side, remained of stone. She was very good at it.
Lord Edmure Tully stood up. "Lady Margaery Lannister of House Tyrell, the hospitality of Riverrun is yours. Despite the circumstances, you're welcome at Riverrun. As long as you are inside these walls, you're under my protection."
"Thank you, Lord Tully. I wish we met under better times as well. I heard about your father's passing. I only spoke briefly with him, but he seemed to be a good man. I'm deeply sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, my lady. And although I believe you're sincere, you'll understand that I'm welcoming you as an emissary and an ambassador, not as a friend."
"I wasn't hoping for more, considering the recent events. Though I hope to leave as a friend."
Edmure acknowledged her words with a nod. That wasn't much of an opening, he made clear they were no friends, but at least there was a small opening. She turned her attention to the Lord of Winterfell.
"Lord Stark, I'm glad to see you alive and well."
The Blackfish stepped in. "That would be your Grace for you, my lady. You stand before the King in the North."
Margaery said nothing and simply bowed her head very slightly. Sometimes, giving no reply was the best strategy. Instead, she oriented the discussion somewhere else. "I think you already know Lady Mira Forrester, Lord Stark. She is acting as handmaiden in my service, and she is also a personal friend of mine."
"Aye, I remember her." Robb Stark's voice was only slightly kinder. "I see you are well, my lady."
"Thank you, my lord," her friend replied.
"Mira shares the same grief as many of us here. She lost a brother," Margaery continued.
The effect was instantaneous. Everyone showed sympathy, especially Catelyn and Jon Snow. Even the Blackfish and Robb Stark softened. "I'm sorry for the death of your brother, my lady," the latter said. "I only met Rodrik Forrester a few times and never talked to him, but he seemed to be a good man, and honorable if I am to rely on your father. I regret his death."
She caught a gaze from Catelyn Stark. She was looking straight at her, with an expression that expressed nothing but sympathies. Margaery herself wasn't without feeling sad, mentioning again the fact she lost Loras, but she dominated her feelings to remain in the game.
"I will allow you to visit your father, my lady. Jon can lead you to him right away."
That was a smart move. By doing so, the Lord of Winterfell got rid of the person who was the most favorable to Margaery in this room and of the northern girl who stood by her side.
"Thank you, my lord, but I'm afraid I must remain here as long as you're not done discussing with Lady Margaery."
If Robb Stark could feel as if he was slapped, then that should be the case now. Mira had just turned down his offer to leave, stating clearly where she stood, and calling Robb Stark a lord, instead of a king, when she was a Northerner. However, if Robb Stark was outbalanced in any way by this refusal, he showed nothing except for a very short hesitation before he replied.
"As you wish." He turned to look at Margaery now. Maybe he was only testing Mira to see her position in all this. "Now, my lady, let come to the matter at hand. We are at war, none of us has any time to waste. What do you want?"
Straight to the fact. His scouts must have told him what she told them, that she was there to make a proposal to Robb Stark and Edmure Tully.
"What do I want? Isn't that obvious? I want the same thing than every one of us here wants. An end to the fighting. An end to this war. Peace."
"Yes, peace. This is indeed what we all want, my lady," Ser Brynden said. "I'm a man of war, I spent most of my life with soldiers. I grew up with them. I've experienced war more than anyone in this room, and I have no love for it. But still, that doesn't mean we must never wage war, or accept an unjust peace."
"I have no intention either of fighting an unfair war or to negotiate an unjust peace, Ser Brynden. All I'm looking for is a peace that arranges and benefits everyone in this room."
"So, what do you propose this time."
She pulled on a sad smile. "Last time I proposed you a peace, Lord Stark, and you refused it. Before I make any proposal, I have one very important question to ask you and I need your answer: what do you want?"
The Lord of Winterfell didn't flinch. When he answered, it was as if he expected her to know what he wanted. "What do I want? I want this war to end, I want the Ironborn out of my house and my land, I want Sansa back with our family, and I want my father alive and well, Sansa to never have endured the brutality of Joffrey, and Arya to have never been forced to live like a beggar for months because your men were chasing her. I want my two brothers as well, who were burned like animals. I want all the Northerners who died to be avenged. I want… I want justice, here's what I want. And you, what do you want, Lady Lannister?"
He said it in a spiteful way. Margaery remained unmoved on the surface. Deep inside, she understood his feelings, but she couldn't show it, not by falling into the same trap he had. Unless his anger was a ploy to make her react. Then he failed.
"I want my brother, Loras," she replied. She contained her tears, but she knew everyone would notice that she did. "And I'm quite sure that Mira's greatest wish would be to have her brother Rodrik alive and well." She turned to look at her friend who bowed to acknowledge her words. Then she looked at Lady Stark, her brother and her uncle. "As I know you would all want Hoster Tully to be alive. But they're dead. Peace will not bring them back, nor will war. As for the other things you want, Lord Stark, you will not get Sansa back nor be able to fight the Ironborn who invaded the North as long as your war with us continues. So it seems the solution for you is to stop fighting us."
"Do you really think it is possible to make peace, after everything that happened?"
"It's always time to not repeat the mistakes of the past. All we have to do for that is to believe we can, and dare to do it." She thought about Tyrion, his lies to protect his siblings, before he finally confessed and turned his back on them. "So, again, I ask you the question, Lord Stark. What do you want?"
"First, I want to know what you want, Lady Lannister."
"I didn't come here only to talk. I also came here to listen."
"Then speak, and then you will listen," he replied.
These Starks, always stubborn. She turned her head to look at Edmure Tully. He was waiting after an answer as well. She wished she could hear the demands of the Starks and the Tullys first. That would have given her an edge with her counter-proposal. She also wanted to see the reaction of Edmure Tully to whatever Robb Stark would propose. It they had to negotiate, and it seemed the only way to do that was for her to begin.
"Mira."
Slowly, Mira produced a scroll from the folds of her gown and walked to the dais that she climbed. She then gave the parchment to the Lord of Winterfell and walked back to stand next to Margaery, resignated. Robb Stark stared at her for some time, then he unrolled the scroll and read it.
The terms were very generous for the Starks. They were getting Sansa back, all other prisoners would be freed as well, Eddard Stark would be posthumously rehabilitated, unpaid taxes by the North and the Riverlands during the period of the war would be forgotten and left to families as an exemption due to exceptional circumstances, no reparations would have to be paid, and the armies of House Tyrell and House Lannister would help them not only to free the Riverlands from Stannis and the North from the Ironmen, but the Westerlands and the Reach would take it upon themselves to invade the Iron Islands and neutralize this threat for the North. In exchange, all the North and the Riverlands had to do was to free their own prisoners, such as Ser Kevan Lannister and his sons, acknowledge Tommen as the one true king of the Seven Kingdoms and help him to defeat Stannis Baratheon and Balon Greyjoy and their allies. It would be as if they never rebelled against their king. House Tully and House Stark would preserve all their lands, titles, revenues and privileges. Tommen would publicly recognize that Joffrey's decision to execute Ned Stark was a crime, violation of his word.
To cement this union, Robb Stark was to marry one of the many cousins from House Tyrell or Lannister that Tyrion and Margaery had. He was free to choose whoever he wanted among them. Robb Stark took his time to read the offer. Margaery used this time to observe the other people. Edmure Tully, Jon Snow and Catelyn Stark were waiting for the Lord of Winterfell's reaction, while the Blackfish kept eyeing her and Mira.
"Are these all your conditions?" Robb Stark asked when he was done, passing the scroll to Lord Tully.
"Those are not conditions, Lord Stark. They are an opportunity, an offer to forge an alliance that would allow you to free your lands from your enemies."
"An alliance that entails me to bend the knee before a king I do not recognize."
Tyrion would have said that they wouldn't ask him to bend the knee if he already acknowledged Tommen as his king. "An alliance that could end this war, get you back your sister and allow you to drive away the people that invade your lands."
"And why would you think we want your help, after everything?"
"Because Joffrey is dead! You started this war to save your father, then you pursued it to avenge his death and to save your sisters. The man who killed him is dead, and so is the man who tried to murder Brandon Stark at the same time."
The reaction was immediate. It was as if a jar of wildfire just exploded in the hall, but silently. All the Starks and Tullys looked to each other, then to her.
"My son?" It was Catelyn who spoke. "Bran… It was Joffrey who…"
"When I came back to King's Landing, I told my lord husband about the discussions we had in the Stormlands. We confronted Sandor Clegane, who was Joffrey's personal guard back then. He confessed that Joffrey asked him to look for a man who could make a job for him. He brought him to Joffrey, who gave him a pouch full of silver and the dagger you found the day before he left Winterfell. That was Joffrey's doing, all of this."
The Blackfish leaned forward, a quizzical expression on his face. "Let's suppose it is true. Why would Joffrey have done that? Why would he want to kill a boy like Bran?"
"Are you really surprised? After all, he killed Ned Stark after he promised to spare him."
"Aye, but he believed Ned had tried to overthrow him. He was a threat to Joffrey, but Bran wasn't."
"According to Jaime and Cersei Lannister…" She almost spat those names. "… the day after Bran's fall, King Robert made a comment in Joffrey's presence that we had no problem killing horses and dogs who could no longer run or see, but we were afraid to end a child's life when he lost the use of his legs. Joffrey was hungry for anything resembling an approval from his father."
She let the words sink. Everyone was speechless.
"Tyrion and I left King's Landing right after we discovered the truth. We brought all our men and Sansa with us, to avoid her to fall into enemy hands. That's why we left Joffrey behind. All this war is because of the crimes of this spoiled and cruel boy."
"Although I believe what you just told me can be true, based on what we know about Joffrey, I find it a little too convenient to throw the full responsibility on someone who is dead," Robb Stark declared.
"Convenient or not, it's the truth."
"What about Jon Arryn? Who killed him?" his mother asked.
"We don't know. We still suspect it could have been Cersei, but we couldn't find any proof nor get a confession out of her before we abandoned the capital. But it is possible that she did it."
"Someone else who is dead and who is to blame. Again, it is convenient," the self-proclaimed King in the North commented.
"Whether you want to admit it or not, Lord Stark, all the people who started this war or who may have contributed to start it, are gone. They are dead. You are fighting ghosts and sacrificing your men for nothing. The people behind your father's death are gone. This war is futile now. I propose that we join our forces. We can defeat Stannis and the Ironborn together. They are our enemies to us all."
"So are we. Do you really think we can just shake hands and kiss each other and forget everything that happened these last months? You pretend that all I have to do is bend the knee, and you and your husband and your king Tommen will just forget this war and our rebellion?"
Margaery closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she replied. "Do you remember, back when we visited Winterfell? On the second day, before his accident, I stood next to you as Bran and Tommen played with wooden swords. Do you remember?"
"Aye, I do."
She could tell he tried to maintain his hard exterior, but she could feel some cracking in the surface, through his voice and his eyes. "At one point your brother managed to hit Tommen on the leg and to have him fall in the mud. Tommen continued to try to attack your brother with his sword while still on the ground. He moved so much in the wet earth that his blond hair turned brown, and in the end Bran just joined him and they spent half an hour pitching mud at each other. Even your other brother Rickon joined them."
She could see the effects her words had on Catelyn, and also on Jon Snow. They were memories of happy moments that would never come back. Margaery had similar memories with her brother Loras, which were over as well and would never happen again.
"Sansa wasn't the only one who suffered in Joffrey's hands. Tommen and Myrcella, they were both mistreated as well. My lord husband despised Joffrey as well. When Bran fell from that tower, Tommen and Myrcella were the first to come to you and wish that Bran would get better, while Joffrey needed a lesson from his uncle in order to do it. As for Cersei… She tried to have me killed. Catelyn, the kingsguard who tried to kill me in the Stormlands acted on her orders. She wanted me dead. That's another reason why we abandoned King's Landing. As for Ser Jaime, well, it was Stannis who had him killed, not you. Loras was murdered by him as well. We have nothing against you, against House Stark or House Tully. Your father tried to overthrow Joffrey, it's true, but he was manipulated by Stannis and his allies. He believed he was doing the right thing, and he wanted to exile Cersei and her children, not to kill them. We have no reason to want your death. And I know this is a lot to ask after all the people in your family who died, but you cannot hold all of House Lannister and all of House Tyrell accountable for the crimes of our siblings. I'm not asking you to forget what happened. We won't either. I ask you to think about your people, to think about the members of your family who are still alive."
"And to make this alliance a reality," Robb Stark said after a moment of hesitation, "I must bend the knee?"
"Yes," she answered.
Silence lingered in the hall for quite a time.
"I will consider your offer, Lady Lannister. I'll give you my answer tomorrow. In the meantime, the hospitality of Riverrun will remain yours." He looked at Edmure Tully who nodded.
"It has come to my knowledge that Ser Kevan Lannister and his sons Martin and Willem were being kept prisoner here. I would like to see them to be sure they are alive and well treated," she declared.
"I'll have someone lead you to them right away, if that is your wish. In the meantime, I can also have someone conduct Lady Forrester to her father. I'm sure Lord Gregor would like to meet her after the events of King's Landing."
Margaery looked at her friend. She silently asked her mistress to let her visit him. "You may go."
"I'll escort her. I know where Lord Gregor is at this hour," Jon Snow said.
"I'll escort Lady Lannister," Catelyn Stark said right after. "I wish to speak with her."
They all left the hall. As soon as they were far enough from it and began to go lower in the castle, where the cells probably were, the former Lady of Winterfell spoke.
"Is it true? What you just said, is it true?"
"Everything I told you was true."
They remained silent for a long time.
"What about Bran's fall? Who did this?"
Margaery gave her an answer.
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