It's my Birthday! So here's my present to you!
My thanks to Aragorn II Ellassar for eyeballing my most recent chapters before I post them. Your input has been valuable and appreciated my friend.
As always I hope you enjoy this chapter and please don't forget to leave me a review.
Warning: Dark theme later in the chapter. Possible triggers
Chapter 44 – The Real meaning of Fear
The two leaders stared at each other, hands clasped together, both of them trying to out squeeze the other but failing.
"We done yet?" Mance asked Robert with a smile.
Robert laughed and let go of Mance's hand.
"Yeah we're done."
Everyone present breathed a silent sigh of relief.
"So, King beyond the Wall huh? What's that like?" Robert asked him curiously.
Mance laughed.
"It's not what you think your Grace. I'm not actually their king in the same way you are here. I'm just a man who had a plan to get them to safety before the Others awoke fully. It took me almost twenty years to gather the clans I have with me here. It took a lot of fast talking and a few fights for me to win my people's respect. They follow me because I had the strength and knowledge to save them and save them I have!" Mance stated that last part proudly.
It had taken a horrendous amount of effort on Mance's part to pull this off. The fact that Eddard Stark had been willing to listen and allow them to shelter behind the Wall for the long winter and the fight that comes with it was more than Mance had hoped for in his wildest dreams! He had been so sure that the only way he would get his people to safety was to attack the Wall and force his way through and only after his people were safe, start banging the heads of the Northern Lords and the Night's Watch together in order to get them to see that they had to stand together just to survive.
Robert's respect for this man had taken a few jumps upwards. What he had done was nothing short of miraculous!
As Robert understood it, the Free Folk were usually a fractious lot, living in small family clans or villages of several small clans that banded together for safety from some of the bigger, more violently inclined clans and didn't have any real sort of organised government other than a few universally respected elders and clan leaders, so for almost all the clans to unite together under one man for one singular purpose spoke volumes to the assembled Lords about exactly how good of a leader that this man, who stood before them in primitive furs, really was.
Mance now turned his attention to the rest of the group standing behind the King. His memory had always been excellent but his information about the current state of the Seven Kingdoms was a bit out of date. Still, he recognized most of the major players assembled before him.
"Lord Stannis Baratheon, Lord Tywin Lannister, Lord Keven Lannister, I'm pleased to finally meet you. Ser Brendyn Tully, now this is an honour. Even north of the Wall, we know of the Knight of the Bloody Gate. Our southern cousin's sing your praises as one of the greatest warriors of the Vale even as they curse your existence into oblivion. You have definitely earned their respect Ser. Ser Barristan and Ser Jamie, again it's an honour." Mance greeted them. The Lords nodded their greetings as Brendyn shook Mance's hand and asked him a question.
"You southern cousins? Do you mean the mountain men of the Vale? They're a fair bit more savage then you and yours appear to be if you don't mind my saying."
"Yes, the mountain tribes of the Vale are our cousins and the last Free Folk South of the Wall, until recently anyway. They're also a lot more stubborn then we of the true north. They refused to flee with us when your Andal ancestors invaded the Vale and were forced further into the mountains then is usually advisable. I'm afraid that the climate and harsh conditions they've been forced to endure for thousands of years have made them savage in order to survive. We grieve for our cousin's plight but unfortunately we were not in a position to help as the Wall and the seas provide impossible barriers for us…or at least they were until recently. Now we're here, I'm hoping the current Warden of the Vale might allow us to attempt to help our cousins ease their lot in life."
"Do you think you can convince them to leave?" Brendyn asked hopefully.
Mance and his companions laughed in genuine amusement while everyone else look at them in confusion.
"They're Free Folk." Ygritte said with a grin as if it explained everything which to Jon, Tyrion and Sam.
"I'm not sure I understand." Stannis commented.
"It's all in the name my Lord. Free Folk. They do as they please and no one can tell them otherwise. The Andals stole their ancestral lands by force or trickery and ousted them from their rightful home. They swore to fight the Andals until the day they free the Vale and reclaimed it from the thieving Andal invaders and they will. They swore a Blood Feud against the Lords of the Vale and its people. They'll never bend the knee to you or anyone." Tyrion explained recounting the history as it had been told to him by his friends of the Vale Mountain tribes. Tyrion actually missed the barbarians. They were crude, uncivilized and astonishingly savage but quite a lot of fun once you got past that.
He couldn't pass a goat these days without fondly remembering Shagga's favourite threat of cutting off cocks and feeding them to goats. It always made him smile.
"Trying to get the Free Folk to change their minds once they've set their minds to do something is impossible. Honestly it would be easier to heard cats. At least you can occasionally bribe a cat with food." Was Mance's resigned reply.
Jon coughed to cover the laughter that wanted to come out as he knew exactly what Mance was talking about. He may have saved them from Hardhome but those he had saved had only helped him because they wanted too. There had been plenty of them who had told him to fuck off when he had approached them for their help with Ramsey Bolton.
"So that would be a no then. Bugger, I was hoping that they would finally give up and return to the north with your lot after the war is done but I guess it's not to be." Ser Brendyn groused.
The eerie screams of the undead sounded though the air one more, reminding them why they were all here.
Jon instinctively grasped the hilt of No One, hidden beneath his cloak unknown to his father. There was no way he was going anywhere near wights without something on his person that will stop them dead. His father had yet to inform the assembled Lords about the huge stockpile of Valyrian steel that was hidden in the depths of Winterfell's endless buildings and had decreed that no one would wield a valyrian steel sword while they were here as it was too obvious and questions would need to be answered that would derail them from the very important reason they were here for.
Besides, his Northern Queen was a highly visible blade to begin with and despite its unusual colouring, the distinct ripple pattern that only happens in properly forged valyrian steel was unmistakable and questions would be asked of him that Jon couldn't or wouldn't be able to answer.
While Jon was musing to himself, Jory and Sam were circulating among the small escort that was currently surrounding them each holding a bag and from those bags dragonglass knives were being extracted and handed to every person in the party as a precaution.
Tywin studied the glass knife with interests. He had seen such glass artefacts before back home but those had been primitive and crude. Knives and arrow heads chipped away from its source rock and flaked into shape by providing pressure against the fairly brittle stone. These knives though, were works of art compared to those. Tywin was sure that the glass stone had somehow been re-melted into its more liquid form and poured into a mould.
The Westerlands, like all the Kingdoms had been one been a home to the Children of the Forrest in the days before the Andals had driven them out for good and samples of their work could still be found to this day, although it was rare to find them. The First Men had also warred with the ancient beings but had come first to an alliance during the war and then to peaceful terms with them after the War for he Dawn, back in the Age of Heroes. Although if things turn out the way circumstances were indicating, there would be a second Age of Heroes and another war for the Dawn.
One that they had to win.
The wights screamed once again.
"What the fuck are they screaming about and how do we make them stop?!" Robert growled to the party at large.
"Unnerving isn't it?" Mace asked them with a grim smile.
He had heard those screams for almost twenty years now and he knew that even if they won the war and he survived, he'd hear those screams for the rest of his life.
"You seem to have mastered the gift of understatement King Mance." Keven uttered to him, his voice only had a slight waver to it.
Mance's grim continence lifted for a moment.
"Beyond the Wall, you either laugh at life or cry and it's too damn cold to cry. And it's Mance, just Mance. I'm no one's King." He replied.
"You sure about that Mance? Besides I'm not so sure that Mance Rayder your name now. I'm almost positive that your name is now "Hey Mance, you fucking cunt!" Least that's what everyone's been calling ya." Ygritte sniggered along with Severn and everyone else present except Tywin and Stannis.
Ygritte was only teasing the older man. She actually admired him and pitied him in turns. Trying to keep the Free Folk in line was a gruelling, thankless job but Mance carried it off with a style that could not be denied.
"Thank you Ygritte." Mance's sourly muttered to her.
"Your welcome." Was her pert but unhelpful reply.
"We seemed to have strayed away from the main point. We are here to see proof of wights then let us see proof." Tywin interjected before someone else did.
The previously humorous atmosphere disappeared as they were reminded of their grim purpose here.
"Indeed. Proof you shall see. Ser Brendyn, if you would please?" Ned said.
The Blackfish nodded and motioned to the two men standing off to one side who then approached the steel door. Brynden removed three different keys from his person and proceeded to unlock the locks while one of the men removed the trick handle and replaced it with the real one. With the door unlocked and ready to be opened, they waited for the go ahead from Ned.
"You are here to see proof of the ancient enemy. One who hasn't been seen or hear from for over eight thousand years. Those dragonglass knives are a last resort only should they break free of their bonds. I beg of you, not to do anything stupid. They may be dead but they're fast and deadly and I've no desire to inform your families of your deaths due to stupidity." Ned solemnly told them as he looked over the assembled group.
"We won't all fit, the guards will need to stay out here, Ser Barristan and Ser Jamie may come but that's the limit of people we can fit and still be able to withdraw to safety in good order."
The various lords nodded to Ned and turned to their respective escorts to pass on instructions. When they were ready, Ned nodded his head to Brynden and his men to open the door.
The two men grasped the handle and pulled hard. The door was perfectly made and balanced so it would open and close without issue but it was heavy! It took both men with Brynden helping them to get it all the way open.
Jon eyed the opening door with great interest.
His father certainly had done his homework. The heavy steel door was an excellent deterrent to any normal enemy but his father had improved upon the idea by adding dragonglass that had been stuck to the back of the door, sharp points pointing inward when the door was closed, making it a deadly trap, protecting the door from being forced open from the inside.
"Dragonglass again?" Stannis asked curiously while studying the door as well.
Ned nodded once again.
"It covers the interior walls as well. The ancient tales speak of a "liquid fire made stone" that can kill both wights and Others. After doing a lot more research I found out that it meant obsidian, dragonglass. The "liquid fire" of a volcano that turns into a hard glassy stone when it cooled. There must be some sort of magical or supernatural quality to the stone that somehow stops the Other's magic."
While Ned had been talking, Jon had walked up to the now open door and glanced inside, quickly eyeballing the room layout and an idea came to him. He walked over to Brynden Tully and spoke quietly with him. The Blackfish listened to him closely and asked a question. Jon gave his answer and Brynden nodded his head in agreement and turned to speak to one of the men who had helped to open the door. The man quickly rushed off to do as he'd been asked while the other one grabbed a fresh torch unlit from the supply kept by the door and headed inside.
Jon returned to Sam's side.
"What did you do?" Sam asked him knowingly. He knew that look.
Jon gave a grim smile.
"Making sure we get the outcome we need."
Sam gave him a confused look.
"You'll see." Was all he said.
"Just a moment, we're waiting for some reinforcements. I'll not take any chances with the king here." As Brynden spoke, six men appeared along with the first man Brynden sent off. They all gave a quick bow to the King and the other lords before they filed into the building's dark interior. They waited a short while outside. Noises floated out of the darkened doorway, then went silent.
"There, now we can go in."
And putting actions to his words, the Blackfish entered the building before the King did.
"Shall we?" Robert asked the assembled group as he entered behind the Blackfish.
They entered only to find themselves standing on a stone platform roughly fifteen feet long by eight or nine feet wide. Before them was a trench that was roughly knee high and six feet wide. The interior walls we're covered in dragonglass shards as well. They could see the remains of old coals sticking up out of the sand that had been used to smother the fire that had been burning in there just that morning. There was a step that had been carved into the side of the platform they were standing on that allowed access to the fire moat and another step carved into the platform on the other side of the fire moat which was completely surrounded the central platform.
The central platform was a twenty foot by twenty foot and square in shape, also built with stone. It was bare of everything except four torch holders, one dug into the ground at each corner to provide light and three large crates that had been moved from their previous position in the centre of the platform to the far end. They could see anchor points and chains on the ground in the centre, proof that the crates had recently be secured there.
Sam was highly impressed. If he had to design a wight proof prison, this would be the model he would choose to base his designs on. It was as close to wight proof as a prison could get.
Jon was impressed and incredibly proud of his father. Obviously he had given a lot of thought on how to contain something that's never been seen before in living memory and their ancestors hadn't been big on taking prisoners. They had just killed any wight that they came across, no exceptions, so his father had to improvise a little.
The Blackfish waved at them from the central platform.
"Come on over. It's safe, the fire is out. You'll get a better view from here then from over there." He taunted them when they seemed reluctant to join him any closer than they were now.
Jon snorted in amusement and waked over to join him, Tyrion and Sam joining him. Robb wasn't there, having been left back at Winterfell for this excursion.
"The fearlessness of youth or do I mean folly?" Ser Barristan pondered aloud much to the amusement of the older men still standing on the platform near the open door.
"Come on, you can't possibly be afraid of a dead body can you?" Tyrion taunted his father and uncle.
"Grr, cheeky young pups! I'll show you afraid!" Robert growled at them as he forced himself to move forward and join them on the centre platform, although the boys noticed that he stayed very close to the edge of it. The three Free Folk though stayed next to the door having seen and dealt with more wights up close and personal then they cared to.
When all of them were finally on the platform, they waited in silence, not sure what to expect next. The crates had been designed to open by having the lid attached to the bottom of the crate and falling downward and out to rest on the floor, three steel struts attached to the lid secured the lid to the rear of the crate, making it so when it was time to open the crates, one could stand behind the crate in relative safety and push the lid open without going near it.
The Blackfish looked at the extra men standing behind the crates at the other end of the platform.
"Now."
Not one lid as they expected but three crate lids came crashing down and for a moment there was complete silence.
Then hell broke out of the dark.
Three wights came rushing out, bright blue eyes shining brightly, snarling, screeching and grunting, arms stretched in front of as they raced straight towards the group of living beings in front of them.
One was a reasonably freshly dead body, the rot and smell hadn't had time to start before the corpse had been raise. The second one was older or had been eaten by animals as it was missing a lot of flesh. The third one was almost completely skeletal. There remained just enough of the ligaments and muscle tissue for the wight to move and while it moved as fast as the others, it was also a lot stiffer in its movements then the other two.
Fifteen feet away, ten feet, five, they were so fast! The collective group hadn't had time to react until they were almost upon them, ice blue eyes glinting with mindless bloodlust and evil, when suddenly all three were jerked backwards away from them by the chains that were attached to the collars around their necks. Two men per chain heaved backwards while three others strode forward armed with long T shaped polls and in conjunction with the men on the chains, proceeded to push them back towards the crates.
Jon, Sam and Tyrion studied the reactions of the men in front of them with great interest.
Ned was pale as snow and just as frozen but as he had already seen a wight, he would recover the fastest. Robert was completely silent and had shit himself if the smell coming from him was any indication. He had at first yelled in fright and quickly stepped backward, only to find no ground beneath his foot. He had fallen backwards into the cold fire moat and hadn't moved since. He was in total shock. Stannis hadn't shit himself but he lost control of his legs and had landed hard on his ass. The always conservative and rational man was pale and while his mouth was opening and closing, not a single sound was heard.
Jon's head turned when he heard someone throwing up. Jamie Lannister, paler then a ghost had rushed over to the side of the platform, dropped to his knees and threw up over the side. Jon was slightly stunned that Jamie had reacted like that but he had to remind himself that this was not the Jamie Lannister he had known and eventually came to respect. Keven Lannister was doing the same as his nephew. Ser Barristan was shaking like a leaf, pale and breathing fast and heavy. Jon was worried that the shock might be too much for the old knight's heart as he was on the verge of a panic attack. He'd actually pissed himself in the puddle under his feet was any indication.
Tywin however, was another story. He was rocked to the core, his world view completely changed in that moment, deathly pale and wide eyed in shock. He had just seen legends come to full, horrifying life and all he could do was stare at his son who had shown no reaction what so ever at what had just happened and neither had the other two boys.
Just what was going on here?
Ned recovered quickly with a shudder of dread running down his spine. He'd knew he'd just gotten a small taste of what the boys had felt the first time a dead horde had descended upon them.
It was one thing to see a single wight, frightening but ultimately not much of a danger on its own but it was quite another to see a group of them heading straight for you.
Ned stared at the the abominations as the wights were once again being secured in their crates, his mind was recovering from the fright he'd just been handed.
"That's enough for today I think. If you need to see them again, they'll be here. Let us leave this place. I don't know about all of you but I could really use a strong drink right now." Ned gathered himself and started to herd the group back towards the entrance. He walked over to Robert.
"Robert, Robert? Come on, snap out of it." He spoke to his king while gently slapping him on the cheek in order to get a reaction.
"Ned? What? Gods what's that bloody smell? Someone shit themselves?" Robert asked, coming out of the fog he had been lost in.
Ned chuckled.
"Yeah, you did. Come on, the smell in here is bad enough. Let's get you cleaned up and get some ale into you."
Jon was the last to leave the platform. He was about to step onto the sand in the moat when he the Blackfish urgently shouted out.
"Watch out! It's loose! Get back, get back now!"
Jon spun around and sure enough, one of the wights had managed to pull against his chain hard enough to jerk it out of the men's hands and send them flailing. The wight then made quick work of the man in front of it who had been helping the other two get it back into its crate by snapping his neck.
Jon rushed up onto the platform, dragonglass dagger in one hand and No One was ripped free of its hiding place as he rushed to meet it.
The dead body with ice blue eyes snarled and lunged for Jon who spun out of the way, just barely missing being hit by the creature. While he was well acquainted with exactly how fast these things could get, his younger body wasn't as conditioned as his older one had been and he was a bit slower reacting than he was used to. Still, he was just fast enough and that was all he needed.
"JON!"
Ned, Tyrion and Sam all cried out in fear while the others stared in fear and fascination.
Jon however paid no attention. All his focus was on the wight in front of him for he knew that even though it was only one wight, it was still fast enough to kill him if he got distracted. He quickly dodged again, while out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ser Brynden moving to help.
"No! Stay back. I've got this." He shouted at the knight. Brynden quickly assessed the situation and backed off. He could see that the boy had it under control. He was highly impressed with Jon's skill and speed.
Meanwhile, Jon had had enough of this. He faked a stumble and waited with nerves of steel for the wight to lunge at him while he was supposedly off balance. The wight lunged as Jon predicted it would. He quickly stepped sideways and thrust out the hand what was holding his valyrian steel knife and plunged it into the wights back as it moved past him. As usual, it crumpled to the ground once the link to its master had been severed.
The two wights that were left had been secured back in their crates but the lids were still open and they went nuts, screaming the loudest that anyone had heard and thrashing against their restraints as hard as they could. They screamed so loud and hard that everyone present except Jon covered their ears.
Jon however was beyond caring.
"ENOUGH! I know you can hear me you icy fuckers so listen hard and take heed. What I just did to that," he pointed to the now properly dead body with his knife "I'm gonna do to you. It's time we finished this once and for all. The next winter will be your last. This I swear on all of creation. You will die"
And with that, Jon turned on his heel and walked away.
Only to stop as he saw that the entire group had just witnessed his temper tantrum at the bloody Others.
"Fuck!"
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#
While the men were having their worlds turned upside down and inside out, Ladies Catelyn Stark nee Tully and Genna Frey nee Lannister were having tea in one of Winterfell's glass gardens, the blue winter roses were in full bloom and their light, sweet fragrance filled the warm air around them.
Cat was laughing hard at Genna's telling of some of Tyrion's antics when he had been but a boy. It seemed that the highly intelligent, curious little boy had been good at getting himself into trouble without even meaning too, usually at his brother's instigation.
"Oh my," Cat gasped, trying to breathe, "Those two sounded like they were more of a handful then my lot are!"
"Oh they were, but it was almost always amusing. They drove their father completely mad though. The amount of times I heard Tywin lecturing them about what it means to be a Lannister and their duty to him and the family, well let's just say that if I had a gold dragon for every lecture I caught him giving them, I'd be rich in my own right!" Genna replied, a fond smile of remembrance softening her features.
Cat was about to reply when Maester Lewin entered.
"My apologies my Ladies, Lady Stark, we have received a message you need to read right away." He informed them; a dark sorrowful look adorned his kind face.
Cat took the letter and proceeded to read it. Genna, who was discreetly watching Cat's reactions, was surprised to see a look of sorrow and devastation cross the woman's face.
"Shall I fetch lady Sansa my Lady?" Lewin asked her.
Cat shook her head.
"No. I'll inform her later. I need to think on how to tell her. This news will devastate her."
Maester Lewin nodded his head in agreement and with a small bow left the glass gardens.
"Is everything alright Lady Stark?" Genna inquired.
Cat looked at the Lannister woman sitting in front of her, wondering if she should confide in her.
Genna waited quietly for Cat to make a decision. She knew that for this to work, for a firm working partnership between Lannister and Stark work, there had to be trust but trust between their two Houses was at an all-time low, although Tyrion had certainly been doing his part to remedy that particular issue.
"We've received some news that will utterly crush Sansa. I'm not sure how to tell her."
Genna nodded.
"If it's not too personal, then perhaps if you tell me, I can offer some advice?" She offered cautiously.
Cat considered the offer. The news she'd just received had rocked her to her core as well, perhaps speaking to an outside party would offer her some insight into situation she now found herself in.
"Nine months ago, while my husband was at the Wall negotiating with the Free Folk, there was an incident. Gods, listen to me, a young girl, barely flowered, was brutally raped and I'm calling it an incident." Cat growled, feeling slightly disgusted with herself for her choice of words.
Genna sucked in a sharp breath. Old memories of another young girl who had been brutally violated rushed to her mind. Oh she still hadn't forgiven Tywin for that.
"Sorry for my outburst Lady Genna. I'm just still so angry at what happened to her." Cat apologised.
"No need for apologies Lady Catelyn. I completely understand and share your anger in this matter. Please continue, I've found over the years that sometimes speaking of a traumatic incident can help lighten the burden it causes." Genna consoled the younger lady.
"And please, call me Genna. I get so tired of all the stuffy formality and this is not a situation for formality."
Cat gave her a sad yet grateful smile for the support.
"Nine months ago" Cat began again "a young girl who lives in one of our small villages to the west of here was brutally gang raped in the Wolfwoods as she collected medicinal herbs and mushrooms. Her father is a solider sworn to Winterfell and her mother harvests and prepares the medicinal herbs that grow in the woods and sell them to merchants. She had been teaching her daughter her craft and Anna had been in and out of the woods without incident many times. This particular day, Anna, the young girl, had stopped to eat by one of the many streams that meander their way through the woods when three deserters from the Night's Watch came across her." Cat had to stop there and regain her composure.
"She barely made it back to her home, she was bleeding heavily. They'd abused her in every way it's possible for a woman to be abused. Her father, who had been home on leave, rushed to Winterfell and begged us send Maester Lewin tend to her. As I was ruling in my Lord's absence, I agreed. I ordered a hunting party assembled and we left to find out exactly what had happened. I brought Sansa with me…"
"Why on earth would you bring your daughter with you?! This is something that a girl her age shouldn't have to know about until much later." Genna exclaimed.
"Maester Lewin suggested it and I agreed. Anna wouldn't want any males near her and even Maester Lewin, who she's known since she was a small child, would have terrified her to bits and we wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything. Having Sansa there with her while Maester Lewin examined her helped calm her down and allow him to tend to her." Cat defended her decision without going into the real reasons why she had brought Sansa with her.
"I suppose that does make sense. I've known a few serving girls at the Rock who have been violated that way and your right; they don't want men anywhere near them after that. Even a Maester." Genna didn't agree with Cat's decision but chose not to make an issue of it.
"She managed to give us enough of a description so the hunting party could go after them. They found them a week later, holed up in an abandoned holdfast south of here. The men were brought back here, imprisoned and we waited for Ned to return so he could pass sentence. They were executed as deserters and rapists. It wasn't long after that that we received word that Anna was with child."
"Ah" Genna's eyes darkened with anger and sympathy for the poor girl.
"Where does Sansa fit into all this?"
"Sansa befriended Anna, she would write letters to her and ask Anna's father to give them to her and Anna would write her own letters in return. It seemed to be helping Anna recover from her ordeal. When Sansa found out that Anna was pregnant, she was happy for her, she even made a swaddling blanket for the babe. Anna gave birth last night. A girl, stillborn." Cat informed her.
"Oh that poor, poor child. She must be devastated." Genna mourned for the unfortunate Anna.
"Anna is dead. She committed suicide. Her mother found her hanging from a tree in the Wolfwoods this morning. She was only fourteen and I don't know how to tell Sansa that her friend is dead by her own hand!" Cat cried out in genuine distress.
By the tenants of her own faith, suicide was a sin of the first order and those who took their own life wouldn't be granted the peace and sanctity of the heavens. She absently wondered if the Old Gods were the same or if they would give Anna's poor tortured soul a peaceful rest in whatever heavens the worshipers of the Old Gods went to after they died.
Genna was pale as milk. Suicide wasn't something she dealt with often but occasionally in the Westerlands there were those whose personal demons were just too strong to overcome and the high cliff sides of Casterly Rock made for a perfect way to leave the world behind. But she had never heard of one so young killing themselves before.
"The trauma of losing a babe or being raped is bad enough for a fully grown and mature woman to try and cope with, for a girl of fourteen namedays to suffer the loss of her babe on top of the trauma of being raped, I'm sorry to say, I'm not surprised this happened. I've seen it before." Genna told her not unkindly.
"How do I tell Sansa about this? The Seven condemn suicide as a sin and until now, so have I. I've no idea what to say or how to say it even if I did and while you're most likely right about the reason behind her death, we still don't know the real reason why. Alicea, Anna's mother had written that Anna has left a letter for Sansa. Do I give that to her? Should I read it first?" Cat was almost begging the other woman to help her.
"You most defiantly give it to her but don't read it. Sansa will share what the letter says if she wishes too. These are the last words her friend will ever say to her, allow her this last farewell and be ready to comfort her when she turns to you for answers. You may not be able to give her those answers but just be honest with her. It will help." Genna offered her opinion.
"Would you mind if I join you when you tell her? She will be family when she marries Tyrion, she needs to know she can trust me and turn to me for help and comfort when she needs too." Genna asked.
She hadn't had time to speak to Sansa in depth yet but from the brief conversation she had with her, the girl, while young, had been the very image of a southern Lady, all polite manners and meaningless comments but there was concealed strength and intelligence in the young she wolf's eyes that gave Genna hope that she would be able to stand up to Tyrion when his dark side came out.
She needed to assess Sansa and seeing how she handled a stressful and devastating situation like this would give Genna valuable insight into how the girl thought and if she was strong enough to handle adversity.
Cat gave Genna an assessing look.
"Can she? Can she trust you Genna? I'll be honest with you I have my doubts about this betrothal. Not because of Tyrion, he's earned my trust but your family's and your brother's reputation leaves something to be desired. I don't trust Tywin to have Sansa's or House Starks best interests in mind when we join our families. She'll just be another pawn for him to use if he can.
You do realise that if something were to happen to my family and she was the only survivor, Tywin use her to secure the North in his favour, despite the fact that the Northern Lords wouldn't follow her husband's rule as Lord. The North follows the Starks, not Lannisters. He'd have a bloody rebellion on his hands if he tried to put Tyrion in charge of the North, despite the fact that most of our lords like him." Cat grimly informed her.
Genna sighed deeply even as she silently cursed Tywin in to the deepest and darkest of the seven hells. His actions at the start of his reign as Lord and what he had order done to Ellia Martell and her children would smear the Lannister name and reputation for generations to come and as a result, it would be a very long time before anyone outside the Westerlands would look at House Lannister with friendship, respect and trust.
"Bloody Tywin, he always makes things so much harder and more complicated then they need to be. Oh don't get me wrong, I love my brother very much. When my father arranged my marriage to Emmon Frey, Tywin went straight to our father and argued against it. He saw it as an insult to me and to our house even though it didn't make a lick of difference and I married the worm anyway, at least he tried." Genna began, trying to explain the complex person that was her brother.
Cat made sympathetic sounds. She felt badly for the other woman because in Cat's opinion, there was no fate in the world worse than being forced to marry a Frey.
"What you must understand about Tywin is almost everything that happened, everything Tywin did, was due to father's foolish actions in life. My father was a good man and he loved us very much but his desire to be loved by all of his people was taken advantage of and our family's power weakened so severely when father wouldn't stop granting favours and instead of collecting on the debts owed to us, he forgave them. He'd cave to the slightest pressure if Tywin wasn't there to hold him up, so to speak.
By the time that dreadful business with Ellyn Tarbeck and House Rayne happened, Tywin had been pushed beyond his limits by the insults and actions that were a genuine threat our family directly by the Tarbeck's and Rayne's pushed him over the edge. Oh I'll be the first to admit that Tywin went way too far in his chastisement of them, we all told him not to kill the children but he chose not to listen, but something had to be done in order to bring the rebelling house's back into line. If anyone understands that, it should be you. Your husband's family has a long history of having to put rebelling houses back in their places; House Bolton's being only one example."
Cat had been listening to Genna with a bland expression on her face, not showing her thoughts.
"Very well, I can see how that would push a reasonable man in to actions he may not normally take and as I was not there, I can but only take your word for it, but his actions in the matter of Ellia Martell and her children are well known and cannot be easily forgiven. What's to say he wouldn't do the same thing again if another situation called for the death of children? It worries me as a mother as you should well understand." Cat commented.
Genna sighed again. Once again, Tywin's actions were coming back to haunt them.
"Tywin swears he only ordered the children killed. Ellia was to be captured if not unharmed then unviolated and returned to Dorne or kept as a hostage, whichever would secure Dorne's loyalty to the Iron Throne. Quick and clean were his orders or so he says and I believe him. He has no patience for torturing children as there's nothing to gain by it. The Mountain and Lorch made the decision themselves to "play" with Ellia and her children."
Cat gasped in horror at that revelation and Genna gave her a scornful look in return.
"Don't play the horrified innocent with me Lady Stark! Children in Kings Landing are killed every day for less reason than being threats to a new royal dynasty as you well know even if you wish to deny it! Right now, there is a child somewhere in Kings Landing being killed even as we speak of it. In Essos there's probably been ten children brutally murdered while we've been sitting here drinking tea! And you! Don't you sit there and pretend you're so high and mighty. I've heard stories about you my Lady in regards to your behaviour towards husband's former bastard, stories that have stated that you've wished the boy dead from the moment he arrived here and have done your level best to drive him out into the cold! So don't sit there and pretend your some kind of saint for allowing him to stay in your home because you're not." Genna scolded her sick of Catelyn's attitude.
Cat's face was red with supressed fury as her temper flared. Genna's words stung her all the worse because she couldn't deny the truth of them.
"And I suppose Tasha was what, an example of your brother's kindness?" Cat's scathing reply was out of her mouth before she could realise it and she instantly regretted it.
Genna's eyes went wide and her already bloodless face turned an even pastier colour.
"Oh Lady Genna, I am so sorry, I truly am. I don't know why I said that, I was just so angry that it came out, please forgive me my lady, I really am very, very sorry and I sincerely regret my words to you." Cat begged the older woman as she swiftly poured a glass of wine and handed it to her, encouraging her to drink it. As Genna sipped on the wine, some colour returned to her cheeks, but not much.
"He told you?" Genna asked in a harsh whisper.
Cat thought fast and came up with a brilliant idea of who to blame for this.
"No, he didn't tell us. I was told about it by Lord Baelish quite some time ago but I never believed it until now. Apparently, while what happened to Tasha wasn't widely known, enough people knew about it that Littlefinger was able to find out about it. It wouldn't surprise me if Varys knows as well. Between the two of them I think they know most of what's happening in the known world at any given moment." Cat tried to inject a little humour but failed miserably.
Genna's eyes narrowed in anger.
"Baelish? As is Petyr Baelish, Lord of the Fingers and Master of Coin? Why would he tell you this?"
Cat shook her head in dismay.
"I've honestly no idea. If I were to guess, it's because he wanted to impress me. I've only recently learned that the man is still in love with me although from what I've heard, it might be closer to obsession then love. That or he just loves the sound of his own voice. According to Tyrion, Littlefinger has been telling people that he took my maidenhead! My sisters as well! Why he says such things is beyond me. He's truly changed and not for the better either. I'd be wary of him if I was you Genna, the man will do anything to further his ambitions, whatever they are and I do mean anything." Cat was working this angle for all she was worth.
If she could form some sort of alliance with Genna to keep an eye on Littlefinger, it would become easier to learn what he was planning and counter it. Hmm, maybe she should also approach Oleanna Tyrell about this as well. The formidable old woman had resources that she and Genna didn't.
Genna's face still showed her to be angry but her eyes held suspicion that was aimed at Cat and she could tell that she hadn't quite convinced the other woman she spoke the truth but for reason's unknown to Cat, Genna chose not to issue of it.
"That doesn't surprise me. Tywin's opinion about the man is quite low. "A bottom feeder with ambitions above his station and delusions of grandeur" I believe is the nicest thing I've ever heard Tywin say about the man and I won't sully your ears with Jamie's opinion on him." Genna smiled when she remembered some of Jamie's more colourful comments about Littlefinger.
"My Ned told this morning that Robert and Stannis suspect that Littlefinger has been stealing from the Crown for years! Money's gone missing that cannot be properly accounted for and as he is the Master of Coin, it wouldn't be too hard for him to conceal the thefts in the Red Keeps account ledgers as he's the one who keeps them." Cat informed her.
Genna's eyes went wide in surprise this time.
"He's been stealing from the Crown? That's ambitious." She commented.
"It's even more ambitious then you think. Haven't the Lannisters been the Iron Thrones main financial backer for years now?" Cat asked her slyly, hoping that she would pick up the thread she was laying down.
"That bloody slimy bastard! Oh Tywin's going to be beyond furious! I wouldn't be at all surprised to wake up one day and hear that Petyr Baelish was found floating face down with his throat slit in Blackwater Bay. If there's one thing that Tywin will absolutely not tolerate, it's someone stealing from him!" Genna was furious herself. No one and she meant no one could steal from the Lannisters without consequences.
A Lannister paid their debts and they made damn sure that they collected on the debts owed to them.
There would be a reckoning.
"I wonder how much money he's taken from the loan that the Faith of the Seven granted the Crown? I wonder what the Faith would do to him if it were proven true? And then there's the Iron Bank…" Cat said, keeping all signs of the smug satisfaction off her face as she hammered another nail into Littlefinger's coffin.
Genna laughed but it wasn't a nice one.
"Alright Catelyn, you can stop flogging the dead horse. I see where you're going with this and I agree, someone needs to keep an independent eye on Littlefinger and King's Landing in general and between the two of us, we should be able to figure something out, but, don't think for a second that I've forgotten about your incredible rudeness and disrespect earlier. I'll forgive you this time as I do admit, out tempers did run a little high and I may have been a little too blunt but my Lady Stark, if you ever use my family against me like that again to get what you want, it won't be Tywin you will have to worry about. Understood?"
Cat inclined her head in agreement.
"Understood and for what it's worth, I truly am sorry. I had honestly never meant for you or anyone to know that I knew what had happened. I would never use that against your family, anything else I could find yes, but not that and yes Genna, I would like it if you could join me when I tell Sansa the terribly sad news. You are right, she'll be joining your family, she'll someone she can trust other than Tyrion."
Genna stared at the woman intently and saw that she was sincere in her apology.
"Then we have an accord Catelyn Stark and I look forward to the day when our families are joined by marriage. A Lannister/Stark alliance will certainly throw the rest of Westeros into chaos. I find I'm actually looking forward to all the fuss it will cause." Genna laughed warmly, forgiving Cat completely, this time.
"Throw in a Stark/Tyrell alliance and even the most stupid lords wouldn't dare try anything against us. Between the North, the Riverlands, the Westerlands and the Reach, the Starks will be related to over half of the realm's Paramount houses! Throw in Robert's and Jon Arryn's relationship with Ned…" Cat trailed off with a smirk on her face at the look of utter surprise on Genna's.
"By the Gods above woman! The Starks could almost rule Westeros at that point! I assume your heir, His name is Robb yes? Will be marrying the youngest rose? How did you manage that? The last I'd heard, Mace was dead set on a Royal match."
Genna was flabbergasted at the sheer amount of political and marriage alliances that house Stark had seemed to have accumulated without anyone finding out about it. She hadn't been joking, with that much power and influence, the Starks could become the de facto rulers of Westeros if they chose to.
"From what I can tell, he was. His mother on the other hand wasn't. Perhaps I shouldn't mention this but I heard that the reason why Oleanna wasn't set on a royal match was the Prince himself. It seems he's acquired a few questionable habits that make it hard to see a good person." Cat knew she was walking a thin line here but she felt that Genna needed to know there was a serious problem here.
"What do you mean, Lady Stark?" Genna growled dangerously at her.
"I mean no disrespect Lady Lannister, but even up here in the North, we hear the court gossip eventually and I think it would be better if you speak to Tyrion and the children while you're here. They will be able to give you a clear and honest account of whatever is happening with the Prince. It should help clear up some of the nastier rumours going around." Cat was speaking with the utmost respect. She didn't want to raise Genna's ire again, she feared for her life if that were to happen but Joffrey was not fit to sit on a chamber pot let alone the Iron Throne.
Genna slumped back into her chair, her head falling forward to look at the ground. Unfortunately she couldn't deny that Cat had a point. She too had heard things but more directly, but she hadn't thought much of it, just a boy being a boy but if she was being advised to speak to the three people who had the most interaction with him apart from his mother to clarify the situation, then there was reason for concern.
"I'll take that under advisement." Genna was about to say more when they were interrupted by a servant.
"I beg your pardon Lady Stark, Lady Lannister, but Lord Stark and his party have returned to Winterfell. Lord Stark and Lord Lannister request your present in their individual solars in two hours." The servant delivered his message and turned to leave.
"Greg, a moment please. Tell me, how did Lord Stark and his party look to you?" Cat asked the loyal servant.
"I'm not sure I understand what you're asking of me my Lady." Greg told her in confusion.
Cat gently smiled at him.
"That's fine Greg. Let me ask you another way. What was the first thing you thought when you saw my Lord and his party?"
Greg frowned in thought.
"That they looked shell-shocked my Lady. I've seen it in warriors fresh out of their first major battle. They've just seen and been through something so traumatic that shaken them down to core of their very being." He paused for a moment.
"And between you and me my Ladies, I do believe the King has…soiled…himself." Greg informed them with a slight smile on his face.
"Oh dear, Greg, please inform Vayon to make sure that there's a decent supply of both wine and ale in all of the quarters of those in Lord Stark's party. They've just seen their first wight." She informed him and watched as Greg's face darkened in hatred.
He'd been one of the twenty five that went beyond the Wall to capture the three wights that they currently had in their custody. Only twelve men had returned and Greg had lost a lot of good friends that day. His hatred of those things had only intensified since.
"I'll see to it personally my Lady." He assured her and left to do just that.
Cat turned back to Genna only to see her sitting here with a highly amused smirk on her face.
"Did I hear that young man correctly? Robert Baratheon, Demon of the Trident, the Man with No Fear and King of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros shit himself like a toddler?"
Her smirk had only gotten wider as she had gone on and Cat felt her lips start to twitch as well, no matter how hard she tried to control her amusement.
The sound of the two women laughing rung out into the afternoon summer light.