Honor & Fealty chapter 23
Living north of the Wall, it almost becomes second nature to tell when something bad was going to happen. Life was hard enough just holding on to whatever you were lucky enough to find and ruthless enough to keep.
Osha left the company of Mance Rayder when he started bringing together clans and factions who normally would have killed each other for no more reason than being in the same area or in coveting whatever the other had at the time. His campaign had become too much for them to handle and being so close to so many feuding peoples only made an internal conflict that much more volatile. She and her man, Bruni, took off and lived together in a small hut far from Rayder's camp and far from the Wall.
In the time they had together, Osha and Bruni were content and safe. No one came after them and they did not have to fret over who would come to take what was theirs.
The end came when Bruni vanished for days on end. Osha did not believe he had it in him to leave her. That was impossible.
Impossible would soon become a word Osha would never say again when he returned with pale skin, vivid blue eyes and the stench of death upon his body.
A knife through the heart did not make him blink or bleed. By a miracle, Osha escaped the vice grip of what once was her man, grabbed a torch and set both him and the hut on fire.
Without looking back, Osha ran out into the dark night. The cold in front of her and the fading heat behind her only fueled her need to run further away from a place she once thought to be a safe haven.
Then she saw an enormous bear with dark black fur streaked with grey stood before her like a giant. It did not growl at her once. It stared at her with a puzzled expression in its eyes.
Osha tried to run away but did not get far as the bear reached out, closing the distance between them, caught her and slammed her to the ground.
One paw swipe to the head and she was plunged into darkness.
Catelyn Stark and Dacey Mormont did not speak to each other for a while. Both women were strong willed and stubborn as the day is long. Catelyn did not like how Dacey spoke to her and yet she sensed that the younger woman's words were spoken in blind anger.
In the silence, Dacey saw the folly in her words. In a blind rage, she had threatened the lady wife of Lord Stark and Robb's mother. In spite of whatever else she may have felt, Dacey could not allow herself to disgrace her house through losing her temper.
"I should never have spoken to you as I did. I make no excuse for it. I can only ask forgiveness."
Catelyn listened carefully to both Dacey's words and her voice. There was no facade being put on for the sake of getting into her good graces. It was genuine humility, regret and contrition."You spoke out of anger. Learn from this. In all fairness, I too know how it is like to lose one's temper. Your outburst is forgiven." Catelyn replied. "Though I now have to wonder whether or not I have to worry about your temper before we cross into the Riverlands. If you are serious about going to Riverrun with us, lay to rest your prejudices against the South here and now. Otherwise, I will have to send you back to Winterfell."
Grey Wind gave a whine before nudging Dacey's arm as if in a show of support and encouragement. Running her fingers through Grey Wind's fur, Dacey took a brief moment to gather her thoughts. Once she did, everything came out.
"For my whole life, I was told what the Andals have done in their attempts to put the First Men to heel or extinction. I also heard of how the South looks upon the North. They think of us as uncivilized savages and uncultured barbarians. I think the Southrons are either arrogant snobs, greedy swindlers, cold blooded schemers or murderous turncloaks loyal only to themselves. When Jorah began selling poachers to slavers in order to afford his wife's lavish upbringing, my faith in him was broken and everything I had ever felt about the South was confirmed. Everything south of the Neck became the epitome of evil in my eyes. Everyone who was of the South was my enemy."
Catelyn began to understand the influence of terrible memories and worse histories had on Dacey. While it was admirable for Dacey to possess such devotion to the North and her people, Catelyn saw the dangers of having a hard-lined Northern woman succeed her as Lady of Winterfell if her approach to quelling problems involved a mace and knowing who was born on which side of the Neck. "I am not Lynesse Hightower nor do I ever hope to bear any resemblance to her. Thus I am not your enemy. Whether or not you can bring yourself to believe me is up to you. I have embraced life in the North. I have not made any attempts to cut down weirwood trees or supplant the Seven in place of the Old Gods. Most of all, I have never thought of bringing ruin to House Stark." Dacey let out a small sigh at the sense in what Catelyn was telling her. Even though she did not like hearing it, there was no argument she could cast against it.
"Not every person who lives in the South wants to kill, mock or steal from the Northmen. The days of the Andal invasions are over. Have you ever seen the Riverlands during the summer? There's many great places for fishing and swimming. The waters are not as cold as those in the Bay of Ice and those who live in the Riverlands are not as terrible as you may think they are."
"I'm about to be a stranger in an unfamiliar place with people I do not know. That is usually enough to make me keep my guard up."
"When I married Ned and moved into the North, I felt far away from home and farther away from my family than I had ever been in my whole life."
Dacey caught on to where the conversation was going. "A lifetime of fighting and killing in defense of my family and homeland does little to help me socially. On Bear Island, I could tell friend from foe. I do not like going to a place where I can not tell the difference."
"If you can improve in your ways, you will not have to worry about discerning friend from foe. If what my father has done holds true, Robb may stand to rule both the North and the Riverlands. Should it come to that, you may have to accept both Northmen and Rivermen as your countrymen."
Dacey frowned as she processed all Catelyn told her. While it was hard to hear, it was all true. "When we cross the Neck, I will be polite and cordial until someone decides to give me a sufficient reason not to be either."
Catelyn looked over Dacey's bear cloak and how it covered what she wore beneath. "I never asked what you chose to wear."
Dacey opened up her cloak to reveal her garment clad body to her future good mother. "Sansa helped me choose this. It is simple enough that I could be comfortable, move about freely and it represents my house." The dress was simple yet well made enough to impress. Black against vivid forest green; these were the colors of House Mormont. The sword and mace that hung by her sides were not lost on Catelyn. "We are not going to war. If you need them, keep your weapons on your mare. I doubt you will need to use them."
It was only after Dacey put her weapons away did Catelyn notice how her future good daughter's bosom was filling up her dress very generously to where she was almost spilling out of it. Dacey looked down at her chest before turning her attention back to her future good mother. "Sansa and I had to adjust the dress before we left Winterfell. It was getting rather tight...again."
Dacey glanced down at her chest once before looking up at Catelyn. "Am I going to cause a scene if I arrive in the Riverlands like this?"
"It's not uncommon for young ladies in the South to wear low cut garments. Just remember to conduct yourself properly and control your temper." Catelyn replied while trying to take her mind off how big Dacey's bust had grown.
"I will." Dacey may not have liked the South very much or at all but she would do whatever she had to for Robb's sake and to preserve the honor for both House Mormont of Bear Island and House Stark of Winterfell.
Maester Aemon stood alongside his stewards before the grove of weirwood trees. Though he did not keep to the Old Gods of the Forest, the old man appreciated the serenity and silence. But that was not why he was out there. Taking a few steps forward and kneeling down slowly, Maester Aemon placed his hand upon a spot neither far nor close to the weirwood trees.
"Maester Aemon, we must go now." From the sound in Chett's voice, he was afraid.
"Do not bother. I know who it is. Prepare the cart for our return to Castle Black."
While Chett and Clydus went on ahead, Maester Aemon rose back to his feet and approached the large bear. "It's not like you to bring a stray home." One growl from the bear caused the old maester to grin. "I would not dare to think you would so blatantly forsake your vows."
Crouching down to the ground, the bear allowed Maester Aemon to climb up onto his back alongside the unconscious wilding woman.
Chett and Clydus rode upon a horse drawn cart while Maester Aemon and an unknown wildling woman rode upon the back of a large black bear. All the way to the Wall, no one spoke a word.
The light of day coated everything in blinding white. In contrast, the darkness of the tunnel was such that the acolytes needed torches to see their way through.
The bear stopped halfway through the tunnel, allowing for Maester Aemon to climb down. Chett dealt with moving the woman while Clydus helped Aemon to the cart.
Upon their return to Castle Black, the bear had transformed into a man.
"You would do well with your cloak and clothes, Lord Commander. We would not want you to catch your death of cold." Maester Aemon said as Jeor Mormont took his cloak and clothes from Clydus. "Place her in the cells. See that no harm comes to her." Maester Aemon instructed.
When Ser Brynden returned to Moat Cailin, he took Catelyn to the Children's Tower to speak privately while Dacey and Grey Wind walked over to Robb Stark and Willas Tyrell.
"Is everything alright between you and Lady Stark?" Willas Tyrell asked for both himself and Robb, who had his eyes on Dacey's face the whole time. "We spoke very openly with each other. It's not going to happen right away but we are not going to declare war upon each other."
Robb put his hand on Dacey's shoulder. "Did my mother speak to you about how to behave when we cross the Neck?"
Dacey nodded. "I will behave properly for the honor of my house and the sake of yours. Somehow, I feel it may be easier said than done."
"Lady Mormont, you will not be alone. You have Grey Wind, Robb Stark and I, for whatever my presence is worth, to stand at your side."
"For what it is worth, I do appreciate the offer." Dacey replied.
"If it is not too forward of me, I need to ask you about something rather delicate."
"How delicate is it?" Dacey asked.
"I have thought about potentially taking a lady wife but I have no place to call my own apart from Highgarden."
Dacey looked at Willas with surprise. She did not expect to have such a conversation with Willas Tyrell or any of such a personal matter. "Which young lady do you have your eyes set upon?"
"Alys Karstark. She has always been kind to me but I do not know what I can give her when I have only the clothes on my back along with the horses, hawks and hounds I breed and train."
"If you are the heir to Highgarden, why do you worry about what you can offer as a dowery?" Robb asked.
"I left home against the wishes of my father and grandmother. I have also turned my back on the Seven by embracing the Old Gods. Those actions are not easily forgotten or pardoned in the eyes of my father or the smallfolk of the Reach." Willas had no illusions about what was going to happen if he ever saw any members of his family again.
"Alys and I may be very distant relatives but I'm certain resolve would go a long way in making an impression with her. The question you have to answer for yourself is what matters most. What your father thinks or who you want to be."
When Ser Brynden and Catelyn returned, it was not lost on Dacey or Robb how they both looked very somber. "Mother, is everything alright?" Robb asked.
"Mount your horses and prepare yourselves. We are crossing over into the Riverlands." Ser Brynden ordered before Catelyn could answer.
Had she been given the opportunity to open her mouth, the conversation she had with her uncle would have spilled out, which would have been disastrous for all of them.
Lord Commander Jeor Mormont walked into the ice cells with a bowl of hot stew. There were few who ever lived after crossing paths with a Crow north of the Wall. Fewer were ever not hostile when meeting a Crow.
The guards keeping watch of their 'guest' opened the doors for the Old Bear who entered the cell. "What happened out there to you?"
She did not speak; her hunger overwhelmed any need for discussion. Jeor Mormont grinned slightly at the woman slurping and gulping the stew heartily. "Even out on the edge of the world, Three Finger Hobb certainly knows how to make a good stew. Kept us fed enough to survive out here at least."
Licking her chops, the woman looked at the old man with awe laced with disbelief. "How did you...What are you?"
"A man of the Night's Watch who, by all rights, would have had reason to kill you. Instead, I provide food and shelter. Do you have a name?"
"None that I would tell a Crow, even one like you."
"I'm not surprised to hear such a thing from a Wildling, even if I did save your life." Jeor Mormont replied gruffly. "What were you running from?"
"Things beyond what you Southerners could imagine."
"You underestimate my imagination greatly." Looking at her bed, Jeor turned to the guards and ordered them to fetch a proper blanket for the woman. "I have no reason to kill you. In truth, I do not know what to do with you. Considering how I saved your life, your fate is now my responsibility. We'll talk again soon."
A moment ago, she did not think of sharing her name with a Crow. A moment later...
"Osha. My name is Osha."
Jeor looked at Osha for a moment. "It is good to meet you, Osha."
The crannogmen of the Neck were unlike those above and beneath the dense marshlands. Their ways were pecuiliar in the North and inhuman to the South. One could fight a crannogmen for days without ever seeing them.
They watched carefully as the Blackfish led his traveling party through the causeway. There was no malcontent aimed at the heirs of Winterfell, Bear Island and Highgarden.
Meanwhile, a pack of lizard lions began the long trek down the Green Ford en route to the Crossing.
A/n: It has been a long time coming for this chapter. I was itching to get this posted and I hope it came out just right. Thank you very much for your patience, dear readers, and to those who took the time to review, thank you as well. The feedback has helped to improve the story where it was needed. In the next chapter, I hope to dive right into the Riverlands, introducing Baratheon, Tyrell and whoever/whatever else comes into play. Who else is wondering what the Blackfish told Catelyn in secret?