"Begin, your Highness", Maester Wolkan commands Princess Catelyn, as they sit together in his study. She delivers her translation of an Old Valyrian poem:
"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
For let Philosopher and Doctor preach
Of what they will, and what they will not - each
Is but one Link in an eternal Chain
That none can slip, nor break, nor over-reach.
And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky,
Whereunder crawling coop't we live and die,
Lift not thy hands to it for help - for It
Rolls impotently on as Thou or I."
"Excellent" he remarks. "Now, tell me what it means".
"It means that you can't fight or reverse fate, what's done is done", the Princess replies. "Our destiny is fixed, and can't be altered".
"Indeed, and do you believe that?"
"Yes, and no. I think we do have free will, we can decide our destiny, up to a point. But, the gods do intervene in our lives. For example, the gods chose my mother to rule the North as their Queen. She is their anointed one, Chrestus ,as the Valyrians would have said. She rules by Divine Right. Therefore, those who rebel against her are not just traitors, but enemies of the gods." Wolkan briefly catches the eye of Jeyne Poole, who sits in a corner of the room. He sees her briefly shake her head. No, Jeyne wouldn't be teaching Catelyn such nonsense. It would only come directly from the Queen, or one of her sycophants. Sansa is a well-read woman. The Divine Right of Kings is just the sort of doctrine she would have picked up in some work of history or philosophy that would appeal to her. It would go a long way to explaining why she acts as she does; and she has indeed, expressed the view that her will is the will of the gods. Sansa has largely ceased to take advice from him, in relation to political or military matters. That's a relief. He is under no illusions about the monstrous regime of terror which she operates, and he has no desire to be complicit in it. He focuses his attention on the education of the young Princess, desperately hoping that he can mould her into a different person to her mother. The girl is precociously intelligent, just as her mother is. But, her mother puts her intelligence to appalling uses.
"Why do people rebel against my mother?" she suddenly asks him. "How can they do something so evil?"
"All rulers have enemies, your Highness, " replies Lady Poole, thankfully sparing Wolkan the need to lie. "You must know that from your history. Your grandfather, grandmother, and uncle were all treacherously murdered by people who hated them."
"But, mother is so kind, and gracious, and beautiful. She loves her subjects, and gave them independence, for the first time in three hundred years. Why can't they love her back?"
"Most of them do love her, " Jeyne lies smoothly, "only a handful defy her." How can I make her not be her mother, when we all have to lie to her? It would be more than my life is worth to enlighten her, or Jeyne's for that matter" There is a rap on the door of the study.
"Come in" he calls out. Ser Aumary Royce, the Master of Arms comes into the room. He is a native of the Vale, and a very distant relative of the Starks. "Your Highness, it is time for you to fence", he says. The girl rises. She really is striking, with her father's jet black hair, and her mother's blue eyes. Despite everything, she is sweet and good-natured. Her mother has learned how to use a rapier and dagger, fearing assault, and insists that the Princess learns, as well. Catelyn thanks Maester Wolkan for his lesson, and leaves with Ser Aumary.
"What can we do, my Lady?" sighs Wolkan. "Whether we win this war or not, I fear for the Princess. The gods know what the Queen's enemies would do to her. But, if the Queen wins, would you really want Catelyn to turn into a replica of her mother?"
"Shush, walls can have ears. Come closer, I must talk to you quietly" She whispers softly, in his ear. "The Queen is afraid. More afraid than she will let on, before her advisors. She still speaks frankly to me, in a way that she does to no one else. She has given terrible orders, if her army is defeated. Her prisoners are to be executed. Every one of them". Wolkan exhales in horror. "At the last, she will take her own life if she has to, rather than fall into the hands of her enemies. I suspect worse" and now she lowered her voice still further. "If she faces ruin, I fear, I very much fear, she will murder Catelyn, before killing herself."
"Then I think our duty is plain," he whispers back. "We must be ready to get the girl to safety." Again he whispers "I know what Ramsay Bolton did to the Queen, when she was his wife. I won't nauseate you with the details. She's probably told you anyway. But, even so, she wasn't the person then, that she is now. Even after the horrors of Kings Landing".
"She lives in fear. She feared that her brother and the Dragon Queen planned to destroy her. She drove a wedge between them instead. She learned a lesson at that point. Cunning, ruthlessness, and a complete lack of pity can take you a very long way. And, let's face it. Nobody rules the North for fifteen years, without a certain level of competence. But, she may have met her match now. We don't just want to keep the Princess safe. You and I might be heading for the scaffold if the Queen is defeated. She has made thousands of enemies across the North. They will be in no mood for mercy towards any of us. "
Far away, Norrey rides away from the last of the penal camps, The Haggs. He has left each camp commander in no doubt as to their orders. Now, he rides to war. He will supervise the prisoners who are to labour for the army. Crushing the Queen's enemies is not just his duty. It is a holy task. To serve her Grace is to serve the gods.
Notes:
The poem is verses 51 to 53 of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam, as translated by Edward Fitzgerald