NOTE - It has been far too long, but here is Chapter Four. Enjoy

Kevan

He looked over the walls of Cornfield. It was a traditional motte and bailey, a small stone castle atop a mound, with a solid wooden wall at the base. Beyond this was the village of Cornfield, surrounded by another wooden wall. Such villages sprung up around castles across Westeros, but the lords who built walls to protect these villages were few. Harys Swyft was not a lord though, he was merely the Knight of Cornfield. His castle was small and wooden, and would present no obstacle to any serious assault, but clearly Swyft had made good use of his loans from Kevan's father. One of the wooden towers had been replaced by stone, and another was half-finished.

As Kevan rode forward with a guard of twenty men, the drawbridge came down and he rode through the village. The Lannisters were not popular here, he could tell. Some sniggered at him as he passed, while others cursed outright, and one threw dung at the men following him. They think us weak.

His reception at Deep Den had been better, but the Lyddens were close enough to the Rock to still respect the power of the golden lion, especially now Tywin had returned, but at Wyndhall, the seat of House Estren, it had been different. Lord Reginald had not had the money, and when he refused to hand over his son, things nearly got ugly. Luckily, Kevan's resolve lasted longer than Estren's, and his youngest son Regenard was now on his way back to the Rock as insurance that his father would repay his loans.

Ser Harys sat in a carved oaken chair, with the blue rooster on yellow of his house displayed with pride behind him. Swyft looked a bit like a rooster himself, with thin, bandy legs and a weak chin barely covered by a thin goatee. He had gone to war when Tytos had instructed, but his contribution of men had been minimal. To his sides were his children. On one side his son, who was younger than Kevan, and on the other his daughters. The eldest Kevan knew, as she had accompanied her father when he joined their army at the start of the war, though he could not remember her name. The youngest was unknown to him.

"Welcome Ser Kevan," Harys began, "How may I help you?"

"I have been sent by my brother to collect your debts to House Lannister."

"Yes, I heard that Tywin had assumed control. I did not believe you would so easily go against your father."

"My father is weak."

"As you say. As you no doubt saw when you entered, Kevan, the money your father loaned me was long-term, with the understanding that I would be unable to repay it for some time. It was for critical building work, for which the wealth of my own lands was insufficient."

"I am aware of the terms, Ser Harys, but the fact remains. If you cannot pay now, I am to take one of your children back to the Rock with me."

"You would take a hostage? I am a loyal man!"

"Of that I have no doubt, Ser. Yet we cannot have one rule for one and another for another. Your son will come with us."

"Not my boy. Steffon is my only son, my heir."

"That is the way it must be."

Then the girl stepped forward, "Let me go, father. I am old enough to look after myself."

"Dorna..." Harys rasied a hand to object, then sighed. "Is this acceptable to you, Ser Kevan?"

Kevan looked at the young woman and nodded, "It is."

"Very well, she will join you tomorrow."

"She will come with us now. We must march on."

Harys again seemed to think about objecting before he gave way, "As you wish. The lion has awoken, and how can a rooster resist?"

You chicken. Kevan smiled at his own, simple humour.

The Swyft girl rode beside him as they left. She was not attractive, not by any conventional standards anyway. She was not gifted with the curves of a beautiful woman, yet her face was kind. She had very little chin, but a bright smile. Kevan found himself inexplicably drawn to this woman.

"So," he began, "Does your father plan to replace all the towers?"

"Hopefully, in time." She said, smiling shyly, "But the north tower was crumbling, and the west was worse, so he only asked for the money to repair them to begin with."

Kevan was suspicious, "Repair them, or replace them?"

"I know to what you refer, ser, but do not presume to test me," she suddenly became fierce, though it subsided quickly, "I am sorry, my lord, I should not speak to you that way."

"Do not apologise for that, it has been too long since I have had a discussion like this," he replied, "and I am no lord, merely a knight."

"My father said you were knighted by Barristan the Bold."

"I have that honour."

She glanced around, as if checking to see if she was being watched, before whispering, "Is what my father says true? That your brother has deposed your father?"

"No. Tywin has not deposed my father. Lord Tytos is still the Lord of Casterly Rock, but Tywin has assumed the rule." His stiffness in replying must have given away how uncomfortable he found the subject, as she instantly apologised again.

"Forgive me," she said, "I ask too much of you."

"Not at all, my lady." He replied, "I quite enjoy speaking with you."

"You are a bad liar Kevan Lannister." She teased him. She's playing with me. He realised, and decided to respond in kind

"And you, Dorna Swyft, are too clever for your own good."

She smiled, and went shy again, blushing to the roots of her straw-like hair. Kevan knew now, there was something different about her.