Hello all my devoted readers. Sorry I haven't updated sooner, End of Financial year madness had been making work busier than usual and a tired brain can't crate excellent chapters. I promise to try to do my best to update more regularly. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 18 – A day both Good and Bad
But knowing what was coming, he had to find a way to make the Wildlings, Nights Watch and the Lords of the North to work together.
Somehow
Ned frowned as he went over the wording of what Greatjon had said. Why find out why they're gathering and to only kill them if they come south of the Wall? That wasn't like his old friend. The Umber's and Wildlings have been killing each other for centuries beyond counting so why the change of tradition all of a sudden.
Ned decided to find out.
"Lord Umber, as all know, you and your people have hated the wildings and have never let them live so I find it a little strange that you would not want to take advantage of the Wildlings being gathered in one place to take them all out once and for all." Ned questioned Greatjon.
The Greatjon looked at Ned with a serious expression on his face.
"Aye, normally I would but I've been questioning the wildlings before I have them executed and of late, they've been telling some strange stories. Now normally, I wouldn't believe them if they told me the sky was blue but too many of them, all of them from different clans, who all hate each other's guts mind you, all tell the same stories and I'm not liking what I've heard."
Greatjon answered in a deadly serious tone that most had never heard before. They were now all curious as to what could be so bad that Lord Umber was willing to leave the gathering of Wildlings alone without demanding their immediate execution.
"And what stories do they tell you My Lord that makes you hesitate to take advantage of this situation?" Ned asked him. Lord Umber looked at the gathered Lords with a deadly serious face to match his voice.
"All of them say the same thing. That the White Walkers and those with blue eyes have returned. The dead north of the Wall walk once again."
The gathered Lords and Ladies, roared in protest and denial. Quite a few of them were insulting Lord Umber's intelligence to believe such things. Before Ned could restore order, Greatjon beat him to it.
"SHUT UP!" his voice overpowered all others in the room, instantly silencing them all.
"I am neither stupid nor gullible but as I said earlier, all of those I've spoken to have come from different clans from different places north of the Wall and some of those places are very north indeed and all of them hate the others. They wouldn't co-operate like this just to speak of fairy tales. Now, whether this is true or not, I know not and neither do I care but I do care about the fact that there is SOMETHING that is making them gather is such huge numbers. I'm now more inclined to believe that it is for safety and protection more than an attack on the Wall, but we must find out the truth of the matter first."
The fact that it was Greatjon Umber, a known hater of the Wildlings, saying this, made them pause and think about what he was saying instead of rejecting it outright.
Ned was very pleased. Without knowing, Greatjon Umber had just stated the very thing that Ned was going to propose and the fact that it was Greatjon saying it was just a bonus.
"I find myself in agreement with Lord Umber. We must find out the truth of why the Wildlings gather in such numbers. I myself will be heading up to Castle Black in order to find out what they know of this and what their situation is. If the Wildlings choose to attack the Wall, the Watch has not the numbers to hold them off for long. The Wall can passed. This is something we all know. I believe that we should send an envoy under peace banners to speak with their leader. This King Beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder. I volunteer to head this party. I would like to ask for representatives of each of the Houses to come with me in order to hear the truth. This is problem that will affect everyone so I believe everyone should know the truth up front."
Ned told them what he wished to do and hoped that the rest of them would see the sense of this plan and agree. He needed them to believe in at least the possibility of the return of their ancient foe or all would perish in cold and darkness only to rise again in service to the Night King.
"Will the Wildlings honour such banners? After all, they are a most uncivilised and savage people. I am unsure if we should trust them on this." Lord Manderly of White Harbour asked Ned.
"Strangely enough, yes, if a Stark is involved. We share the same blood. The blood of the First Men and while yes, they are a uncivilised people as we would define it, they have their own sense of honour and will not attack a party under peace banners who are only seeking to talk and if the Lord of Winterfell is involved, they will be at least willing to hear us out and speak to us as to their intentions. After all, the Lords of Winterfell have been the Wardens of the North since time untold. If the Wildlings have intentions concerning south of the Wall, they know they must deal with me."
"The Wall can be passes? The dead walk again? An ancient foe returned? I think that the long summer had melted your brain Lord Umber. The Wall had stood between the realms of men and the Wildings for eight thousand years and has never fallen. I don't believe it suddenly will now. It protects us from the Wildling menace. I say let them gather and let them come. They won't make it south. The Wall and the Watch will protect us." Was the comment coming from Rickard Karlstark.
"I find myself in agreement with Lord Karlstark. You are asking us to believe the old tales are true after all" came from Roose Bolton. Other lords murmured their agreement.
"Fools. The Wildlings gather in numbers never seen before and you don't care as to why? The simple fact that they ARE gathering is history making in itself and we need to know why. The safety of our people rests on us and if the Wildlings or hells, even the Walkers kill them, then their blood will be on our hands and it will stain our honour and shame the North. I for one will not forget my duty to defend my people. House Mormont will send a represented to join Lord Stark. We are loyal. We remember our duty. Do YOU My Lords?" Lady Madge Mormont's scornful voice lashed the disgruntled lords.
From where he was sitting, Jon smiled and tried not to laugh aloud. He now knew that Lady Lyanna got her temperament from her very formidable and intimidating Aunt. 'Gods, I love that family' Jon thought to himself in fond remembrance of when a young girl shamed the greatest lords of the North into making him, a bastard, their King.
Ned had to conceal his smile. Madge Mormont was one scary lady and Ned was always careful to stay on her good side. The Mormont's were their most loyal Bannermen in the North. Jon's stories of Lady Lyanna in the Time Before had made Ned laugh more than he had in a good long while and felt happy with the knowledge that House Mormont of Bear Island would be in good hands for some time to come.
After Lady Mormont's very public shaming of those lords who thought it a waste of time to investigate, the rest of the houses all volunteered to send a represented of their house to the Wall when Ned was due to go there.
It was then that Ned informed them of the current state of the Nights Watch and what he was trying to do to rectify it. He asked his bannermen to send prisoners, supplies and any willing recruits to the Wall and received unanimous agreement. It was when Ned informed them of Tyrion's contribution to the Watch he realised that he was going to have a major problem on his hands.
He never should have mentioned Tyrion.
"Yes, "Lord" Tyrion Lannister. Please Lord Stark, may we know why you are harbouring an enemy of the North in your house without taking him prisoner? After all, the Lannister's hate the North and would see us destroyed if they could" Lady Dustin of House Dustin asked in a tone that just bordered on rude.
Ned silently cursed. He should have realised that someone would ask about Tyrion sooner or later. As he was thinking on how to answer the question, a surprising defence came from Robb.
"Aye, a Lannister he is but Lord Tyrion is nothing like the rest of his family. He had been nothing but polite and courteous, causing us no trouble. To be honest with you My Lords and Ladies, I have spoken to Lord Tyrion a number of time on the subject of his family and while he hold love for his brother and a few others, he assures me that the rest of his family would happily sacrifice his life if it gained them something for they love him not. Also, I would like to remind you that Lord Tyrion is here under the protection of House Stark as our honoured guest."
Robb's threat was clear. Tyrion Lannister's life was not to be taken. He was under the protection of guest rights and none would break it. To the North, honour was a sacred thing and one who would break guest rights would be forever cursed and dishonoured.
"As for your concern Lady Dustin about the Lannisters hating the North and wish to destroy us, I would like to say that even if that were true, Tywin Lannister is no fool. He knows that the North is a formidable foe if roused and that we also have many friends in the south that would rise for us in our hour of need. Tywin would be trapped between two armies from both the North and south and would be utterly crushed. Tywin isn't that stupid." Robb finished off.
Ned was proud of his son. He would make a fine Lord of Winterfell when the time comes. Ned knew he had to go south when Robert asked him to become his Hand, but now felt more comfortable about leaving Winterfell and the North in Robb's hands.
Ned knew he needed to squash the notion that the Lannister's were the root of all the realm's evils. As much as he wished he could blame them for all the ill's the realm currently suffered, he knew that most of that blame lay on Robert, Aerys, Rhaegar, Lyanna and himself.
"We will speak no more on this. The Lannisters are not currently up to any mischief and while Tywin and Queen Cersei will be watched closely, no action shall be taken against them without solid proof. Have I made myself clear?" Ned asked in a voice that encouraged no disagreement. The gathered Lords and Ladies agreed and Ned decided to bring this meeting to a close.
"Good. Now before we finish, I wish to finalise the arrangements for the representatives. I will be sending out ravens when I depart Winterfell for Castle Black. I will wait two weeks at Castle Black for the representatives to arrive. Then when those two weeks are up, I and the representatives that are there, will venture north of the Wall in order to try and speak to Mance Rayder." Ned laid out the plans he had been thinking about since he first found out about the wildlings gathering.
"Excuse me; may I make a suggestion my Lords and Ladies?" All heads turned to Jon Stark, the bastard who was raised to nobility. Ned wondered what Jon was about to suggest.
"Go ahead Jon"
"I would like to suggest, in order to make it easier to speak to Mance Rayder, is that when you catch wildlings on your land, spare at least one of them and return them to Castle Black to be released back north of the Wall, with a message."
"And what message would you send Jon?"
"I would send something like "Lord Stark wishes to parley with the King Beyond the Wall. Meet at such and such a place on this day and this time to speak of matters concerning the Wildlings and the North" or something similar. This will make it easier to find them. North of the Wall is vast and if they decide to hide from us, we'd never find them." Jon's voice took on the command tone that he had developed at Castle Black during his time as Lord Commander.
Greatjon Umber eyed Jon. 'Hmm, this bastard may be worthy of the name Stark yet' he thought to himself. The others may think him a hot headed idiot; Greatjon Umber was actually quite shrewd. He had spoken to both Jon and Tyrion during the name day celebration and had formed his own opinion on both.
He actually respected Tyrion. The half man's jokes and bluntness, combined with his intelligent and shrewd insights made him a rather interesting and amusing person who Greatjon wished to know better. He found he respected what Tyrion had done for the Nights Watch and for that alone would give the little Lord a chance.
Besides, anyone who could drink him under the table was okay in his book.
Jon though, he wasn't too sure what to make of him. Greatjon had sensed a change in the boy. In the past, Jon usually stayed away from visiting Lords but had at times interacted with them in the course of his duties. Greatjon had found him to be a polite boy but sullen and broody but now, he seemed too mature for his years. He had a more serious, wiser air about him these days. As if he'd lived through horrors.
They had a very interesting conversation about the Wildlings and the history of the north's never ending battle with them. Jon had informed him that the original purpose of those they called Wildlings was as an advanced scout/warning system should the Night King ever raise his armies and come south again.
What had surprised Greatjon was Jon had read it in a very old book that belonged to House Umber. Apparently, written in the founder of his House's own hand was a full account of the Great War, what had happened, the real reason for the Wall and the purpose of those First Men who choose to stay north of the Wall. Apparently, all this time, he had been killing his kin. Distant kin, but, still kin.
All the while he was looking at Greatjon with the haunted eyes of a veteran who had seen too much death. It confused Greatjon and he was determined to get to the bottom of this but resolved that he could take his time.
"The suggestion is a good one. I'll agree with it." Greatjon stated his agreement while the rest of the gathered gave theirs.
Ned sighed in relief. Things were starting to progress. Slowly, but, surely. He only hoped that things would continue to go smoothly at least for the next year or so. They needed this time to prepare for what was to come. Ned had to make sure the North was strong and prepared to face their ancient enemy once again.
Ned thanked them for attending the meeting and dismissed them. After they left Ned relaxed a little. He had been worried that there would be more opposition to what he proposed but decided to take it as a win. He knew he wouldn't always be so lucky. He still had much to do but one of the harder parts was over with. The Lords and Ladies of the North would support him and with luck, they will accept that they must work beside old enemies when the time comes to defend the realms of men from the Night King and the cold death he brings with him.
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#
While the meeting was going on, Catelyn Stark, Lady of Winterfell was on a mission and those who would feel her wrath would be spoken of for generations to come in fear. In this case it wasn't a poor servant or an idiotic lord who had attracted her wrath. No, it was her children she had in her sights. As she stalked though the halls on her way to the room where her children were waiting for her, Cat thought on what must be done.
Cat would speak to Robb later about his lack of responsibility when it came to attending lessons and wish to determine for herself how well trained he was in politics and his duties as the future Lord of Winterfell but at this moment, the other four were in a world of trouble.
Especially, her daughters.
She had cornered Ned this morning before he left her rooms and asked him if Tyrion had told her the truth about what had happened with her girls. Ned told her that what Tyrion had told her was true but had left out how close the girls were to throwing punches at each other. Tyrion had intervened so it wouldn't happen.
Cat had been appalled at her daughter's behaviour and disgusted with herself as she knew this was her fault. She had been too focused on Robb and Sansa and not enough on her younger children, especially Arya.
She had made her father's mistake, the same mistake all Lords make when it comes to their children. She had stopped seeing them as her children and started seeing them as pawns to be used to secure the loyalty of various houses by marriage. She loved her children fiercely, but she knew that she had stopped seeing them as individuals and that their happiness would be sacrificed for duty.
Cat had made some decisions.
She had spoken to Madge Mormont and arranged for Arya to be fostered on Bear Island for a while. She knew Arya would never be a proper Southern lady so Cat would settle for a well-mannered and educated Northern one and the She-Bears of Bear Island were a perfect example of a Northern Lady and it would make Arya happy to be away from her sister and in a place where what she was capable of would be appreciated regardless of the fact she was a girl.
All Cat wanted was for her children to be happy.
Bran was a little young to be fostered but when she had told Ned of her plans for Arya, Ned suggested that Bran would benefit from being fostered at Greywater Watch with Howland Reed and his children. Cat had been against it but Ned had argued his case and in the end, Cat agreed that it would be good for Bran and there were no tall buildings form him to climb Cat had thought humorously to herself.
Of course, had she been aware that Ned had ulterior motives for suggesting Bran go to Greywater Watch and what those reasons were; she might have killed him and definitely wouldn't have let him send Bran away.
They had both agreed that Rickon was too young to be fostered and so would stay at Winterfell for a while yet.
Sansa though was a problem.
Sansa was twelve and was very much caught up in stories of gallant knights, beautiful Ladies, charming Princes and brave and just Kings. She believed the songs and stories were real and it had given her a very rose coloured view of the world.
She had been brought up within the Walls of Winterfell her whole life, sheltered away from the harshness of the real world with a septa filling her head with useless information that wouldn't keep her alive if she was ever to become involved in the royal court. Sansa wasn't even prepared to run a small household let alone a great house like Winterfell or Highgarden or Casterly Rock. She was innocent, naive and woefully unprepared for what the real world holds for girls like her.
Like or not and Cat didn't like it at all, Sansa was going to have to be told a few hard truths about how the real world works then re-educated so she wouldn't get killed. She also agreed with Ned on the self-defence lessons for the girls. She now didn't care if it was un-lady like, her precious daughters would learn how to defend themselves from those who would hurt them and use them in unspeakable ways.
As Cat approached the room she heard loud angry voices coming from within. As she reached the doorway she could hear Arya yelling at her sister,
"….AND I HATE YOU! I WISH YOU WERE DEAD!"
Cat hastened into the room just in time to see Sansa slap her sister across her cheek and Arya pull a knife out of sleeve in return, a look of violence and anger in her eyes.
"YOU WILL STOP THIS MADNESS NOW! ARYA PUT THE KNIFE DOWN AND BOTH OF YOU SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET!" Cat roared at the top of her voice.
Both Arya and Sansa froze for a moment before an angry glare from their mother convinced them to comply with haste. Arya put the knife she had stolen from the armoury on the table in front of the seats and sat down in a chair as far away from Sansa as she could get. Sansa also sat down and quietly started to sob.
Cat was furious and in shock at the same time. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed and was now more convinced than ever that she needed to deal with this situation between her daughters now. Cat looked around the room and saw Bran and Rickon cowering in a corner.
"It's alright boys" Cat said to them as she went over to them and gathered them up in a hug. "You two may go. I need to deal with your sisters. We shall speak later but for now off you go." She smiled at the two boys and ushered them out of the room and closed the door behind them. She stayed turned towards the door for a moment, gathering her thoughts and trying to control her anger.
Cat turned back towards the girls and started to walk back towards where they were sitting when she saw Arya open her mouth to say something.
"Not. One. Word. Arya." She warned her youngest daughter, her tone indicating that here would be no mercy if she said anything.
Cat had been terrified when she saw Arya pull the knife out of her sleeve and the wild, angry, vengeful look in her eyes had worried Cat to the depths of her soul. She knew that right now she had to deal with Arya alone.
Sansa being here while there was still so much anger would only make things harder. Sansa was still sobbing but this time, Cat didn't feel a shred of sympathy for her. Sansa only cried like that when she was truly guilty of something. Something Sansa had said or done had provoked a response from Arya and whatever had been spoken before she got there had only made things worse because Sansa had slapped her sister and in return, Arya had pulled a knife on her sister, ready to retaliate with violence.
That much anger in a young girl wasn't natural.
Ned was right; there was something very wrong with Arya.
Next chapter, Cat deals with Arya and the rest of her children and now things are starting to move in the North, other plans are starting to be made.