Catelyn II
"Please, mother. I don't have anyone else and you know I can't go. Your father's too sick, and I need the Blackfish and your brother here with me. Nor can I entrust this mission to Theon or any of those lords and knights, I need you for this." Catelyn recalled her son's words as she had her porridge for breakfast, along with the escort that accompanied her.
"You're asking your mother to negotiate with your enemies, Robb. You trust in their honor too much. They can take me hostage, just as the Lannisters took your father prisoner in the Trident. Not everyone is as honorable as your father, let alone in the south. Send someone else, someone less valuable," she had replied.
"If I send someone else, Renly won't take me seriously. We need a truce with him before we march against the Lannisters, I can't face Lord Tywin if Renly attacks my rear. Also, if they get to take King's Landing..."
"You want him to release your father" she ended up for him. "You've sworn allegiance to Stannis. Are you rethinking it?"
"I sent that letter weeks ago, and King Stannis still hasn't moved from Dorne. At this rate... We can't fight so many enemies alone, mother. At the moment I just want a truce, until the Lannisters have been defeated. Afterwards..."
"I understand, Robb. I'll do what you ask, even if I don't like it."
Family, duty, honor. Her family's words were in that order for a reason.
She left her empty bowl aside. She did not want that meeting, what she wanted was to return to Riverrun with her father so that she could say goodbye to him in his last moments of life and then return to Winterfell with Bran and Rickon. But if there was any chance of releasing Ned and Sansa, she had to try.
"Yesterday we crossed the upper Mander, my lady, " said Ser Wendel. "We should head south, finding Lord Renly should not be very difficult."
"Let's get going then." The sooner she talked to Renly, the sooner she'd be back home. Robb had sent with her twenty of his best men. They were enough to deter any group of bandits who tried to attack them, but they would not protect her from Renly's army if Renly decided to turn against them. Before midday, Renly's riders caught up with them. Some scout must have warned them, for half a hundred men on horseback fell on them. Everyone of them was wearing chainmail the one at the head wore full armor and carried the banner of the Baratheon, a black stag on a golden field. When he saw the Stark banner, he trotted towards them.
"I am Ser Colen of Greenpools. And you, my lady, must be Lady Catelyn Stark," he said. "You cross dangerous lands."
"My son, Robb Stark, sent me. I have very important matters to deal with Lord Renly Baratheon on his behalf," he replied.
"King Renly is the crowned and anointed monarch of the Seven Kingdoms, my lady. And yet we have heard rumors that your son has decided to swear allegiance to another king. Still, I'll accompany you to see his Grace. The king's army is camped near Longtable, in the bank of the Blueburn. Follow me." By his tone, it seemed more like an order rather than like a request. Sir Colen's men formed a double column to flank Catelyn and her guard. Are they escorting me or are they taking me prisoner?
They had not yet reached the river when they spotted the smoke from the camp's bonfires and heard the sound of the army. It was like a murmur, which became higher and higher as they approached. She could also see that wherever the army had passed, the earth had been dried and crushed, as if a plague had loomed over it.
When they finally spotted Renly's army, her heart almost stopped from the astonishment. Thousands of tents filled the horizon, as hundreds of supply wagons were distributed along the Roseroad. She also spotted huge battering rams and trebuchets, prepared for the siege of the capital when the time came. And among all of them, the soldiers moved like ants. They were carrying all kinds of weapons, spears, swords, bows, pikes, on horseback or on foot.
Apparently, all the cavalry of the south had come to Renly's call. The golden rose of the Tyrells was seen everywhere, next to the banners of their vassal houses: the foxes of the Florent house, the hunter of the Tarlys, the lighthouse of the Hightowers and the apples of the Fossowasy. The stormlords were also among them. They were Renly's vassals, who had sworn allegiance to the Baratheons of Storm's End. Estermont, Caron, Connington... they all had come. We can't win, Catelyn thought. In Riverrun there were not a third of the men that she was seeing there. And she doubted Stannis would have many more with him in Sunspear, even if all of Dorne's spears followed him.
In the background, the Merryweather's castle seemed tiny compared to the army camping at its gates. Ser Colen led her to a huge green silk pavilion. She dismounted, while Ser Wendel and the rest of her escort were left behind. Being without them made her feel helpless, but she still entered the tent. It was almost as big as the common room of Riverrun and had all kinds of luxuries. Next to the entrance was the king's armor, green with a helmet topped with golden antlers. The steel was polished and didn't have a single stain. As she moved forward, she saw a bathtub, fire pits, several tables, bowls with all kinds of food, books, maps, weapons... This Renly doesn't deprive himself of anything. Looks like he's got a castle behind his back.
In the middle of the pavilion were seated several lords and knights. Catelyn recognized Lord Mathis Rowan, who had come as a guest to Riverrun when she was a child, as had Lord Tarly, who was in front of him. And in the midst of them all, a ghost sat with a golden crown. It's Robert's vivid image, no wonder there are so many following him.
"Your Grace!" cried Ser Colen. The lords stopped talking to each other and turned. "With your permission, I have the honor to bring before you Lady Catelyn Stark, sent by her son Robb, from Riverrun."
"Lady Catelyn?" said Renly in amazement. "I didn't expect your visit. Receive our warmest welcome."
"You are very kind, my lord, " she said politely.
"Your Grace" she was corrected by Randyl Tarly. "And it is customary to kneel before a king."
"The distance between lord and king is very short, Lord Tarly. And apparently, he's not the only one who calls himself king in the kingdom. I have not come to discuss what titles belong to Lord Renly but to deal with other, more important issues."
Many of those present looked at her with a frown, but Renly laughed.
"Well said, my lady. We'll have time to decide these things when the war is over. Tell me, has your son marched against Harrenhal yet? I hope he'll let us kill some Lannisters," he said, laughing at his own joke.
Catelyn didn't find it very funny. If Kevan Lannister were still alive we could have traded it for Sansa or even Ned, but now... Catelyn stopped thinking about it, she could show no weakness to Renly.
"I don't sit on my son's court-martials," Catelyn lied. She wasn't going to reveal anything to Renly. After all, Robb supported a different claimant to the throne, and that made them enemies, for the time being.
"Well, I'm going to sit you in mine then. Please, come and sit next to me, my lady."
Catelyn was surprised to hear him say that, as were many of Renly's lords.
"We shouldn't share our plans with her, your Grace," Mathis Rowan said with concern. "Her son and the lords of the Trident have sworn allegiance to Stannis, not to you."
"Don't worry, Lord Rowan. Come, Lady Catelyn."
She took one of the chairs that was free and sat to King Renly's left, despite the suspicion and complaints of the other members of the court-martial. Several wooden figures carved in the form of stags and flowers represented Renly's army. In Riverrun, on the other hand, they were wolf-shaped and fish-shaped and surrounded by lions. Catelyn saw that Renly's army still had a long way to King's Landing. The map was perfectly detailed, with all the cities, keeps and roads of Westeros, but there was one detail that caught her attention especially.
"Why are there suns in the Arbor?" asked Catelyn without being able to contain her curiosity. Has Lord Redwyne opted for Stannis? It seemed surprising given Stannis' enmity to the Reach because of the siege of Storm's End so many years ago, in which Lord Paxter blockaded the castle with his fleet.
"Ha, I should have imagined it. The news came to us just a couple of days ago, so you wouldn't have heard since you must have been on your way here when it happened," Renly said, smiling. "My brother has taken for me the Arbor and much of the Redwyne fleet, the part that is not under the bottom of the sea, that is. Lord Paxter did not see it appropriate to declare his loyalty to me like the rest of the Reach lords, but he has just learned a valuable lesson."
That surprised her enormously. The Arbor... why? His fleet should be sailing towards King's Landing, not in the opposite direction.
"The very coward declared himself neutral in this war instead of supporting his rightful king," said one young man sitting to Renly's right. He wore green armor with three gold roses on his chest, and a white cloak, and he would not have many more years than Robb.
"Lord Paxter is one of your father's vassals, Ser Loras and besides he is married to your aunt. If he didn't declare for us, it's because the Lannisters have his children captive in the capital. What Stannis has done has been a low blow," said one of those present. He had its orange armor adorned with several black nightingales and he wore a cloak with the colors of the rainbow. "Attacking in the middle of the night, with the entire Redwyne fleet in port... It's a tactic of pirates, of ironborn, but not of honorable men."
"Do you know anything about Lord Paxter's whereabouts?" asked Catelyn.
"Nothing since we got one of his letters asking for help," Randyll Tarly said. "We haven't heard news from the Arbor since."
"Surely Lord Stannis has taken him prisoner. He has no use for him if he is dead," said Ser Loras. And alive neither. The Redwynes were alone and without allies, and now that he had what was left of their fleet, Stannis needed no prisoners. Maybe Stannis has only taken advantage of the war to get revenge on Lord Paxter after all these years…
"It may be, but whatever the case is, in the war you have to choose a side," Renly said. "And Lord Paxter did not choose us. Now it's his turn to pay the price. And let's not forget my brother's troops. Soon they will join us, I am convinced of it."
"It seems that you are the one who has forgotten about it, my lord," said Catelyn. "Stannis claims the crown, just like you. I didn't know you had allied with him already."
"I was hoping that you would be the envoy to arrange this alliance between us. To tell you the truth, my brother hasn't sent me even a single letter since Robert died. Well yes, one he did send, even though he sent it to every lord of the kingdom too, so I don't think it counts."
"If what he says in that letter is true, Stannis is Robert's rightful heir," Catelyn reminded him.
"If what he says is true," growled Randyll Tarly. "Can Stannis prove a single word of that fable?"
"Excuse me, my lady, but to me, like the rest of my lords, that letter seems to us nothing more than a ruse from Stannis to justify his rebellion against Joffrey. If it were really true what he says, he would have told Robert as soon as he knew about the incest. That cunning story of his must be the work of his wife or one of the Martells, nothing more."
"But if it were true, Stannis would be the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. He's your elder brother, after all."
Renly shrugged.
"Tell me, what right did my brother Robert have to the Iron Throne? What right does Stannis, me, or any of Cersei's sons have to the throne as long as there are two Targaryens alive on the other corner of the world? The right doesn't matter to anyone, except the maesters, maybe. Robert got the throne with his hammer, and I intend to do the same. Even if your son supports my brother, I have twice as many swords here as the two of you combined, and that's not to mention the ten thousand men my father-in-law has at his command in Highgarden. Stannis will never have the crown. Soon he will come to his senses and abandon his stupid claim to the throne. Besides, he'd be a dreadful king. People fear him and even respect him, but they only ones that love him are in that arid, unpopulated land to which he belongs, and they only do it because of his wife."
"Still..."
"Why have you come here, Lady Stark, but to give your son's loyalty to the king's cause?" asked Loras Tyrell with some anger and impatience in his voice.
"To negotiate a truce between us. At least until the Lannisters have been defeated. They are our real enemies," she said.
"So that you may stab us in the back once we have defeated them? Your Grace, the Starks and the Tullys are our enemies, just like your brother. We should give them no quarter or they'll end up destroying us," Randyll Tarly said. Many of those present nodded at his words. A freezing sweat swept through Catelym's face. If this army marches against us, we're lost. We stand no chance…
"A truce sounds tempting," Renly said thoughtfully. "But as Lord Tarly rightly says, I need assurances that once we've taken care of Lord Tywin, your son won't stab me in the back. When I take King's Landing, your son will kneel before me and swear allegiance to me, as your husband will once we release him."
"And what if he doesn't, my lord?"
"I will be king, my lady, I don't care how many stand in my way. If your son does not kneel before me, I will march on Riverrun once I have taken King's Landing, take it for granted." The cheerful, mocking tone had completely disappeared from Renly's voice.
"I... Give me my husband and daughter back alive when you take the capital and I promise I will do everything in my power to convince my son to support you." If you ever get there. "I can't promise you anything else, " said Catelyn impassively. Ned, Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Rickon... I wish I could save you all, I wish I could...
"Anyway, I don't want to overwhelm you either," said Renly, regaining his usual smile. "We'll talk later, I'm sure you're tired of the trip. Lord Orton and his beautiful wife are going to offer us a great farewell banquet tonight, for tomorrow we leave for Bitterbridge. It would be a pleasure for me if you could accompany us so that we could..."
"Call for the king! Call for the king!" shouted a voice from outside the store. Judging by the sound coming from outside, he seemed to have created a commotion outside. Suddenly, a soldier entered the tent, escorted by a couple of guards. The man wore the Hightower sigil, a white tower crowned with flames over a grey field and seemed visibly exhausted.
"What's the matter?" asked Renly bewildered. "What's this fuss about? Are the Lannisters attacking us?"
"Your Grace," said the soldier. "I came as fast as I could. Ser Garth sent as many messengers as he could to all parts of the Reach, but I do not know how many will have reached their destination."
"You're the first one that has arrived here. Come on, tell me what's so important that you have to interrupt my court-martial," Renly said impatiently.
"I come from Oldtown, your Grace. The city has fallen. Someone opened the gates overnight, they had someone within the city walls, no doubt. It was all so surprising... Ser Garth tried to organize the defenses as best he could, but the entire army took over the city."
"Oldtown... who, how?" Renly understood nothing, but Catelyn soon realized what the young messenger was trying to convey to the king. "What do you mean? Who took the city?"
"Lord Stannis, your Grace. His army crossed the Red Mountains unseen and fell upon the city in the middle of the night. The gates were open, so the city guard was overcome in a matter of minutes."
"How could this happen? The city walls are strong, and the city had a large garrison. Could my father and brothers do nothing?" asked an angry man who apparently must have been one of Lord Leyton Hightower's sons, even though Catelyn had not stepped south for so long that she could not say which one of them he was for certain.
"As I said, your brother Ser Garth tried to defend the city, but it was too late. When I left the city, his forces were retreating to the Hightower, where your father was. I don't know how long they'll be able to hold out there, it may have already fallen..." continued the messenger.
All the lords present were shocked at the news. Oldtown was the richest city in Westeros and the second most populous, behind only the capital itself. That Stannis had managed to capture it so easily weakened Renly's image across the kingdom. A king who was not able to defend his own subjects would not be well seen.
"How could the Dornish cross the Marches without resistance?" asked Randyll Tarly. "The Prince's Pass was well guarded. There's no way they crossed it without finding any resistance."
"We don't know, my lord, " said the dejected messenger. "No one warned the city that an army was marching against us."
"We have to respond to him. We can't let Stannis get strong in Oldtown, from there he can threaten the entire Reach," said one of those present, a grey-haired man, with a pointed beard.
"What you want is to return to your castle before Stannis takes it. Or you may be already planning to join him, Lord Alester," replied Mathis Rowan.
"Brightwater Keep is too close to Oldtown," Alester Florent replied. "If we do not act fast, it will be the next to fall into the hands of the Dornish, and then they will march on Highgarden, mark my words."
"Lord Mace has ten thousand men with him in Highgarden," replied Lord Tarly. "Enough to deal with the threat of the Martells. If we go back now, we won't take King's Landing before the end of the year, and we'll only give the Lannisters time to strengthen. Once you sit on the Iron Throne, your Grace, we can take care of your brother and his followers but doing so now will only delay us."
The lords continued to argue with each other in the watchful eye of Catelyn. So, this is what Stannis intended, Catelyn comprehended. Divide Renly's allies and weaken them while he gets strong in the south. It's the same thing Lord Tywin is doing in Harrenhal. But as he fights with his brother, he leaves us alone while the Lannisters get stronger...
"Shut up...shut up! shouted Renly totally choleric. Everyone sitting there was surprised at the sudden outburst of the king. "As Lord Randyll has rightly said, my brother only intends to weaken us, but now that his treachery has been exposed, he will not be able to take us by surprise again. Pick up the camp, we march to King's Landing as quickly as possible. We'll take care of my brother when we've taken the city."
"But, your Grace..." complained Lord Florent.
"I've made my decision. I want to get to the city before the next moon, give the proper orders to make sure that happens." Those present got up and left the tent. Catelyn was going to do the same thing when Renly interrupted her. "Lady Stark. Transmit to your son my conditions for a truce. Once I've taken King's Landing, I plan to march on Sunspear and stick my brother's head in a pike. I hope I don't have to do the same with your son's."
"My lord, perhaps you can come to an agreement with your brother. This struggle between you only strengthens the Lannisters, I could help you..."
"Enough! You don't know my brother like I do. He's stubborn, too stubborn. He'll never break, and neither am I going to. If he thinks that taking a single city is going to make me give up, then he is as foolish as he looks. Leave before dawn, Lady Catelyn, before I change my mind."
Catelyn left the king's tent and met her escort that there waiting for her amidst the chaos that was now Renly's camp.
"My lady. What happened? What was all the fuss about?" asked Sir Wendell curiously.
"Our allies have decided to strike their first blow in this war."
"Our allies? Have we reached an agreement with Lord Renly then?"
"No. I don't think Lord Renly is going to be our ally in this war, let alone after what happened. Saddle the horses, we return to Riverrun immediately."
As they galloped away across the green plains of the Reach, Catelyn looked back to take one last look at Renly's army and couldn't help but think that it now seemed smaller and weaker than it was a few hours ago.