Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Riverrun looked much the same as when he had last seen it, which if he remembered rightly was when he and his northmen were making their way down to the Stormlands. The castle was not even half the size of Winterfell and yet Ned knew that if it came down to it that a siege needed to be laid on to the castle then he would not want to be the one who had to do so.

Lady Catelyn had spoken to the defenses of the castle with not a little pride in her voice, saying how Riverrun could be made into an island if need be and in truth, Ned was not sure how he would even begin to lay siege to such a castle with that sort of defense. Thankfully, it seemed that at least for the moment he would not need to worry about that.

For if Lord Hoster raised that defense just now, then he would be trapped in his own castle with at least a few people that he did not wish too. Ned had been raised in the Vale for much of his childhood and he knew the sigil's of the great and knightly houses of the Vale just as well as those of the houses of the North. There banners were raised high around Riverrun.

In truth, Ned had never been so glad to see so many men in one place. If Jon Arryn was here, and the blue falcon that fluttered in the breeze would seem to suggest that indeed he was, then it meant that perhaps Lord Hoster could be won over to their side but Ned knew that it was not going to be that simply, the past few years had taught him that nothing was ever simple.

But perhaps this time would be the time that was proved wrong, perhaps he would walk into the halls of Riverrun and find that Jon had convinced Lord Hoster that it was the right thing for him and his own family to side with them and he would send his ravens to every corner of the realm that he governed. It was a nice thought, a pretty perfect picture, if nothing more than that.

Ned, Oberyn, Lord Selwyn, Ser Eldon and a dozen other lords and knights from the Stormlands and Dorne rode through the middle of the camp that had sprung up from around the walls of Riverrun. As they rode sometimes a voice would cry out his name from the crowd that sounded vaguely familiar but his childhood was long ago, an he could not put a face nor a name to the voice.

But what else the crowd called out gave him some pause "King Renly!" They cried. "The Young King!" They bellowed. He wondered if they know how young their young king really was? Too young to ride a full grown horse and too young to have a sword unless it was made of wood. Gods, what had he done? But it was what he had done, the dice he tossed were his, now it was time to lay in the bed he had made.

The drawbridge of the castle was down but the twenty or so crossbowmen on the wall above did not give a sense of welcoming to him. A knight dressed in armor with a black fish clasp keeping his cloak in place came on to the wall next to the crossbow men and lifted up the visor of his helm. Ned knew the craggy features of Ser Brynden Tully well enough that even on the wall above him, Ned knew it was him.

"So many guests coming to Riverrun, I don't think we have ever been so loved. My brother would be so pleased, except all of these new guests have come with swords and maces to urge him to go to war with them, to commit treason against the King." The black fish turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Ned. "And after some among your numbers have insulted those dearest to him, it is brave of you to come here Lord Eddard, even though I could not call it wise of you."

"I do not see what wisdom there is in holding old grudges when a war needs to be fought and won." Ned bit his bottom lip for a moment and shut his eyes. "And the insult that was done to...the honor of House Tully was not done by my hand or by my deed and if i had been able to stop it then I give you my word, by the mother who bore me and who now rests with the gods, then I would have done so."

"It is not with me that you have a quarrel with, Lord Eddard." The older man's voice had a hint of something that might have been regret. "But my brother is a proud man and the insult done to his Cat is not one he will easily forgive you for, and bearing the name of Stark is enough for you to share part of the blame in his eyes. I would aid you, regardless of what my brother decided to do, but if you want all the strength of the Riverrlands instead of just one knight, then it is him you must convince."

Ned nodded at his words but it was Lord Selwyn of Tarth who spoke. "Whatever quarrel your brother has with the Starks of Winterfell, it is not just the Starks of Winterfell who are outside his walls. Nor is it just Northmen either, there are men of the stormlands and men of the Vale as well. Your brother would do well to not lose sight of that."

"I could not agree with you more, my Lord. Alas, I would remind you of my house's words. Family, Duty, Honor. The first one is the one that matters most to my brother, at least when it suits him to do so." Ser Brynden shook his head. "I cannot say if you will have joy of him, but there are Vale men inside as well. At the moment, he meets with Lord Arryn in his solar."

That was the best news that Ned had heard in what seemed like far too long a time and in that moment, he nearly forgot himself and rode across the bridge but he managed to hold on to his composure. "We would speak to your brother as well, his decision will affect more than just himself. All our voices might yet be able to convince him." Lord Selwyn pointed out.

Ser Brynden nodded. "Very well, but I cannot say that he will be glad to see you. You have my leave to come into Riverrun." Ser Brynden turned and walked away and all of the crossbow men lowered their weapons and the riders began to cross the bridge. There Tully spearmen waiting for them inside but they did not move as stable boys ran up to take the reins of their horses.

We are in Lord Tully's power now. Ned found himself thinking as he glanced back at the drawbridge, the crossbow men had their attention on the outside of the castle and in a moment the drawbridge could be raised, Riverrun's defense could be used and they themselves could be used as hostages for the man to curry good favor with the King.

But the drawbridge remained down as Ser Brynden walked over to them, he wore no swordbelt. "If my lords would follow me." He turned and they followed him as he lead all of them inside the castle. Ned caught sight of a few servants rushing about here and there and inside the castle there was a hint of something in the air, he had to assume it was the fear of a castle under siege, though he had never endured one.

The walk to Lord Tully's solar did not take so long and it was mostly held in silence, someone might ask a question of Ser Brynden but he would only responded with a single word answer and then they would carry one, soon enough they were outside Lord Hoster's solar and his brother bid them to wait. The knight went inside and shut the door and after a few moments he opened the door again and beckoned them to come inside.

Lord Hoster looked older than his brother, which would only make sense considering that he was the older brother, but his red hair was more grey now than red and his face seemed lined. By the end of this, they would probably all be old men. Ned already felt a thousand years older than before he had left Winterfell.

"Lord Eddard, Lord Selwyn, Prince Oberyn, Ser Eldon and almost a half dozen more lords and knights, what esteemed company I find myself in." He glanced at the old man sitting across from him and even the mere sight of Jon Arryn was enough to make Ned feel stronger, like everything was going to be alright in the end. "And you as well, Lord Jon. I am honored to have so many fine guests in my home."

"Enough Hoster, would you like to see us grovel on our knees in front of you?" Jon asked, his voice was sharp. "Well, you are not going to get that I promise you. You have a choice now, and that choice is if you will side with us or not. If so, then we will be glad to have you with us and we hope you would send birds to your bannermen, we will have need of every last one of them. If not, tell us so now and let us be on our way."

"And I am sure that while you are on your way, a few hundred men or so will be left outside of my walls. No doubt to keep me company." Hoster Tully rose from behind his desk and walked over to the corner of the solar where pitcher and goblets, all made out of pewter. He filled one of the goblets up with wine from the pitcher and took a sip of it. "My lords, I find it suddenly crowded. Might I have the room with just Lord Arryn and Lord Eddard and my dear brother, if you would indulge me for just a bit longer."

That did not seemed like a request anyone wanted to fulfill but the fact that they were in Lord Hoster's power had escaped none of them and so one by one the lords and the knights left the room, the last to leave was Oberyn who threw a glance at Ned and then shut the door to the solar. And then just like that, the four men were on their own.

Lord Hoster walked back over to his desk and retrieved a piece of parchment from within his desk which he then handed over to Ned who he had beckoned to come closer. "Have a read of this, a raven from the Lord of Maidenpool. Lord Mooton has all but decreed for King Aerys, oh, he is not so vulgar as to say that nor is so vulgar to suggest that I might be mulling treason. But he does say that he is a loyal king's man and that he knows me to be one too."

"I can't blame Mooton, his son squires for Prince Rhaegar and was made a knight by him and Maidenpool borders the Crownlands. Any army that wanted to push into the Crownlands would need to pass through Maidenpool first and no doubt being so close to the capital means he can get a whiff of wildfire and burning flesh every time he goes outside. I knew a man once, boldest man I ever knew, he turned into a weeping babe at the thought of being burned alive."

"I can't say it's a thought that much appeals to me either. One of my bannermen has already made it clear they will not side with me if I go against the King and if I side with you, and you all lose, then a painful death at the hand of the King's pets is all that is like to wait for me." Lord Hoster took another sip of his wine and placed the goblet down on his desk. "So, why should I help you?"

"It's all well and good to sit behind that desk and pretend you are ignorant Hoster, you lords will believe it and most men will who do not know the truth but we know the truth, don't we?" Jon smiled in a way that Ned had never seen him smile before, his eyes were slits. "Plotting for treason is just as much treason as the act of it, I assure you. If we lose this war, I mean to live just long enough to ensure that I tell Aerys of that fact. Win or lose, it might just turn out that you have a taste of wildfire either way."

"If you support us on the other hand-

Hoster slammed his hands down on the table, his face turning red. "If you think threatening me will work old man then you are very much mistaken, a thousand accusations will be thrown against other lords by those who stood against him. There might be some truth in mine, but no one will know that. It will be held in contempt as are the rest of them."

"It is bold of you to assume that the king will still behind himself to logic and reason, this is a man who burns small children alive and murdered the head of the Faith. I am fairly certain that if someone were to accuse you of treason, that would be more than enough for him." Jon shrugged then. "Certainly more so when I am the head of this rebellion, and yours is the only name that I would mention after all."

Lord Hoster looked more unsure than he did a moment ago and Ned decided to try and press his advantage. "Lord Hoster, regardless of anything else. You know that the King is mad, if you did not know that then you would never have even begun to plan with my Father and Lord Jon. No one is so base as to assume that you would do it purely for ambition's sake."

"The King is a madman, his son kidnaps maidens and carries them off." Again, his gut stabbed him when he thought about Lyanna. But he had to stay strong if he had any chance of finding her and bringing her back safe and whole. "This needs to be answered and you know it does, you would not have heard it otherwise. I know my family has done you wrong, I know it. But Brandon is fled, no one knows where he is, and it is beneath you to put all Seven Kingdoms at risk for that vendetta."

"And do not forget Hoster." Jon Arryn leaned in. "Your Cat is wed to my Elbert now, she will be Lady of the Eyrie and the Vale. Her son with Brandon is a part of my household and could be a knight in truth. By most men's accounts she would be ruined, a spinster woman that you would not be able to shift. I took pity on her, don't forget that."

Ned for a moment needed to think on all that was just said, he had realized that Catelyn had her baby as the last letter she had ever sent to Winterfell was announcing that she had, that it was a boy, and he was to be named Jon. But something about Lord Jon's words made him stop and wonder, he had thought that Jon had wed Elbert to Cat because he was kind and he saw that Lady Catelyn was blameless, but watching him now and seeing him wield that fact as he would a sword...

Was it all plots? Was it all schemes? Was it all just something that could be used for later in this endless game that the southerners put themselves through to see who could get the most power? All of a a sudden, Ned just wanted to go home. He wanted to take Elia and Lyanna and take them both back up through the Neck, back to Winterfell, and never leave the walls of his home again.

But Elia was on her way to treat with the Ironborn, he had no idea where Lyanna was and he was a regent to King Renly of the House Baratheon, first of his name and his line, lord of the Seven Kingdoms and protector of the realm. What he wanted did not matter and he was right in the thick of it now, all there was to do now was to fight through it.

Hoster look pained, if Ned was to be vulgar about it he looked like a main who badly needed to take a massive shit and yet it would not budge from inside of him no matter how hard he pushed. "Be that as it may." He started and then he stopped. "Threats are not enough, honey wins more flies than vinegar. I will not join myself to you on the chance that you might live long enough to tell the King something, you are not one to lead from the back Jon. I know that."

"Fine, let's haggle when an army could be marching on us. Join yourself to us and the chances of our victory already go up. When King Renly is on the Iron Throne." Jon stopped talking for a moment and threw a glance at Ned and why did he suddenly feel like a little boy again who was about to be scolded because he was caught sneaking into the kitchens for an extra slice of pumpkin pie?

"You will get the honors and you will get the rewards, no doubt a spot on the King's council if you truly wish it. No doubt Renly will have need of a new kingsguard by the time that all of this is done. My little namesake might just be the perfect spot filler, in time of course. I will have singers sing of Lady Lysa's beauty and grace from Sunspear all the way up to the wall. She will hundreds of marriage offers, hundreds of knights will want Edmure to squire for them."

"It's all just niggling, you know that Hoster. You know you cannot go to the King, you saddled yourself to this horse a very long time ago and trying to get off it now is just going to leave you with a broken neck." Jon rose from his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "The truth of the matter, is quiet simple. You are already with us, if you want to be or not."

"He's right Hos." Ser Brynden, who had been so silent that Ned had almost forgotten that he was there. "And if you try and be stubborn about this, I will ride out with them in the next hour."

"I am your brother, you would abandon me? Family, Duty, Honor. It never meant anything to you, did it?"

"It means everything to me, which is why I am thinking of Cat on her own in the Vale with her babe while her husband rides out to war. It's why I am thinking of what is going to happen to Lysa and Edmure if their Father doesn't stop being a stubborn arse and starts to see how things as they are. Call the banners, brother. And let us make an end to this as quickly as we can."

The silence that followed was almost deafening and Ned was fairly certain that a pin could be heard to drop. "Fine." Hoster said like it was the most painful thing that he had ever agreed to. "Fine, but I do want something and it is not something you are going to refuse or I swear by all the gods I will give the order for the drawbridge to be raised and wait for the King and I will cut your tongue and hands off, trying telling the King anything then."

Ned did not think that Lord Hoster would actually do that, if that was his plan then surely he would have done it by now but all the same he wanted Jon to be careful going forward, one wrong word could plunge them into disaster.

"Very well, what do you want?"

"Hand of the King." The words were as loud as a thunder clap and Hoster Tully rose to stand at his full height. "That's what I want, when this war is done and the king in his swaddling is seated on the Iron Throne. I want to be Hand of the King, you want me and all the swords I can muster? That is the price of it. Do we have an arrangement?"

"The stormlords won't be happy with it."

"I don't care, all of the regents are stormlords." Except for Ned which went unsaid, considering it would probably just upset Lord Hoster more. "I want to be the Hand of the King, I will consent to waiting until the war is won for that to be revealed to everyone else and you do not need to tell anyone what was spent to get me. But I will have it."

Jon was silent for a few long moments and the Lord Paramount of the Vale and the Lord Paramount of the Trident stared at one another, trying to weigh the other and Ned wanted to shake them both and tell them that they did not have time for this. But in the end, they needed the swords of Riveerun and so Jon relented first with a sigh and nodded his head. "Fine, we have an arrangement. Help us win this war and when it is done, then you can be the Hand of the King."

Lord Hoster sat back down in his chair, a self satisfied smile on his face as he leaned back. "I am glad that we came to an agreement, I will send the ravens to all of my most important bannermen by tonight. Shall I offer my lords the hospitality of Riverrun, who knows when you will know a warm meal and a soft bed again after all?"

"Thank you Lord Hoster, but any more of your hospitality and I think that I might just burst." Jon said with narrowed eyes. "I think that it is time that we were off."

"Fair enough, Brynden would you please see them back to the courtyard." His younger brother nodded and opened the door to the solar and Ned and Jon walked through it and they followed Brynden back through the halls of Riverrun back to the courtyard.

All the lords and knights who had ridden in with them were mulling about the courtyard, waiting for them. "Hold a moment." Jon said as he raised his hand and he turned to look at Ned. "I need to speak with you on our own for a moment." Ned nodded and followed Jon as he lead him around the stables, the smell of horse shit filling his nose and fat black files buzzed all around him.

Jon let out a chuckle when a horse plopped right on the straw, gesturing at the mound of shit. "Now, why does that look oh so very familiar." He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. "None of it has gone exactly to plan, has it?" Jon crossed his arms over his chest and gave Jon a smile that always used to make Ned feel warm when he was a child. Was it bad of him that a part of him want Jon to muss his hair liked he used to. "You've done well, however, considering all of the circumstances."

"I am not sure if I believe that." Ned muttered as he looked back at everything that had happened, if he had not given into Lyanna and let her go to the God's Eye then Rhaegar would not have been able to take her. If he hadn't taken her then Ned could have gotten her to Storm's End, Lya would be safe and Robert and Stannis would still be alive and Renly wouldn't have to worry about how to wear a crown without it crushing him.

His own wife, sickly and frail and so brave, had put herself on a ship to go and treat with the Ironborn because they needed ships if they wanted any chance of surviving this rebellion that Ned hadn't been able to stop when she should be back home in Winterfell with their boys, safe and warm and where she could be able to grieve what she had lost.

Oh gods, the babe. Ned had never gotten to hold her, he didn't even know if it would have been a girl but Howland Reed had said that it would be. Howland wouldn't have lied and he knew that the men of the Neck knew some queer arts and his friend knew some of them as well, he would have seen her. His little girl, with Elia's black curls and Ned's grey eyes and a smile as bright as the sun. But she never was, she was just gone in a rush of blood and never even drew a breath.

He had done so much wrong and suddenly the thick and hot air behind the stable was so hard to breath and he was certain that it was just the smell of the horseshit that was making his eyes water and Ned brought up his arm to rub at his eyes roughly, cursing himself for being weak and a fool. Gods, Father would beat him within an inch of his life if he saw this. Well, maybe not. But they were still of the North, they did not cry.

A hand, strong but gentle, patted him on the back. A familiar voice filled his ears. "You've done well lad, so very well indeed." Jon Arryn was smiling, it was the same smile on his face that he had for Ned all those years ago when he had arrived in the Vale for the first time. All of the tears dried in that moment and Ned took a breath.

"We aren't done yet though, what do you plan to do now?" Ned blinked, sure that was something to be planned with all of the other lords but Jon seemed like he expected something form him right now.

"I thought to ride back North to the Moat with the North men I brought with me and bring the men I left there down with me." Any host would grow smaller with time, if he wanted those men then he had to go back and get them now before the siren call of the hearths called to them. "We will march down the causeway and from there, in truth I am not sure at all."

"You will have to start becoming sure Ned, all the pieces are on the board now. No more planning, no more chances. You will get your armies, what do you do then." Jon sounded like he did when he would take Robert and Ned into his solar for his war lessons, Robert would always be the more proactive of the pair of them. He would smash the keeps of his foes and his their armies with all he had.

Ned was always more waiting for the foe to make the first move and then he would react to it, but King's Landing had been mostly silent except for the fact that Lord Mace Tyrell and Lord Tywin had been summoned to the capital, and while Lord Mace had brought a thousand knights with him according to most reports, Lord Tywin's host was more modest.

They were each waiting to see what the other would do, but surely once word reached that Lord Hoster had decided for them, they would have to act? The King would insist on it. "I will get my men and I will march south and I...I will see how the land is laid, I can not make a decision until I know how the ground is laid out."

"Fair enough, you should go now and I will speak to the lords about what our next move should be." He reached upward and squeezed his shoulder. "You have done well Ned, I am proud of you."

"Thank you Jon." Ned smiled and turned and walked over to his horse and once he was saddled and said a few quick goodbyes as well as some explanations and promises to return as quickly as he could, he rode across the drawbridge to gather up his northmen.

At least for a short while...

It was time to go home.

End of Chapter Seventy-Nine

Another chapter done and dusted.

Next chapter, I have the next two chapters planned out though I am not entirely sure which one should go first but at the moment I am leaning towards one more than the other. I will say that one of the chapters is the Elia one and I am leaning towards doing that one after the other, as it would mean we've had two Ned and two Elia chapters back to back.

But I am still not entirely sure so we will see. Anywho,

I really hope that you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, please considering leaving a review, a follow and a favorite. With a ton of love and well wishes,

DiscordantSymphony