Chapter 37: Down The Pathway
Jaime nodded to the guards as he entered the prisoner's tent. As he stepped inside he took a moment to look at the prisoner. He had the auburn hair of the Tullys, their piercing eyes as well, and he also seemed to have that rather haughty look that Jaime had seen in the man's sister at court many times before.
This was Edmure Tully, heir to Riverrun and the Riverlands and he was Jaime's prisoner. The man had come charging at him during the battle and though surprise had meant that Jaime hadn't ruined him quickly, he'd still won. The result of their fight was clearly visible on Edmure's face and his arms.
The man looked up from whatever book he'd been reading and greeted Jaime. "Kingslayer."
"Ser Edmure." Jaime said. He remained standing, whilst Edmure remained seated. There was some power dynamic at play here he was sure, but right now he didn't care. The man was his prisoner.
"I trust your accommodations are as safe as can be." Jaime asked.
Edmure grunted.
"I have a few questions for you, and I want you to answer them truthfully." Jaime said. He knew that his father had invaded the Riverlands with a second army and was currently burning the Riverlands to a crisp. No doubt things would go wrong when Stark or Robert decided to bestir themselves. The fact that they hadn't was concerning.
"Well, ask away." Edmure replied.
"Why did your father order men to raid into the Westerlands?" Jaime asked.
"He didn't." Edmure replied.
Jaime took a breath. "I asked you not to lie."
"I'm not lying." Edmure replied. "Men dressed in Lannister Livery were spotted taking cattle and grain from villages near our border with the Westerlands. My father sent men to investigate and only one man returned. The rest had been killed by your men."
Jaime frowned. "That isn't what happened."
"It is." Edmure replied. "The man who came back is in Riverrun. You can ask him yourself."
"No man would dare wear Lannister livery and do what you claim these men did. My father would hang them himself." Jaime said.
"Your father did not reply to any of my father's letters." Edmure said. "And then when more Lannister men started coming over the border and taking cattle, and women, well we had to react."
"What?!" Jaime exclaimed. "No Lannister men took more cattle or women. We're not bloody savages."
"Well, how do you explain the fact that the farmers on the border reported seeing Lannister men raiding into their villages, and how do you count for the fact that many men in the villages near the border report that their women were being attacked whilst they were away?" Edmure demanded.
Jaime felt his frown deepen; this didn't seem right. "My father had reports that your Rivermen were raiding into our territory and were burning our crops."
"No rivermen did any such thing." Edmure replied angrily.
"Well, we have proof that they did." Jaime said.
Edmure exhaled and then asked. "Tell me, why would we retaliate in such a manner? Your sister is the Queen, my father is not an idiot. He knows that if we tried anything like what you suggest we did, that the full force of the Crown would come down on us. So why would we do it?"
"Ah but Lord Stark is Hand of the King and the King's closest friend, why would we therefore risk his wrath by attacking you?" Jaime asked.
Edmure looked as if he wanted to say some witty retort, but instead he frowned and said. "I don't know."
Jaime nodded. "Neither do I." Then it hit him. "I think we might well have been had."
Edmure's frown deepened. "By who?"
"Whoever wants us fighting and to cause issues for the throne." Jaime replied simply, there were a list of candidates he had in his head, but he'd need to speak with his father.
Ned blinked as light emerged out of the darkness. He moved back in his cell, trying to avoid getting caught in the blaze. He'd been down here for Gods alone knew how long and he'd begun to think that the world outside had forgotten him. Perhaps that would've been for the best.
"Eddard Stark." A voice said. Ned blinked and squinted, he recognised the voice but couldn't place the face.
"You just couldn't shut up and accept that Joffrey was the King, could you? You had to use your own thrice damned honour and go through with what that idiot Robert wanted."
"Cersei." Ned said, leaning back against the bars of the cell, he was surprised that the former Queen-Queen Regent now he supposed-had deigned to come and visit.
"You could've had whatever you wanted you know." Cersei continued. "Joff would've let the breaking of the betrothal go, he'd have let you return to Winterfell, to your snow and your hovel and your brood of children."
"I couldn't do that. Not after Robert gave me his will." Ned replied.
Cersei laughed. "Of course, my husband had you wrapped around his finger from the time you were both children. You never wanted to come south, did you?"
Ned didn't answer, that just prompted Cersei to laugh again. "Why did you come south?"
Ned considered not answering, but decided that he might as well, his fate was sealed either way. "Because my wife and I received a letter from Lysa accusing your family of poisoning her husband. I wanted to find out the truth and the best way to do that was to come south and be Hand."
Cersei snorted. "Why would I poison Jon Arryn?"
"I do not know." Ned admitted.
"Lysa Arryn was half mad by the time her husband died. They did not get along, and she spent most of her time with Petyr Baelish. Indeed, I think the two of them were lovers. It's certainly true that her son wasn't Arryn's but Baelish's." Cersei said.
Ned frowned, Lysa having an affair with Baelish? That couldn't be right. No Tully would dishonour their vows in such a way.
"You seem surprised." Cersei said, humour clear in her tone. "You shouldn't be. Everyone at court knew that Baelish really wanted your wife, but since he couldn't have her, he went for her sister."
Ned swallowed but didn't say anything.
Cersei laughed again. "You got made a fool of by Baelish, didn't you. He told you he'd work with you find out whatever nonsense you needed to find out. All the while he was working for me."
Ned remained quiet; Cersei clearly decided she'd had enough of baiting him for she changed the topic. "But yes, you should have kept quiet, and everything would be fine. But no, you had to go for power. You had to pit my son and daughter against one another."
"It was Robert's will." Ned replied.
"Myrcella is a girl; she can never be Queen!" Cersei snapped.
"She would have been had you supported her." Ned replied. "We both know your son is not fit to be King."
"Joffrey is the only one of my children who is purely mine." Cersei said. "Myrcella was always closer to her father, and there was her twin. He had black hair and blue eyes. He…I…couldn't…Robert never knew him."
Ned frowned, what did she mean Robert never knew him?
"But Joffrey? Joffrey was all mine. He will be a good king. I will make sure of it." Cersei said.
"And if you can't?" Ned asked.
Cersei snorted. "You won't be here to witness anything, so what does it matter?" With that she turned and left, the darkness returned and Ned sighed. He was left alone to stew on what Cersei had said. Myrcella had had a twin.
Myrcella sat down on the bed, Robb next to her and they shared a look.
"What a day." Myrcella said.
Robb chuckled.
"I never knew that Northmen could be so boisterous." She added. The Lords of the North had answered her husband's summons. Some twelve thousand men were camped near or in Winterfell and the Winter Town. Umber, Karstark, Bolton, Glover, Tallhart, Mormont, and countless others. They'd all come to free her goodfather.
It was heartening and it had been a test.
"Well, now you do." Robb answered.
"I think you did quite well." Myrcella said. "Especially when the GreatJon started mouthing off." The GreatJon was a big bear of a man, and he'd demanded the privilege of commanding the vanguard. When Robb had refused, the man had said he wouldn't take orders from a boy and had made to get up. That had been when Greywind had leapt into action. The GreatJon had lost three fingers but had loudly declared his happiness to serve Robb afterward.
"I'm surprised he reacted the way he did." Robb said. "The whole time I was nervous. What if he'd wanted to fight?"
Myrcella rested her head on his chest then. "He wouldn't have done that. He was testing you and you passed. You showed that you wouldn't take things lying down."
"That was Greywind, not me." Robb replied.
Myrcella shook her head and looked up at her husband. "Greywind mirrored what you felt and he acted in a way that you perhaps couldn't. That's good."
"What do you mean?" Robb asked.
Myrcella sat up. "We're entering into a world where everyone will be looking at us, every single thing we do will be analysed and talked about. There will be times when we cannot say what we really think or feel. But you having Greywind is a good way to handle that. He can display emotions that you can't. And because he is what he is, people will respect that."
Robb sighed. "It doesn't feel right, this, not being able to show emotion. I'm human, not a bloody stone."
Myrcella took her husband's hand in hers. "I know, but people are funny things like that. They will look at you, and at me, and they will want to see an idealised version of what we are."
"Why?" Robb asked. "Not even father had to go through that."
Myrcella sighed. "Because people expect things from their Kings. They expect you to be the ideal of what men and women are supposed to be. It's not fair, but it is what it is."
Robb exhaled.
Myrcella squeezed his hand. "Don't worry, we'll work through it together. And because I'm coming south with you, we'll be able to handle the Freys and the others together."
Initially, Robb had been reluctant to allow her to accompany him and the army, but when she'd pointed out that he was fighting for her right to the throne and that she knew more about the south than either him or his mother, he'd conceded the point.
"I'm happy you're coming as well." Robb said. He pulled her close and whispered. "I admit I was a bit terrified of going south without you."