5th Month of 282 A.C. Riverlands

Knight Major Lord Rickard Stark

The summons had come long ago, Rickard had always known it would come, had known it since the moment Duskendale had happened. Yet, there had been a part of him that had not wanted to accept that. To accept that the young prince he had once known had been reduced to the mad mess that their sources reported was something Rickard found hard to stomach. It was something that he knew might well have been Tywin's doing, and yet he had not solid evidence for that. No solid evidence to suggest anything of the sort, and that frustrated him. Something was going on, something was happening within King's Landing, what it was though, he did not know, there had been no word from Brandon and his son had been in King's Landing for a moon now. That was another thing that worried him. His eldest son might be known as the wild wolf, a name Lyarra had given him, but Brandon had a good brain on him when he deigned to use it, and the position he had been given had done wonders for him.

The order had been set up in the dying days of Aegon the fifth of that name's reign. The King's grandfather had been a good man with noble intentions and yet his children had not done him any favours. Their love marriages had nearly brought Westeros to its knees, and that was without taking into consideration the Blackfyres who had been a threat and might, if reports were true, remain a threat still. King Aerys, who had been a prince then had decided that enough was enough, and had called a meeting of all the young lords or heirs who were on the campaign in the Stepstones. They had all sworn their vows before him, determined to prevent the fall of House Targaryen the chaos that might come with that. And then something changed, something between Aerys and Tywin changed and nothing was ever the same afterward. It still boggled his mind as to what that might have been, for he could not place his finger on it, but something had happened, and now they were all paying the price for it.

Rickard suspected there was more to it than what had originally been thought. Tywin no doubt was insulted over not being named Knight Major, second only in power to the Dragon. The ranks had been decided long ago during that day when they were all young and filled with hot blood. The Dragon, Aerys, the man to lead them from chaos. The Knight Major, the second in command who would lead the Dragon's forces when the Dragon was needed elsewhere, the Knight Generals who commanded kingdom forces, and the Knight Commanders who were subservient to the Generals and commanded individual forces, and finally Knight Squires who were the lowest ranks. The original Knight Major had been the king's own cousin Prince Laenor Targaryen, son of Prince Duncan and Princess Jenny, yet the Prince had been slain in the Stepstones dealing with pirates some fifteen years ago, and Rickard not Tywin had been named as Knight Major. The decision had surprised Rickard, but he had accepted it gratefully, and he had the feeling that Tywin had never quite gotten over only remaining as a knight commander for that time.

Rickard sighs, thinking over the past would serve him no good now. The Twins themselves were a looming omen, a sign of Tywin Lannister and the power he had amassed. Rickard had never truly liked Walder Frey, but now found himself having to spend time with the old lord, determined as he was to find out whether there was some plot or the other on the go. Rickard could not forget that the man was related to Tywin Lannister through marriage if not blood, and so he kept his guard up and asked his men to do the same. He listened as the old man spoke. "I remember your father you know Lord Rickard. Ah yes, he was an interesting man, with fire in his blood not damned ice, unlike your grandfather."

Rickard looks at the old man surprised. "You knew my grandfather?"

"Lord Willam? Oh yes I knew him well. I was there when he wed your grandmother you see. We knew one another reasonably well when I was young, I nearly squired for him you see. A strange man that, one who knew many things but said little." the Lord of the Crossing says.

"Such as?" Rickard asks curiously.

The old man laughs. "Did your father never tell you? I suppose he would not have. Lord Willam was a man shaped by his circumstances Lord Rickard. A man who knew when to do one thing and when to do another. It was a gift he had, he had to have it to repair the north after what happened during the little war you lot had up there."

Rickard feels something inside him tighten at that. "Indeed, my grandfather was a great lord, and someone who did what needed to be done."

The Lord of the Twins laughs. "I think it was more than that my lord. I think there were certain things being done in the north whilst he was alive, to hide certain other truths. You never did meet your great uncle Donnor or your great uncle Errold now did you?" Rickard looks at the man a feeling of trepidation running through him. "Why do you think that is?"

"Lord Donnor died during the war in the north, a result of treachery and betrayal. He died and my grandfather became Lord. It was a time of war. As for Errold, he died fighting in Skaagos once more. That is what happened." Rickard responds cautiously.

Lord Walder merely laughs. "Is that what Edwyle told you?" the man shakes his head then. "I am not surprised. That man had a lot to shoulder as well. Your father was a man who created his own messes you know."

Rickard stiffens then, he is well aware of what his father was and what he did. "My father was a man who played with the hand that was dealt to him."

The old lord laughs once more. "Is that what you believe? I suppose I cannot blame you. It is not in us to hate our fathers once they are dead. Why my own father was a man who needed a severe reprimand now and then. He dealt with traitors and rebels, and yet here I am, alive and well, still breathing because of some of his decisions. I am sure the same could be said for you my lord."

Rickard feels his anger begin to rise. "And what pray tell, makes you think you are in any position to judge me on that front my lord?"

The Lord of the Crossing merely laughs. "I know things about your family that I am sure even you do not know. I know things about your new family that would make even the barest of people shrivel with despair. You have tied yourself to a family of snakes in the Tullys. Hoster Tully is a man out for his own gain."

Rickard looks at the man. "And you are not? It is a poisonous world we live in my lord, everyone knows only what benefits them. Why do you bring your liege lord into this situation?"

Lord Walder looks at him and merely laughs. "Do you not find it odd, how your son learned of your daughter's disappearance at Riverrun? And do you not find it strange that it was at Harrenhal that Prince Rhaegar was going to overthrow his father? The Whents and the Tullys have more than a marriage tying them together, they have many other things as well. Mainly that Ser Oswell is a man who knows how to play and his brother is one other such man."

Rickard merely looks at the lord and then responds. "You are talking of things that might have been true when King Aegon was alive, but since then they have stopped mattering."

"Have they? Or is it that they are merely less prominent then they were during that king's time? Come now Lord Rickard you are learned man, you know things that very few others would know, or would even wish to know. Tell me, why do you think your daughter has gone missing?" Lord Walder asks his voice low.

Rickard feels something tighten within him then at the mention of Lyanna. "Prince Rhaegar has done what he has done for one reason or another. I mean to get answers for his actions."

"Was that not why your son went south though my lord? Your heir even, to go and demand from the king, who all call the mad king, to get answers as to where his sister might be? And yet a month has passed and nothing has been heard from him?" Lord Walder asks.

Rickard feels his hands curl into fists, and sees out of the corner of his eye that his men are forming up. Something is about to happen now. "My son is doing his job, but we all know that the Lannisters have always exercised some control over Pycelle. It would not surprise me if something were going amiss there. Furthermore, your own knowledge of all of this is surprising. Tell me my lord, how do you know all of this?"

The Lord of the Crossing smiles then. "When you have as large a family as I do, you learn things. I know for a fact that there was more to that fool Baelish's duel than meets the eye. My son Hosteen met him in an inn afterward, and there he said all kinds of things."

"Baelish is a boy, and his father was a good man. And yet, I know you Lord Walder. There is something you want from me, otherwise you would not be mentioning any of this. What is it you want?" Rickard asks.

The old lord looks at him and says. "What do I want? What I have always wanted. I want my piece of the cake, I want my toll. And I have been denied it many times in the past. I know there is more to the dragons than what merely meets the eye, and I want to know what it is. I know you can give me that chance, and so if you want to go south, you will give me that opportunity."

Rickard looks at the man, now it is his time to laugh "You think I am going to do that? Why should I allow that to happen Lord Walder? There are many things one has to do before one can be accepted, and you have always tried and failed to do those things. I do not believe you would improve now."

"You are a fool then Stark. A damned fool, just like your father. Perhaps it is that Blackwood blood in you that makes you so like that. A shame really, for I was truly hoping we might resolve this without violence." Frey responds.

At that, Rickard sees the men of the hall move forward their swords raised. Rickard's own men draw their weapons at a nod from him, and he looks at the old man on the throne before him. "You do not want to do this Walder. This is a big mistake."

"The only mistake I made was not killing you when you were a boy." Frey responds.

Frey claps his hands then and his men advance forward, Rickard draws his own sword then and moves toward the steps of the throne, he kills those men who come before him to try and stop him, and moves toward the old man sat shrivelled on the throne. He points his sword at Walder Frey and says. "Call off your men, or meet death."

The old man merely looks at him and snarls. "You would not dare. The Prince would have you killed."

Rickard thrusts his sword inside the old man and responds. "The prince is a dead man."