Tensions still ran high but those not involved in any of the tension were eager to start watching again, no one more than Olenna Tyrell.
"This is ridiculous" the old woman muttered, pushing herself off the chair she occupied and making a beeline for the door.
"Lady Olenna" Jon Arryn rushed to stop her. "The Stark Family have been exposed to some—"
"And?" the Queen of Thorns cut in sharply. "Let them deal with this when they return. We are here to see our fates, not be subjected to one family drama after the other."
She got into his face and narrowed her eyes.
"You are a smart man, surely you've seen the pattern. Everyone brought here plays a part in the future. Some of us are going to die, gruesome and unjustified deaths at that. And I for one would like to live out my life till it naturally expires!"
The door opened, interrupting Jon Arryn's reply. Ned, Catelyn, Lyanna and Jon stood on the other side. Catelyn's eyes were puffy, and Ned's cold as ice. Jon's eyes were red, as were Lyanna's.
"Good of you to finally join us" Olenna muttered before walking away.
"Are you—"
"Let us be done with this" Ned cut off his foster father.
JonArryn knew then the discussions were far from over. The old man nodded and they all returned to their seats. Sansa and Bran sat between Ned and Catelyn, while Lyanna had shifted seas and sat beside Jon, putting herself between Arya and Jon. Brandon had vacated his seat as well, too furious from before to be anywhere near his good sister right now. He was sitting with Varys and Gendry, putting them both between him and Rhaegar.
Rhaegar tried to catch a glimpse of his son, who finally knew that he was a Prince, but the boy did not look at him.
[RIVERLANDS WOODS.]
[A white horse gallops over a small hill, riderless. Nearby, LADY BRIENNE OF TARTH pushes SER JAIME LANNISTER off his mount, hooded and chained. She sends the horse off. She helps him up. She takes off his hood and helps him stand.]
"You're much uglier in daylight. What's your name? I'm Jaime Lannister of Casterly Rock, son of Tywin."
"Gods" Joanna muttered, massaging the bridge of her nose. She knew exactly how she sounded, like a whining brat! But her children were so… infuriating.
[BRIENNE leads the chained JAIME forward.]
"A captive knight has a right to know his captor's identity."
"Brienne of Tarth."
"Tarth, Tarth, Tarth. Crescent moons and starbursts. Lord Selwyn Tarth. Your father. Do you have any brothers and sisters, my lady? It's a long way to King's Landing. Might as well get to know one another. Have you known many men? I suppose not. Women? Horses? Ah."
[BIRENNE forces him down to his knees on the riverbank. A canoe sits nearby.]
"I didn't mean to give offence, my lady. Forgive me."
"You don't mean that" Tyrion whispered.
"I do not mean that" Jaime parroted with an easy smile. Though his eyes did not reflect that smile. They kept inching towards Jon Snow, son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark…
"Your crimes are past forgiveness, Kingslayer."
"Why do you hate me so much? Have I ever harmed you?"
"You've harmed others, those you were sworn to protect, the weak, the innocent."
"Has anyone ever told you you're as boring as you are ugly?"
"You will not provoke me to anger."
"I already have. Look at you. You're ready to chop my head off. Do you think you could? Do you think you could beat me in a fair fight?"
"Can she?" Tommen asked.
The fact that the boy was talking to him at all surprised Jaime into silence for a moment before he hummed thoughtfully.
"She was skilled enough to beat Ser Loras. I'd say she would put up a valiant fight" he answered with a smile.
Tommen smiled back and Jaime felt a tug in his chest.
"The answer is no. There are three men in the kingdoms who might have a chance against me. You're not one of them."
"All my life men like you have sneered at me. And all my life I've been knocking men like you into the dust."
"If you're so confident, unlock my chains. Let's see what happens."
"I don't think provoking her to do that would work. For one she doesn't have a male ego to pamper" Yara drawled.
"Perhaps" Jaime shrugged. She certainly looked like she might titter between the genders.
"Do you take me for an idiot? In!"
[JAIME enters the canoe and lies down. BRIENNE boards as well and sits in the stern.]
"I took you for a fighter, a man Pardon. Woman of honor. Was I wrong? You're afraid."
"Maybe one day we'll find out, Kingslayer."
"Wouldn't that be a sight" Jaime mused to himself.
[HARRENHAL]
[LORD TYWIN LANNISTER sits in council with SER KEVAN LANNISTER and other Lannister bannermen. LADY ARYA STARK attends to them and listens intently]
"He looks well" Joanna smiled seeing her good brother. Kevan was always a good man and kind too.
"King's Landing will fall an hour after Stannis lands his force. It's not too late for King Joffrey, Cersei, and the court to ride west to safety."
"Surrender the Iron Throne?"
"Better than seeing their heads mounted on the city gates. Stannis will execute them all."
"I think Kevan Lannister cares more for Cersei and her bastard than Tywin does" Oberyn whispered.
"Tywin insist on family honour above all. Abandoning the capital is no honor Dorn explained.
"You can almost feel sad for the boy… Almost…" Oberyn chuckled.
"It's not a bad thing to feel bad for them" Elia countered with a shrug.
"It is not" Oberyn agreed.
"But?"
"But I'd rather keep my pity for someone actually worth it" Oberyn shrugged.
"No, a king who runs will not be king for long. He's a Lannister. He'll stand and fight. Stannis, two days from the capital and the wolf at my doorstep."
"The scouts assure us Robb Stark remains north of Ashemark."
"Ha! The last time the scouts assured us of Stark's movement, he lured us into a trap. Which is why my son is his prisoner."
[ARYA serves wine to the table.]
"Too close to Casterly Rock."
"He sent a splinter force to recapture Winterfell. The Greyjoys have done us a great favour. Stark won't risk marching on Casterly Rock until he's at full force."
"He's a boy and he's never lost a battle. He'll risk anything at any time because he doesn't know enough to be afraid."
Rickard silently agreed with the man. With inexperience and the flush of youth, comes a certain narrowed vision of battle. The tunnel vision could be a boon and a curse, a gamble above all.
[TYWIN ponders for a while by the hearth. He makes his decision.]
"We'll ride at nightfall. I want a full night's march before he knows we're on the move. Clegane, you'll maintain a garrison here at Harrenhal. Track down this brotherhood and destroy them. The girl has proven herself a good servant. She'll stay on with you. See that he doesn't get drunk in the evenings. He's poor company when he's sober, but he's better at his work."
Ned's already tense demeanour tensed further. Arya needed to leave right away, before that beast Gregor got his hands on her.
Ned's eyes shifted to Catelyn, who showed grief and worry. He knew what she grieved, but she was worried for Arya. Brandon was wrong, she may favour two but she loved all the children she bore.
[THE NORTH]
"Mance is gonna march on the Wall. When he does, one brother inside his army will be worth a thousand fighting against it."
"He plans to use you as a mole" Robb whispered.
Jon said nothing, nodding only. He understood it too.
Robb looked a his brother… no, cousin. Jon was his cousin. But he was as good a brother to him as Bran and Rickon were. And nothing would change that for him.
"They'll never trust me."
"They might. If you do what needs to be done."
"What?"
[QUORIN yelling]
"How does it feel knowing those men all died so you could skip through the snow with your little savage girl?"
"I didn't."
"I should have known better, trusting a traitor's bastard."
Jon flinched at that. He was not Ned Stark's bastard. His whole life was a lie…
Ned stared a Jon, knowing exactly what was going through the boy's head at that moment. Oh, how he needed to talk to him.
[QHORIN pushes Jon roughly, sending him tumbling down the side of the hill. The LORD OF BONES confronts QUORIN.]
"He's not yours to kill, crow."
[The LORD OF BONES pushes QHORIN forward. YGRITTE pauses and looks sympathetically down the slope at JON, reconsidering him. JON sits up and looks back at her.]
[KING'S LANDING]
[BRONN and LORD TYRION LANNISTER sit in his chambers. TYRION is attempting to read, but he is annoyed by BRONN's fingernail scraping with a compass.]
"Do you have to do that here?"
"I like to keep me hands clean."
"Yes, but do you have to do it here?"
[BRONN looks at TYRION, then throws the compass down on the desk in front of him.]
"Trouble in paradise?" Jaime teased.
"Fuck off" Tyrion rolled his eyes.
"You should start wearing the gold cloak."
"I don't want to wear a gold cloak."
"You're the commander of the City Watch. You shouldn't be dressed like a common man."
"I forgot I named him Commander" Tyrion muttered.
"A cloak slows you down in a fight. Makes it hard to move quietly. And the gold catches the light, so you're nice and easy to spot at night."
"The man has fighting brains" Jaime complimented.
"And for nothing else" Tyrion sighed.
"Well, you're not sneaking through alleyways any longer. You're supposed to stand out."
"Why do the gold cloaks wear gold cloaks?" Tommen asked.
"Daemon Targaryen, brother of Viserys I Targaryen made the City Watch wear them so they had something to pride themselves in, a symbolic identity" Brynden explained instead.
Tommen looked very interested.
"We had a deal and wearing a gold cloak wasn't part of it."
"Fine, fine. No gold cloak."
[TYRION goes back to his work. BRONN sucks his teeth and drums his finger, continuing to look at TYRION.]
"Why are you staring at me?"
[BRONN scoffs]
"You don't want me cleaning me nails. You don't want me looking your way. Why am I here?"
"To help me plan the defence of King's Landing."
[BRONN laughs as he stands up, and begins to pace around.]
"Stannis will be here any day."
"And he will not be kind" Tyrion muttered under his breath.
[BRONN picks up a book from the pile as he walks past.]
"And one of these explains how to beat him?"
[TYRION gestures to the volume that he is reading.]
"A History of the Great Sieges of Westeros. By Archmaester Shevelathin. Shevelatesh."
"Chevalteesh. I'd swap all your books for a few good archers."
[VARYS enters.]
"My Lord Hand. Commander. I must compliment you on the gold cloaks' performance these last few weeks. Did you know there has been a marked drop in thievery?"
Tyrion raised a brow. That was no mean feat.
"I did not know. And how did you accomplish this marked drop in thievery?"
"Me and the lads rounded up all the known thieves."
"For questioning?"
"No. It's just the unknown thieves we need to worry about now."
That made more sense.
"We talked about this."
"Aye, we talked about it. Have you ever been in a city under siege? Maybe this part's not in your books. See, it's not the fighting that kills most people. It's the starving. Food's worth more than gold. Noble ladies sell their diamonds for a sack of potatoes. Things get bad enough, the poor start eating each other."
Stannis looked haunted, being reminded of a siege he'd been the subject of. His dreams were still plagued by those memories. He glanced at Renly, who seemed aloof. He wouldn't remember. Good. He was a child when it happened, he shouldn't remember it.
[BRONN sits back down at the table.]
"The thieves, they love a siege. Soon as the gates are sealed, they steal all the food. By the time it's all over, they're the richest men in town."
"He's got a head for combat and the foresight to think what might happen in a siege. He's not a bad find, brother" Jaime complimented.
"You doubted my choice?" Tyrion faked looking insulted.
Jaime snorted.
"Given the circumstances, my lord, I believe extreme measures are warranted."
[BRONN nods]
"Ah. "The Great Sieges of Westeros." Thrilling subject. Shame Archmaester Ch'Vyalthan wasn't a better writer."
[TYRION grabs a parchment and unrolls it.]
"Stannis knows King's Landing. He knows where the walls are strongest, and he knows which gates are weakest. The Mud Gate. A good ram will batter it down in minutes, and it's only 50 yards from the water. That's where he'll land."
"And if Stannis does attack the Mud Gate, what is our plan?"
"We could throw books at his men."
"We don't have that many books."
"We don't have that many men, either."
"You could throw the Wildfire at them" Myrcella suggested, before shrinking when her uncle and father turned to her. But she quickly composed herself, like her mother would. "Mother and Joffrey were planning to use the Wildfire, so it's there. Use them to even the battlefield."
Both men looked pleasantly surprised.
"Not a bad course of action. Not bad at all" Tyrion complimented with a smile.
[THE FAR NORTH]
[The Night's Watch camps on the top of a cliff. The wind howls. GRENN, "DOLOROUS" EDDISION TOLLETT and SAMWELL TARLY dig in the snow. GRENN's shovel clangs against something metal. He plants his shovel and starts digging and clearing with his hands. SAM comes over to see. GRENN reveals a round stone cover, engraved with markings.]
"Looks to be from the age of the First Men" Brynden noted out loud, sat in a little section of his own but still close enough that his loud musings could be heard. "The Far North has a lot of these."
"Have you seen any before?" Shireen asked.
"Many" the one-eyed man smiled.
[GRENN lifts the cover and finds a bundle wrapped in a cloak.]
"If you find something you're not supposed to, best thing to do is pretend you've never seen it."
"That's a Night's Watch cloak."
"It's been here a long time."
[GRENN opens the bundle to reveal a set of dragonglass knives.]
Brynden's eyes sparked with a knowing curiosity.
"Oh. Must be dragonglass."
"Dragonglass?"
"The maesters call it obsidian."
"Why would a brother hide it here?"
"Because dragonglass can be used to kill the wights" Brynden explained when eyes turned to him. "They are fire made earth, much like a Valyrian Sword is fire made Iron."
"And you're telling me there are hidden catches all over the greater North?" Rickard demanded.
"The Greater North, possibly even around the Wall. The oldest first might have them if you look closely. Skaagos has their own collection beneath their grounds, as do Dragonstone."
Ned made mental notes of the names. He'll need to think of ways to get them to the Watch and arm them.
[HARRENHAL COURTYARD]
[ARYA carries a yoke with two buckets of water. She bumps into a Lannister soldier, and the contraption falls, spilling her load. The SOLDIER smacks her across the head. ARYA looks dejected and crouches to pick up the empty bucket. A SOLDIER stops next to her.]
"I'm sorry. I'll-"
[ARYA stands, and realized that it is JAQEN H'GHAR.]
Catelyn released a breath she was holding. Never in her life did she imagine a faceless man would bring her comfort.
"Where were you?!"
"A man has patrol duty."
"Tywin Lannister was right here, and now he's gone."
"You should have given his name before Lorche" Oberyn shook his head with disgust. They were close to getting rid of that man, and the child let it slip.
"A girl owes one more name. The Red God demands it. Give the man a name."
"How long after I give you the name does it take you to kill someone?"
"A minute, an hour, a month. Death is certain, the time is not."
"Which is odd when you consider that this Jaqen listened to Arya and killed Amory Lorche in haste. Efficiently done, but quicker than expected" Doran pointed out.
"Why did he do that?" Daenerys asked.
"That I can't tell" Doran sighed. Faceless men were a mystery, everything about them was a mystery.
[JAQEN puts down his helmet and sits.]
"He's taking his army to attack my brother. I need him dead right now."
"This a man cannot do."
"Why not?!" Oberyn asked in outrage. The man owed the Stark girl a death! Why not Tywin?!
"Perhaps it can't be done right now?" Elia guessed.
"You promised you'd help me."
"Help was not promised, lovely girl. Only death. There must be others. Give a name, any name."
"Well there goes that thought" Elia muttered. "Why won't he kill Tywin Lannister?"
"Perhaps he has an understanding with Tywin in some manner" Daenerys suggested.
"No, the faceless men do not have an understanding with anyone but death" Oberyn clicked his tongue in distaste.
"Perhaps we keep watching and find out" Doran pointed out.
"All right. Jaqen H'ghar."
Everyone was shocked at the name, even Arya in the hall.
"A girl gives a man his own name?"
"That's right."
"Gods are not mocked. This is no joking thing."
"I'm not joking. A man can go kill himself."
"Un-name me."
"No."
"Please?"
"I'll un-name you. If you help me and my friends escape."
"This would require more than one life. This is not part of our bargain."
"Fine, Jaqen H'ghar."
"A girl lacks honour. If I do this thing, a girl must obey."
"A girl will obey."
"Interesting" Oberyn muttered. The faceless man seemed to have taken an interest in the Stak girl. Only that would explain why the man was so lenient with her.