The journey south had been bumpy and uneven. She had travelled first to White Harbour where Lord Manderly had hosted her and feasted her and promised support-for what she did not know-and then she'd boarded a ship called The White Merman. It should have been a fairly simple journey, but along the way storms had forced them to stop at The Fingers for a time.
From there they'd regrouped and then travelled south, and now finally they'd arrived in King's Landing. The city loomed in the distance, the sounds and smells of the port made her feel slightly nauseous. But she was managing. Ser Rodrik on the other hand had kept to his bed for the entirety of their journey and had only now gotten up.
As they got onto the deck, the Captain of the Ship, a cousin of Lord Manderly's bowed and said. "We will be here for a week, my lady. Should you require a trip back."
"Thank you." Catelyn said to the man, moving toward land. She turned and saw Ser Rodrik gingerly following her. "Are you well, Ser Rodrik?" She asked. The man had served Ned's family his entire life, and he seemed far more comfortable in a saddle than on a boat, for which she couldn't blame him. The water was not for the faint of heart.
"I will manage, my lady." Ser Rodrik said.
Catelyn nodded and was about to say something else, when another voice called to her. Catelyn turned and saw a young man, with black hair and blue eyes standing before her. For a moment she thought she was looking at Robert Baratheon as a child. The boy's voice was deep.
"Lady Stark?" the boy asked her.
"Who wants to know?" Catelyn asked suspiciously.
"Lord Baelish is waiting for you at the end of the pier, please follow me." The boy said.
How did Petyr know I would be here? Catelyn wondered. She shared a look with Ser Rodrik and saw her doubt reflected in his eyes. This could well be a trap.
As if aware of her thoughts, the boy added. "He asked me to give you this." The boy pulled out a little ribbon from his pocket. It was red and blue with a mockingbird on it. Catelyn took it from the boy and looked at it. She'd made this for Petyr when they'd been children. She didn't think he'd still have it.
She handed the ribbon back to the boy and said. "Lead the way."
The boy helped her onto the dock, and then helped Ser Rodrik, he then walked quickly down the pier. Catelyn followed, wondering all the while if the boy was one of Robert's bastards. He looked exactly like Robert had done at Harrenhal, at least from how Ned had described him.
She wondered how he had come into Petyr's service. If she had been anyone else maybe she would have asked, but she knew from experience that asking such things tended not to go down well with men of a certain disposition.
Briefly, Ned's reaction to her asking about Jon Snow flittered into her mind before she pushed it away.
"It truly stinks." Ser Rodrik murmured to himself.
Catelyn agreed, it smelled of dampness, and dankness, and not just because they were near the sea. More because there seemed to be refuse hidden in various places.
The boy turned around and said. "What you're smelling is the result of the Hand's Tourney that the King threw for the new Hand, your husband, my lady."
Catelyn nodded, but inside she wondered how Ned felt about that. He wouldn't have wanted a tourney, least of all because of their suspicions about the Lannisters.
The boy stopped walking when they came to a small carriage. He turned to her and said. "This is where I leave you, my lady. Ser Rodrik, if you get in at the front, there is space for you there." Ser Rodrik grumbled but did as he was asked, sitting in with the driver. The boy opened the door to the carriage and helped her get in, he then shut the door.
Catelyn blinked and found herself sitting opposite a man with short hair and a pointed beard and piercing green eyes.
"Cat." The man said, his voice soft.
"Petyr?" Catelyn asked.
"The one and the same." Petyr replied.
"How did you know I was coming?" Catelyn asked.
Petyr didn't answer that question instead he said. "Everyone is watching the ports, and has been since Ned became Hand."
"Everyone?" Catelyn asked.
"Me, Varys, the Lannisters. We've all been waiting." Petyr said.
"For what?" Catelyn asked.
"For you." He said.