Title Quote:
"To Winterfell we pledge the faith of Greywater. Hearth and heart and harvest we yield up to you, my lord. Our swords and spears and arrows are yours to command. Grant mercy to our weak, help to our helpless, and justice to all, and we shall never fail you."
Meera and Jojen Reed, A Clash of Kings
Jon was filled with a mixture of trepidation and excitement as he waited for Rickard's party to reach them. The news of the last few weeks had been worrying. First the report of Brandon's foolishness and Rickard's frantic chase after him. Hoster had sent a letter saying the son had run off to die and the father had followed. The gall of that man, demanding Ned fulfill his father's contract and make Catelyn Tully Lady of Winterfell.
As if that were not enough, Elbert almost became collateral damage in Brandon's whole fiasco. And Hoster? The greedy fish wanted Jon himself to take Hoster's crazy daughter to wife if he wanted the support of Riverrun in the war that would inevitably break loose. The gall of that man! Elbert, his heir, written off as collateral damage! Hoster might be a Lord Paramount, but it was not like his Riverlords were a faction that would support him to the man.
Not to think of his younger ward, even! Just the look Ned shared with his lady love as he read the letter! It was the first time Jon had seen the boy crying, a second before Ned stormed over to Ashara and pulled her into a deep hug, as if to never let her go.
They had not deigned to answer Hoster, not until news from the capital had arrived. The letter that had come had been written in Rickard's hand, but the words had only caused more questions.
Jon.
I have saved my son from his own foolishness. My stay in the capital has been interesting. Our plans need to change. Meet me on the Riverroad a day from Darry. Tell Ned to bring his lady friend. Leave Denys and Robert at the Eyrie.
Also. We need to talk about Hoster.
Rickard.
The letter did not really serve to alleviate Jon's worries, but at least his friend was alive and not stuck in a Black Cell. But Jon still did not reply to the trout. Hoster could squirm a little longer for all that Jon cared. Ned and Ashara had been ecstatic, the Dornish beauty not letting the Northman out of her room anymore. The two lovebirds did not even question how Rickard had come to know of Ashara's presence at the Eyrie, even though Jon did wonder.
Ashara herself had been very territorial since she had arrived at the Eyrie. Every dainty lady that now accidently tripped, stumbled or fell into Ned had been verbally eviscerated by Lady Dayne for their clumsiness, leaving a few in tears. It did not help to stop the ever-present sighs that haunted his halls since Robert had to read out that seven-damned letter, but it was a start.
Some of the ladies at Jon's court were finally looking elsewhere again rather than trying to capture his Northern ward's attention. Who knew the Quiet Wolf had such a gift with words that now veteran bards would try to approach Ned for advice on how to pen a moving ballad?
After departing from the Vale Jon's party heard the wildest rumors at the Crossroads Inn. The gossip was obviously very fresh; it had probably not even reached Riverrun yet. Rickard would only arrive shortly after word reached the Tullys, and if there was any truth to all that Jon heard, Hoster would be fuming.
Rickard alive, having bested the king's champion - wildfire, the audacity - with only Rickard's regular sword. The Northman chastising his own eldest son in front of the whole court, making a mockery of Brandon while Rickard ingratiated himself with the king and casted prince Rhaegar from his pedestal of infallibility. Lysa Tully, impregnated by Hoster's wayward ward and forced to abort the baby by her father. Brandon Stark disinherited.
Ned was shocked at those news, the specter of Catelyn once more looming in the distance for Jon's ward. Jon was happy he could calm his foster son on that end, Rickard would not have asked Ned to bring Ashara along if Catelyn waited for him under the weirwood tree at the end of the Riverroad. Still, Jon could not fathom if all the rumors were true and if so, why Rickard seemed so intent on snubbing the greedy fish. What did the old wolf plan?
Waiting by the roadside they could soon see Rickard's group approaching, the horses kicking up a dust cloud, riding at a harsh tempo. The Northmen and their companions soon pulled up to their resting place and dismounted to approach, Rickard quickly enveloping his second son while a young girl ran towards a surprised Ashara Dayne.
Elbert came over as well, sharing a brief hug with his Jon. Jon held his nephew close. The old falcon had feared the worst upon receiving Hoster's letter, only now did Jon feel a weight lifted from his chest again. Brandon did not approach, apparently apprehensive of being confronted with Lady Dayne again. He was seen though, and the Dornishwoman's burning eyes promised murder while Ned's reflected icy indifference.
The young lovers had told Jon of Brandon's actions at Harrenhal and the Valelord was appalled by the Northern heir's callousness. Did Brandon even think his actions would likely alienate all of Dorne from the North for a generation, only averted by Ned's and Ashara's obvious affection for one another?
After the first greetings were done, Rickard stepped away from the group together with Jon, Brandon, Ned, Elbert, Jeffory Mallister and Ashara. Ethan Glover took the little Dornish girl from her arms and went with Kyle towards the guards. Before Jon could ask Rickard for clarification on all the wild news they had heard the last few days, before Rickard himself could address the group about his plans going forward, Ned burst out with the matter that had been on Ned's mind and heart since he picked up Ashara from her ship at the harbor of Gulltown.
"Father. I ask your permission to wed Lady Ashara Dayne."
"... why?"
Rickard did not decline straight away. Rather, the old wolf took a look at the two lovers, surprised by Ned's bold attitude.
"Because I love her, father. And because I have dishonored her."
Ned's face took on a slight shade of red that only grew deeper as Rickard regarded him a little coolly while seconds stretched into eternity.
Ashara Dayne herself did not really look the part of a dishonored woman, though. She looked a little stoic instead of her usual vivacious self, true, but not ashamed. But Jon had come to know Ned's ladylove quite well, and he saw the hidden trepidation in Ashara's poise. Rickard continued his silent scrutiny. Sadly, Brandon seemed to think this was a good time for him to give his input.
"Ned. My brother, I am proud of you. How did you manage to get those – her?"
Ned did not seem particularly happy about his elder brother's endorsement, or Brandon's sleezy grin. And Ashara seemed ready to spit fire. However, before either could unleash a torrent of scorn upon Ned's elder brother a hand clamped down heavily onto Brandon's shoulder, causing him to flinch.
"Brandon", Rickard said, his tender tone a direct contrast to the way Brandon seemed to shrink with every word, "what did we say about speaking before we think?"
The answer Brandon gave almost sounded meek.
"That it is the mark of children and fools, father."
"Correct. Now, Brandon, do you want to go back to the arrangement we've had in the capital, and the first five days on the ride? Because your comment just now had my palm itching."
While Ned and Ashara held their breath at the exchange between father and son, neither Elbert nor Jeffory seemed surprised at all. Ashara seemed unable to recognize Brandon in the man before her, but maybe that was for the best.
Before Harrenhal, Ned used to tell Jon of Brandon's vivaciousness, and that had been the man Jon had gotten to know at Harrenhal. What had happened in the capital?
After another second Ashara seemed to pull herself together again and retorted to Brandon's earlier exclamation of stupidity, her answer scorching like the Dornish sun and her eyes burning purple.
"Well, Ned definitely did not have to try to get me drunk to unconsciousness. My dear Ned only had to use his talented tongue; you know. He's not just a sweet talker."
There was something deeper in that statement, and Jon did not mean the innuendo he was almost choking on. The other young men in attendance simply stared open mouthed, though, and Ned's visage turned a darker shade of red. Both Jeffory and Elbert started stealing glances at Ned after a few seconds, though, while Brandon at least had the grace to look a little ashamed. Rickard released a fake cough to pull the attention back to him, dramatically looking at his son for a long moment before speaking.
"Ned. I will permit your formal courtship of lady Ashara for now. I have come to a sort of accord with Princess Elia. You may introduce the lady as your companion in Riverrun. We will talk on this subject later in private."
At that Rickard swiveled around to Ned's Dornish lady and smoothly picked up her hand for a kiss to the knuckles before he continued speaking.
"Lady Dayne, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I did not hear of Brandon's misconduct against you at Harrenhal until my recent conversations with Princess Elia. I formally apologize in the name of my House and I have chastised and punished Brandon for his actions. You have my permission to seek any matter of retribution against him that does not cause lasting bodily harm."
The faces of both Ned and Ashara went through a whole range of emotions as Rickard talked. Both started out ecstatic, but while Ned's face turned first to remorse, then to satisfaction and finally to abject terror, Ashara's morphed into vindication followed by satisfaction - like Ned - before twisting into a smile that grew more sardonic by the second.
When Ashara finally directed her haunting violet orbs to scrutinize Brandon, Brandon started to shiver as if the winds had picked up. Ashara never averted her eyes from her tormentor as she answered Rickard with a soft, almost fleeting voice.
"May I ask, Lord Stark, which punishments your son has received these last few days?"
"Certainly, my lady."
Rickard complied; his speech devoid of all emotion as he talked.
"Doubtless you have heard of Brandon's disinheritance due to his foolishness at the Red Keep. Under revision of all his many failings - his transgression against your personage included, lady Ashara - I have insured with the help of the queen and Princess Elia that Brandon cannot receive lordly status unless my new heir Ned elevates Brandon after I have died.
"Furthermore, my son Brandon is to confess his appalling transgression at every keep we will stop in the Riverlands on the way to the wedding. Brandon has already started doing so at Darry."
Ashara slowly turned to the father of the man she loved, appreciation shining in her eyes as she slowly spoke.
"I like that, Lord Stark. I like that a lot. I like that so much, in fact, I would like for your son Brandon to go south after his wedding at Riverrun, to my home at Starfall, and continue with the same punishment with an escort to insure he does as he is ordered to, never stopping at the same keep twice."
Ashara waited for the old wolf's respond to that request, gauging Rickard on how he would take her request. As Rickard gave a silent nod and an indication to continue, Ashara did so with a smile.
"With your permission, Lord Stark, I would like to pen Brandon's confession myself, which Brandon will then have to exclaim for all to hear. I promise you, Lord Stark, it will not include any falsehoods. Only... very descriptive language."
After a solemn nod by Rickard Ashara turned to her lover, the gleam to her eye now predatory.
"Ned. Dear Ned. Will you help me put the confession to paper with your honey tongue? I promise to reward you handsomely the better I like this confession."
Jon's ward Ned nodded with some trepidation while Jon and Elbert shared a look of pity. Brandon had no idea what had just happened to him, his doom was now just waiting for the ink to dry. Ashara tried to pull Ned away from the group straight away, maybe to give him a little encouragement to do well with his writing. The two had been stealing kisses from one another at every dark corner at the Eyrie.
Rickard stopped the two from leaving fast enough, luckily. Some things were still in the air that needed clarification. Rickard bade Ashara to look after little princess Rhaenys and leave Ned behind for further discussion. Wait, what, that little girl was the firstborn of the crown prince? Oh, Rickard had so much to explain.
Brandon had apparently not gotten the message earlier and moved to sling an arm over his brother's shoulder, with Ned being obviously uncomfortable in his new position. As Brandon spoke, Jon wondered if the older Stark brother still had not learned to think. Also, Jon had to marvel at his ward's composure. After all, Ned did not immediately break his brothers nose as Brandon Stark started speaking again.
If looks were anything to go by, it would have been the second time Brandon's nose was broken in as many weeks.
"Finally, the broad is gone! Ned. Tell me tell me tell me. How does the famous Ashara Dayne measure up to all the ladies of the Vale?"
If Jon thought Ned's earlier stare had been icy, Jon did not know how he could describe the look that now sat in Eddard Stark's eyes as Ned disentangled himself from his brother. Jon knew his ward had a gift with words, but Jon had only rarely seen this gift used to put people in their place. Jon did see it now.
"You know, Brandon, there are so many things you can liken a beautiful woman to. Why should I cheapen Ashara by comparing her to another woman and offend both Ashara and the other lady in the same breath? I am not surprised anymore that the only women you managed to have a go with more than once were only ever whores, brother."
Rickard shooed Brandon away off-handedly on that note, the former heir retreating from the group entirely too sullen, as if he did not see any fault in his words. Jeffory went after Brandon on the command of the Rickard. The young lordlings that had followed Brandon to the capitol all seemed to regard the Warden of the North with reverence bordering on worship. Jon wondered when that development had happened.
After his eldest son had left, Rickard launched into a tale of pure madness. Apparently, the king was descending into utter lunacy, despoiling the sanctity of the Trial by Combat by naming wildfire his champion. The king's lickspittles in the capital were holding sway over Aerys' fickle mind, as all the while the Targaryen monarch kept savaging the queen in their marital bed. The Dornish princess, consort to the crown prince, held hostage. The crown prince himself disappearing with Lyanna without the king's order.
The last matter did allow Rickard to drive a deeper wedge between the monarch and his successor, despite the heavy toll Lyanna's abduction took on Rickard. But now the old wolf had won the confidence of the king, the trust of the princess and the favor of the queen while letting all the puppets at court dance from the strings Rickard held.
Dorne had been made into a possible ally in Rickard's and Jon's endeavor by taking in princess Rhaenys as a ward; Rickard had tricked the queen into bringing the Lannisters to his negotiation table. The new way forward that Rickard had opened for them was staggering in its audacity, even more so than Jon and Rickard's original plan.
"Hoster Tully has shown himself to be a liability, not an ally in the last weeks, so we will dispose of him as a political force."
Rickard's voice was calm as he spoke, but Jon knew Rickard enough to hear Rickard's cold fury still.
"The old trout is a greedy cunt, so when word reaches him that his daughter Catelyn now stands to marry a disinherited idiot, Hoster will throw a fit and try to change the groom to Ned. Hah! Fat chance I let that happen, Jon!
"I have now officially approved of Ned's courtship with the Lady Ashara with you as my witness, Jon, and us two will stand as a steadfast deterrent to Hoster's ambition. Honestly, Jon, I say the fish can go fuck himself on that front. The second thing Hoster will try to do is exchange Brandon's bride Catelyn for her insipid sister Lysa. The young woman was dishonored by his ward Baelish and had to suffer the abortion of their bastard. The Lord of the Little Finger was not important enough for Hoster to wed his daughter to.
"Well, now I have had my agents spread the word of Lysa Tully's disgrace in every winesink, every brothel, every servant's kitchen and every inn in the southern, eastern and northern Riverlands since I have left the capital. Word should reach Riverrun slightly after we reach the castle ourselves, but the whole realm will know at the same time as the Tullys. Hoster will never find a proper match for the girl that will satisfy his greed.
"I myself will naturally refuse such a woman for my son Brandon. Luckily for Hoster, princess Elia has invited lady Lysa to join the princess as a handmaiden at court, the only option left to the young girl's father when the rumors abound. And thinking his daughter Catelyn too good for my Brandon now, Hoster will end up breaking the betrothal between the two, of that I have no doubt.
"But mark my words, Jon, I will make both his daughters look like secondhand goods in the eyes of the realm, one with a dead bastard and the other with a broken betrothal. The lords will see Catelyn's broken betrothal as Hoster's fault in the end, not Brandon's, I will see to that myself!
"Don't tell Brandon he won't have to marry the fish, though. I know my idiot son would not be able to keep himself contained if he was aware. Brandon would also appear way too happy and right now, I'm entirely fine with letting him wallow in misery. Better than having Brandon destroy years of planning because Brandon once more cannot keep it in his pants, or keep his mouth shut.
"Our original plan needs to be revisited anyways because the principal reason we invited Hoster to the table years ago is redundant. Tywin Lannister is no longer the King's Hand. And after Aerys robbed Tywin of his heir last year at Harrenhal, the Great Lion must be seething for retribution.
"Jon, we don't need the Tullys to block the Riverroad to the west. Neither do we need Hoster's loyal vassals at Pinkmaiden, Wayfarer's Rest, Acorn Hall, and Stony Sept to obstruct the Westermen on the Goldroad.
"Instead, we will invite Tywin Lannister himself into our den and decide with him how to split the Reach, the Riverlands and the Crownlands. Depending on whether Doran Martell and your ward Robert join us as allies, all of us will profit as the dragons dance themselves to the brink of their destruction.
"The Florents and the Tyrells will choose different sides in the war to come regardless and set the Reach aflame. With the Tarlys now firmly on the side of the fox, we only need to ensure the war to the south does not end too early.
"The Seven Kingdoms have served their purpose; it is time the regions separate again. Now that almost 300 years of stagnation come to an end, us old kings should come together to redraw the borders of Westeros once again. The spark has been lit, let us feed the flames of war until all that remains are ashes. And when war is done and the dust has settled, I will piss on the graves of the dragons and fishes and show the world why you do not rouse the wolf from his lair."
Jon was left just as speechless as Ned and Elbert as Rickard heaved, a sack of venom weeks in the making unloading in front of them. While the two young ones were still coming to grasp with the enormity of the undertaking in front of them, Jon was frantically going over the rough edges of what Rickard had just revealed. Seven, it fit so perfectly. It could really work.
The cunning, the secrecy involved would be staggering and Jon could see Ned trying to come to grips with the treason they were about to commit. Jon knew their endeavor was standing in direct contrast to the notions of honor the young man steadfastly clung to, the self-same notions Jon had instilled in Ned. Rickard apparently saw the same, and with a bark the Lord of Winterfell got his son's attention with a single spoken line.
"'To Dragonstone I pledge the faith of Winterfell.'"
Ned spoke on, as in trance.
"'Hearth and heart and harvest I yield up to you, my king. Our swords and spears and arrows are yours to command. Grant mercy to my weak, help to my helpless, and justice to all, and I shall never fail you. I swear it by earth and water. I swear it by bronze and iron. I swear it by ice and fire.'"
Jon knew these words. He had heard similar ones once before, spoken by a young Howland Reed to Brandon Stark when Lyanna had brought the man into the Stark tent at Harrenhal, just after Howland had been savaged by three squires at the tourney ground.
The crannogman could barely stand back then, but even as Howland's blood was flowing from his wounds, the heir of Greywater Watch had knelt in the dirt in front of the Starks and pledged his fealty. A powerful oath.
When Jon had asked Ned about it later that day, Ned had told Jon the words went back to Brandon the Builder. The old words were still a common oath of fealty among traditional First Men houses in the North, houses such as the Umbers, the Reeds, the mountain clans, and others. Rickard looked upon his son Ned in satisfaction as Rickard spoke, and Jon and Elbert listened in with rapt attention.
"Torrhen's words, Ned. Mercy. Help. Justice. All that was denied to us Starks not a fortnight past by our king. It is not us Starks who are betraying the dragons, son. It is the dragons who have betrayed us Starks."
And Ned stilled, only acceptance in his eyes. None of their entire group spoke another word until they broke camp.
Everyone's favorite poet has entered the stage!
It feels kinda weird to see Eddard Stark described as such...
And finally the top conspirators of the rebellion come together again, to cut out the third of the original old men and bring in another.
Will it all work out as our favorite slap-dispenser plans? Stick around to find out.
Also, here you go with another snippet:
A lady of the Vale: Oh, Lady Dayne, you are so lucky to have snatched the Great Ned before all of us realized his greatness. Tell me, what is it that you love the most about him?
Ashara: His tongue.
The lady, dreamily: How he weaves words with it! I entirely understand, my lady. I hope my in my future there will also be a man so skilled with his poems.
Ashara, deadpan: Right. I love his tongue because of his skill with words and poetry. Right.
Now, addressing reviews and frequent... let's say enquieries.
Forst of, all the favorites and encouragements are awesome, thanks peeps. Little negativity yet (woooohoooo!), just questions what I'll do regarding facts and 'facts' from the series and books. Here's a brief rundown on how they'll probably be dealt with.
Anything starting with 'How are you going to handle...?' I am not going to answer, because why would I spoil my take on the Song before I put it into nice chapters for all of you? Secondly, all that stuff has not happened yet and may not happened because this story diverts from the original. So anything regarding Jon, white walkers andthe death/survival of key and non-key characters is up in the air. Surprise.
Next. Robert and Rhaegar and Lyanna and what Rickard is going to do about that particular clusterfuck. This story takes its cues from the books, not the show, so we do not know how loving the relationship between Rhaegar and Lyanna is. The realm regards it as an abduction, because Brandon publically screamed this and Aerys said so. That is all everyone officially knows. In chapter 4 Rhaella and Rickard briefly discuss 'what if it was consensual'. At this point I don't have anything else to say about that. Do I think Jon comes from those two doing the Dornish tango? Of course. Was Jon born before pretty much the end of the rebellion, which is still around a whole year off? No. Seeing as this story concerns itself with the rebellion time, much may change. Will it? Maybe. Let yourselves be surprised.
Now Robert. Following canon he would've gotten engaged to Lyanna around 280~ish. He has a bastard daughter on a common woman by this point and to our knowledge whores his way through everywhere. So, lord with a bastard on a common woman, no biggie in terms of setting and reference era. Sleeps with whores. Also not uncommon. Still not married. We do not now of any dalliances of Robert's with highborn ladies at this time. In fact, in all of ASOIAF there is only a single acknowledged highborn bastard of Robert's, Edric Storm.
Brandon, on the other hand, has two potential scandals with Barbrey Ryswell and Ashara Dayne. The Ryswell daughter belongs to a bannerman of his father so who is that family going to complain to? Distasteful, but manageable. House Dayne is of relative importance and reknown and in good standing with the crown prince and the king through the Kingsguard as well as with the top cpntender for future queen through Ashara as lady in waiting to Elia. That is explosive material that can blow up in the Starks' faces if not for Ned and his magic tongue. Maybe it still will. Why did Ashara visit Brandon? Spoiler territory. For all Robert's fucking spree he's not gotten into scandals with people that matter. Will he marry Lyanna and live happily ever after? Continue following the story. The man has not even appeared in my story besides name drops.
I'm not going to answer on reviews and PMs on these topics above elaborately (or at all). For the characters in 'Idiots' all that is in a far off future, so it's not relevant. Yet. If you have questions regarding my scenario or find plot holes here and there, I'll try to answer or I'll tell you that I plan to address them in a future chapter. Maybe you'll force me to address a problem I hadn't thought of (which would be awesome cause for me this is mainly writing practice). Now with everything said, I'm happy you guys are still reading my story, I hope you like it and I appreciate both your critique and your favorites/follows. Enjoy the next chapter coming up in around a day.