The hall jumped in shock seeing Rhaegar's outburst. The man in question stood, glaring daggers at his sister.
"How could you let your dragons be stolen?!"
He was gripping her arm now, yanking her to her feet and shaking her violently.
"Stop it! You're hurting her!" Elia snapped, and the man's ire turned to her.
"She let her dragons be stolen! Three dragons, the three heads! Those dragons were our only hope of fulfilling the prophecy and defeating the White Walkers! And she let them be stolen."
A strong hand gripped the man's shoulder and turned to find Robert Baratheon standing there, glaring at the man.
"You will let her go" the King rumbled. Rhaegar glared at the man.
"You don't understand! The White Walkers—"
"You will let her go" Robert insisted, his voice cold and harsh.
Rhaegar let Daenerys go, running his hand through his hair and pushing past Robert to pace around.
"Are you okay?" Elia whispered. Daenerys nodded, gently rubbing the bruise that was forming on her arm. She looked up at Robert, but the man had already walked away.
"We are all doomed! Who knows who has those dragons, or what they're using them for!" Rhaegar paced around. Nobody came to calm him down, nobody spoke to him, not until he was about to sit again.
"I suggest you find someplace else to sit" Elia hissed coldly.
The tone made Rhaegar jump. Elia was angry, and Daenerys was afraid. But why? It was Daenerys who lost the dragons. Three dragons! How could she?!
Rhaegar said nothing and sat beside Varys, putting him in between himself and Gendry.
"Do not speak to me" the man warned, before looking back at the wall.
[WINTERFELL]
[THEON dresses down BLACK LORREN while DAGMER watches.]
"A cripple? You let a cripple escape? The boy can't walk, but somehow he slipped past you?"
"The giant must have taken him."
"The giant? Hodor? Oh, that's all right, then. You let a halfwit escape with a cripple. And Rickon, too? The little one?"
"Gone, along with the wildling woman. The one you were fucking."
"Halfwit men for a moron of a 'Prince'. Truly the Gods made the right matches" Tyrion snorted.
[THEON punches BLACK LORREN in the jaw, who falls to the ground. THEON shakes the pain out of his fist. He then kicks BLACK LORREN repeatedly.]
"Right. Get the horses and the hounds."
[WOODS OUTSIDE WINTERFELL]
[Leashed dogs chase the scent of the fugitives. Mounted riders follow. The dogs seem to have picked up a scent and they pause.]
"Please no" Catelyn whispered, gripping Bran's hand this time. The boy was afraid, stiff and silent.
[The riders stop.]
"Enjoying your first hunt?"
"So far, hunting seems very similar to riding, my lord."
"How could he? I trusted Maester Luwin" Arya hissed, tears in her eyes.
"Maester Luwin has no choice" Brandon the Elder explained to his niece. "He made an oath to serve the Lord of Winterfell. Sady, the stain over there is the Lord of Winterfell."
Said stain stiffened and glared at the man, only to cower when Brandon glared back with twice as much venom and a promise of pain.
"With hunting, there's blood at the end."
"They're little boys."
"I was a little boy when I was torn away from my home and brought here."
"Torn away because your father was stupid enough to think he'll get away with rebelling. You were lucky to not have been beheaded" Renly countered. "Stole the man who saved your life's home. VeryIronborn of you. We do not sow" Renly said the house words mockingly.
If not for King Robert glaring dagger at him, Theon would have said something in reply.
"So I kept my word. I never ran away. If I find them soon enough, I won't hurt them. Well, I'll hurt them, but I won't kill them."
"Even a hair on their heads is harmed and I will flay you like a Bolton. Future event or not" Robb snarled, held back by his uncle Brandon.
Theon did not reply, nor did he look.
"Those boys are of far more value to you alive than dead."
"They have no value to me missing."
"Robb will have sent a force to retake Winterfell by now."
"Robb's in the Riverlands. My sister's in Deepwood Motte. She'll get here long before they do. And Ned Stark always said 500 men could hold Winterfell against 10,000."
"Five Hundred Northern Men who know the terrain well. Ironborn stand no chance of doing that, no matter how well they are manned" Ned Stark declared boldly.
"We shall see, Lord Stark" Yara replied with a smirk. The North had no way of getting back Winterfell now, even with Bolton's bastard coming to fight. Theon had done a ballsy thing for sure.
"The hounds have the scent. Come, Maester, don't look so grim. It's all just a game."
"We'll see how much you like games when your life is on the line" Lyanna snapped.
"Try me" Theon challenged.
Lyanna stood but was pulled back down by Catelyn.
Theon snorted.
[THEON rides on. MAESTER LUWIN follows.]
[WOODS OUTSIDE WINTERFELL]
[The direwolves walk along a stream. HODOR, LORD BRAN STARK, RICKON STARK, and OSHA follow.]
"We should have taken more food."
"We couldn't risk going to the kitchens."
"Those people all love you. They would have given you whatever you needed."
"And if Theon found out, he'd hang them."
"Smart boy" Rickard muttered softly. The boy had a good heart and a working brain too. Ned's done good with his children.
"The boy can't survive on walnuts.:
[RICKON cracks the walnut he holds.]
"We've been walking since before sunrise. Even Hodor will tire."
[The party crests a small rise. The sounds of children shouting playfully can be heard in the distance.]
"Wait, I know that farm. I sent those two Winterfell orphans there."
"Jack and Billy. They'll give us some food."
"How does Rickon know them?" Ned asked.
Catelyn shrugged.
"We can't risk it. If Theon tracks us here, he'll torture them until he finds out where we are."
"Billy climbs a tree better than anyone."
"He knows the boy well it seems" Ned frowned.
"You've never seen me climb a tree, little man."
"They'll be after us with hounds."
"We got a good start on them, but we can't outrun hounds forever."
"Best not to stop and keep moving" Brandon the Elder whispered.
[HARRENHAL COURTYARD]
[In a misty morning, a man twitches while hung by a noose. Another screams in pain.]
"No! What happens to Bran and Rickon?!" Catelyn shouted. Nobody replied so she asked again.
"Cat" Ned placed a hand on her shoulder. "Patience. They'll show us when the time is right. We need to be patient."
Catelyn wanted to snap at her husband, but she'd seen the look in his eyes and softened.
"Go on. Now I want you to tell me what happened. Come on, this way. Come on, speak up. Speak up."
[Above the courtyard, LORD TYWIN LANNISTER listens and sniffs a wooden toothpick.]
"Wolfsbane. A rare substance. This is no common assassin."
"Impressive he can tell what is it by scent" Oberyn whistled. He didn't know Tywin Lannister was educated in that manner.
"We hanged twenty men last night."
"I don't care if you hanged a hundred. A man tried to kill me. I want his name and I want his head."
[LADY ARYA STARK sets the table and listens.]
"We think it was an infiltrator from the Brotherhood Without Banners."
"Pretentious name for a band of outlaws. We can't allow rebels behind our lines to harass us with impunity. We look like fools and they look like heroes. That's how kings fall. I want them dead, everyone."
"That is because they are the heroes" Arya shouted. The man was torturing and hanging men, no hero would do that.
"It's a lot more gray than that, little girl" Oberyn chuckled. "What if it was your father whose life had been in danger?"
"I—" Arya frowned.
"Exactly" Oberyn smiled.
"Killing them isn't the problem. It's finding them."
"Have you gone soft, Clegane? I always thought you had a talent for violence. Burn the villages, burn the farms. Let them know what it means to choose the wrong side."
[SER GREGOR "THE MOUNTAIN" CLEGANE exits.]
"Mmm. Is that mutton?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Don't like mutton."
"The smell does not sit right with him" Joanna muttered to herself, remembering the conversation she had with Tywin many years ago.
"I'll bring something else."
"Leave it. Are you hungry?"
"No."
"Of course you are. Eat."
"I'll eat in the kitchen later."
"It's bad manners to refuse a lord's offer. Sit. Eat."
[ARYA sits and eats the mutton.]
"I have never seen Father this caring or…. Soft" Tyrion spoke.
"Me neither" Jaime sighed.
"He was kind to me once" Tommen supplied helpfully. "He gave me a little lion wooden toy when I was small."
"You're still small" Tyrion teased the boy but kept note of that. Was there more to Father than what he showed to his children?
"You're small for your age. I suppose you've been underfed your whole life."
[TYWIN looks out the window.]
"Mmm. This will be my last war. Win or lose."
"Have you ever lost before?"
"Do you think I'd be in my position if I had lost a war?"
[ARYA shakes her head]
"But this is the one I'll be remembered for. The War of the Five Kings, they're calling it. My legacy will be determined in the coming months."
[ARYA realizes that TYWIN has let his guard down, and considers her options. But he turns back to her and she starts, suddenly.]
"Do you know what legacy means? It's what you pass down to your children and your children's children. It's what remains of you when you're gone. Harren the Black thought this castle would be his legacy. The greatest fortress ever built."
[TYWIN walks to the fireplace.]
"The tallest towers, the strongest walls. The Great Hall had thirty-five hearths. Thirty-five. Can you imagine? Look at it now. A blasted ruin. Do you know what happened?"
"Dragons?"
"Yes. Dragons happened."
[TYWIN pours himself some wine.]
"Harrenhal was built to withstand an attack from the land. A million men could have marched on these walls, and a million men would have been repelled. But an attack from the air with dragon fire, Mmm-mmm. Harren and all his sons roasted alive within these walls. Aegon Targaryen changed the rules. That's why every child alive still knows his name"
"Aegon and his sisters."
"Mmm?"
"It wasn't just Aegon riding his dragon. It was Rhaenys and Visenya, too."
"Correct. A student of history, are you?"
"Rhaenys rode Meraxes. Visenya rode Vhagar."
"I'm sure I knew that when I was a boy."
"Visenya Targaryen was a great warrior. She had a Valyrian steel sword she called Dark Sister."
"Hmm. She's a heroine of yours, I take it?"
[ARYA smiles]
"Aren't most girls more interested in the pretty maidens from the songs? Jonquil with the flowers in her hair?"
"Most girls are idiots."
"You remind me of my daughter."
Arya made a face. "I am nothing like her" she huffed.
"Where did you learn all this stuff about Visenya and her Valyrian steel sword?"
"From my father."
"He was a well-read stonemason. Can't say I've ever met a literate stonemason."
"Have you met many stonemasons, my lord?"
"Careful now, girl. I enjoy you, but be careful. Take that back to the kitchen. Eat what you want."
[ARYA rises, clearing the dishes and walking away.]
"And, girl."
[ARYA stops.]
"M'lord."
[ARYA turns, confused.]
"Lowborn girls say "m'lord," not "my lord. " If you're going to pose as a commoner, you should do it properly."
"My mother served Lady Dustin for many years, my lord. She taught me how to speak proper Properly."
"You're too smart for your own good. Has anyone told you that?"
"Yes."
"Go on."
[ARYA exits and TYWIN ponders and drinks his wine.]
"Father is a lot less tense around her" Tyrion noted.
"Perhaps it has to do with his focus on legacy" Jaime pointed out. "With us, he needs to be stern because we are his children and like it or not we are also part of his legacy. He needs us to be our best selves so we reflect well on him and the family. With the girl he doesn't need to be that, he can be a lot more at liberty and not expect much from the girl in return. So anything more than expected would surprise him pleasantly."
"You are not wrong" Joanna spoke, "your father has always been a serious man. It didn't help that his father was not and made a fool of himself. That would always reflect on him so when his father died, he rid himself and Casterly Rock of all of his things, including the whore he fucked. It was a new start, one where House Lannister would be remembered for what Tywin did, like the Reynes and the Castamere. And he will also be remembered for what his children do since he is responsible for all three of you."
Joanna reached out and grasped Jaime's hand. When Jaime stared at her, she smiled. Jaime smiled back, bringing her hand to his lips.
[QARTH GARDEN]
[DAENERYS TARGARYEN and XARO XOHAN DAXOS walk through the garden, anxiously.]
Daenerys stiffened as her future self came on screen. She snuck a peek at Rhaegar. The man was still angry. She quickly looked away.
"I've demanded a meeting of the Thirteen. One of them did this or knows who did."
"You are one of the Thirteen."
"If I wanted your dragons, I would have taken them. They mean nothing to me on their own."
"Nothing? They're more valuable than anything in the world."
"Shall we look inside my vault and see what selling your dragons would buy me that I cannot buy already? We will get them back."
"There is no we, so why would you help me get them back?"
"I took you under my protection in front of the rulers of my city. A man is what others say he is and no more. If they say that Xaro Xhoan Daxos is a liar, my word is worth nothing. I cannot let this thing happen to you under my roof."
"So it's honour for him" Daenerys muttered.
"Men hardly have reason to help you out of the goodness of their hearts" Eli ran her hand through Daenerys' hair. The young Targaryen girl relaxed at that.
"But it did happen under your roof."
"Khaleesi, many times in my life, I have been-"
"I don't care where you've been!"
[DAENERYS steps quickly up the stairs. MALAKKO blocks XARO's way.]
[THE FAR NORTH]
[JON and YGRITTE continue their trek among the mountaintops. JON keeps looking back at her.]
"You haven't killed her yet" Robb frowned.
Jon shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't so easy killing a girl…
"You think we're savages because we don't live in stone castles. We can't make steel as good as yours, it's true, but We're free. If someone tried to tell us we couldn't lie down as man and woman, we'd shove a spear up his arse. We don't go serving some shit king who's only king because his father was."
"No. No, you serve Mance Rayder, the King beyond the Wall."
"We chose Mance Rayder to lead us. He was a crow, same as you, but he wanted to be free. You could be free, too. You don't need to live your whole life taking commands from old men. Wake up when you want to wake up. I could show you the streams to fish, the woods to hunt. Build yourself a cabin and find a woman to lie within the night."
Robb snorted seeing Jon's face.
[YGRITTE comes closer.]
"You're a pretty lad. The girls would claw each other's eyes out to get naked with you."
Robb barks a laugh seeing Jon's face reddening.
"Shut up!" Jon hissed at his brother.
"I could teach you how to do it."
"I know how to do it."
"Liar" Robb whispered, earning a whack on the head from Jon that made him laugh.
Jon was embarrassed, but he was glad Robb was starting to joke again.
"You know nothing, Jon Snow."
[YGRITTE walks ahead. JON follows.]
[THE RIVERLANDS, STARK CAMP]
[The Stark war camp is quiet. SER ALTON LANNISTER reports to KING ROBB STARK while LORD RICKARD KARSTARK, LORD ROOSE BOLTON, and other councillors look on.]
"And what did she say?"
"She admired your spirit, Your Grace."
"Who?" Arya asked and Jon shrugged.
"And what then?"
"She, uh... "
"If every man were held accountable for the actions of every distant relative, Ser Alton, we'd all hang."
"She tore the paper in half, Your Grace."
"Probably Cersei" Jon whispered to Arya and the girl nodded.
"You've acted with honour. I thank you for it. Lord Karstark, see that Ser Alton's pen is clean, and give him a hot supper."
"Ser Alton's pen is occupied, Your Grace. The prisoners from the Yellow Fork."
"Too many prisoners."
"Is there room for Ser Alton?"
"Does he need to lie down?"
"Have the men build him a new pen. Put him in with the Kingslayer for now. Have your boy watch over them."
"Torrhen."
[TORRHEN moves forward to take charge of his newly-assigned ward.]
"That will be all."
[TORRHEN grabs ALTON's shoulder and leads him out of the tent, followed by RICKARD KARSTARK and the other councillors.]
"None of them look too happy" Brandon the Elder pointed out.
"They have too many prisoners to look for, little food to feed them all I'm guessing too. And let's not forget that perhaps the loss of Winterfell might be fresh on their minds too."
Robb sunk into his seat slightly.
"Perhaps, killing the men that are of no use to you would be wise" Brandon the Elder suggested.
"I can't just kill people!" Robb argued.
"Enemies, you are killing enemies" Brandon the Elder corrected him. "And perhaps a swift death is better than dying from hunger or losing a limb and becoming a cripple."
Brandon the Elder didn't mean it, but Bran heard him and flinched.
"Perhaps" Robb muttered, not knowing Bran had heard it.
[ROOSE BOLTON stays behind. He moves to speak to ROBB when LADY TALISA MAEGYR enters. She is wearing a blood-stained apron and wiping her hands with a rag in a similar condition.]
"She's back" Jon whispered, this time Robb whacking him.
"Your Grace. A minute of your time?"
[ROOSE BOLTON leaves, eyeing TALISA.]
"You should have made her wait" Rickard pointed out. "Roose Bolton is an ally and one of your counsellors. That might be seen as a disrespect that you would prioritize some foreigner who isn't an ally over an ally."
"I didn't mean to insult him" Robb argued.
"Half the troubles that happen, happen when people don't mean it. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen. You need to be careful about these things."
Robb frowned and sank deeper into his seat.
"I've been treating your wounded men."
"And my enemies, as some of my bannermen are fond of mentioning."
"They're not my enemies."
"That's what I tell my bannermen."
"I've already run through the supplies I brought with me. Some are easily replaced. Egg yolks, turpentine, oil of roses."
"A good thing she isn't healing your enemies with your supplies when your men need them" Jon whispered and Robb nodded.
"But some are not."
"I need silk for stitching."
[ROBB walks from behind the small table to stand in front of TALISA. He gazes at her face while she speaks.]
"Too close" Catelyn hissed under his breath.
Lyanna held back her giggle seeing her sister-in-law's face.
"I need fennel root for those with fever, willow bark. Mostly I need milk of the poppy. You saw what it was like to amputate a foot without any. I assume there will be more loss of limb before this war is over."
"If you need help finding these-"
"I know where to find them. I'm sorry, I shouldn't interrupt you."
"Continue, my lady."
"You're riding to the Crag to negotiate a surrender?"
"Yes."
"The Crag will have a maester and he will have what I need."
"I expect he will."
"If I could write a list-"
"Come with me to the Crag."
"I don't think that will be-"
"No doubt it won't be proper. But demanding a King is" Olenna Tyrell rolled her eyes. The audacity of the girls these days. Not like the boy hadn't played a part. He's far too accommodating to her.
"Let the maester show you his stores. I want the wounded men to be treated well, all the wounded men."
[ROBB exits.]
[FARM OUTSIDE WINTERFELL]
[THEON's search party has come upon the farmhouse. They mill around, trying to pick up the scent.]
Catelyn and Ned both sat straighter as the scene played. They had done their waiting, they had done enough waiting.
"Can't find anything, ser. They've lost the scent."
"Try again."
"We've circled this farmhouse twice. There's no sign of them."
[The MAN continues to lead his dog through the farm.]
"We could start the search fresh in the morning, my lord."
[THEON grabs LUWIN.]
"I'm looking at spending the rest of my life being treated like a fool and a eunuch by my own people. Ask yourself, is there anything I wouldn't do to stop that from happening? The hounds will find the scent again. I'll beat them until they do. I'll whip every man here until I have both those boys in hand. And once I've got them, the pampered little shits It's better to be cruel than weak."
Robb's built-up good mood soured entirely and he was once more grumbling and snarling under his breath.
"He'll be lucky if I leave him with hands to work with once we go back" Robb grunted.
"Aye…" Jon muttered.
[Two Ironborn lead the WINTERFELL SHEPHERD to THEON.]
"Where are they?"
"Who, m'lord?"
"The Stark boys. Where are they?"
"I don't know. I seen no one."
[THEON punches him in the gut.]
"You're cruel!" Bran shouted. "You're too cruel!"
Theon looked away in anger. He was always like this. The pampered ass just never saw him act against him. Hypocrite.
"I swear, m'lord. I don't know."
[THEON makes to punch him again, but DAGMER has found something by the hay bales.]
"My lord, over here. I think I've found what we're looking for."
[THEON comes over and DAGMER shows him a handful of walnut shells. THEON looks around.]
"They're going to get the scent back" Lyanna whispered with worry.
Catelyn's face clouded with worry.
"Send the old man home."
[THEON walks up to LUWIN.]
"Go back to Winterfell. Take him back."
"Theon, don't do this."
[The Ironborn take LUWIN away.]