"The Rains of Castamere."
A festive wedding turned grim the moment Walder Frey called for that particular song.
The melody was low and oppressive, foretelling a coming storm.
The air in the Great Hall grew thick, each note striking the guests' hearts like cold raindrops.
Edmure Tully looked at Walder Frey's ancient face, creased with excitement, and caught the fleeting, twisted smile deep in those cloudy eyes.
He felt his stomach churn, as if he had swallowed something filthy.
He knew what this song meant.
It was the dirge of House Reyne, extinguished root and stem by House Lannister.
It was a warning, and a bloody declaration.
For Walder Frey to play it now was undoubtedly the most direct and vicious provocation to House Tully and all the guests from the North.
"Walder! What is the meaning of this?!"
A gruff voice broke the dead silence in the hall.
It was Brynden "Blackfish" Tully.
His eyes were wide with rage, his hair bristling.
He shoved aside a servant, strode to Walder Frey's table, and slammed his hands down with a deafening BANG.
"What do you think this place is?!"
"Is this your brothel, where you can do whatever you please?!"
Brynden pointed a finger at Walder's nose, his voice booming like thunder.
He ignored Lysa Arryn's dark face, ignored Ned and Catelyn.
All his rage was focused on Walder Frey.
He had already heard about the destruction of the Bloody Gate. As the man responsible for its defense, he was in a foul mood.
"This is Riverrun! The seat of House Tully! Not some place for you Freys to trample on!"
Walder Frey flinched at Brynden's roar, shrinking back instinctively.
But he quickly recovered his fearless, weasel-like demeanor, letting out a wheezing chuckle.
"Ser Blackfish, you're getting on in years. Why is your temper still so hot?"
Walder swept his cloudy eyes over Brynden, then Ned and Catelyn, before finally resting his gaze on Lysa Arryn.
"However, I'm in a good mood today, so I won't hold it against you."
"Good mood?!"
Brynden trembled with anger.
He looked around the hall at the varied expressions of the Frey brood, then glared at Lysa.
"What are you happy about?!"
"Happy that you're colluding with this poisonous woman to drag the entire Riverlands into war?!"
"Everyone here knows what Lysa Arryn has done!"
Brynden's voice echoed through the Great Hall.
"Lysa poisoned her husband!"
"She framed the Lannisters, trying to start the War of the Five Kings!"
"She betrayed the honor of House Arryn, betrayed the honor of House Tully, betrayed all of Westeros!"
"And now, she wants to drag the Riverlands, drag House Tully, into her filthy schemes!"
"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking!"
"Do you think following her against the North will end well for any of you?!"
Brynden's words made the faces of all the Tully bannermen grave.
They weren't isolated like the nobles of the Vale. Being in the center of Westeros, news traveled fast.
They had all heard rumors of Lysa's deeds.
They were already unhappy with her arrival. Now that the Blackfish had laid it all bare, their indignation boiled over.
"The Blackfish is right!"
A Tully bannerman stood up, his face full of anger.
"House Tully will never stand with such a venomous woman!"
"We will not make enemies of the North!"
Another bannerman joined in.
"The honor of House Tully will not be stained by this woman!"
In an instant, the Great Hall was in an uproar.
House Tully and its bannermen rose one after another, voicing their anger.
They could accept Edmure's marriage to a Frey for the stability of the Riverlands.
But they would never accept fighting the North and Ned Stark for the sake of Lysa Arryn.
That would be a stain House Tully could never wash away.
Lysa Arryn's face turned livid.
She hadn't expected Brynden to expose her crimes so bluntly, nor did she expect such fierce opposition from the Riverlords.
She turned to Walder Frey, her eyes urging him to act.
Walder Frey's smile froze.
He thought he could use Lysa's madness, House Tully's weakness, and the controlled Edmure to seize the Riverlands easily.
But it seemed these old Tully stubborn-heads weren't as pliable as he thought.
His original plan was to let the Eyrie stall Lynn for a while. By the time he controlled the Riverlands, Lysa and Lynn would have exhausted each other.
Then, he would restore his house's glory and wash away the shame of being "The Late Lord Frey."
But Walder never dreamed that Lynn would take the Eyrie so quickly!
However, his collusion with Lysa to kidnap and manipulate Edmure was a done deal.
If Lysa failed and Edmure testified, he was dead anyway.
The die was cast. He had to stand with Lysa.
He had to go all in on crazy!
"Alright! Alright!"
Walder slammed the table, trying to quell the noise.
But his voice was quickly drowned out by angry shouts.
"Late Lord Frey, go fuck yourself and crawl back to your castle!"
"Well said! Get out!"
Suddenly.
Catelyn Tully's voice rang out.
It wasn't loud, but it cut through the chaos instantly.
"Lysa."
Catelyn stared dead at her sister, her eyes void of emotion.
"Do you see?"
"This is the consequence of everything you've done."
Lysa trembled slightly.
Looking into Catelyn's cold blue eyes, she saw a reflection of her former self.
But panic was quickly replaced by deeper malice.
"Consequence?"
Lysa laughed shrilly, hysterical.
"Everything I did was for the honor of House Arryn! For the future of the Vale!"
"You short-sighted fools understand nothing!"
"You are wrong."
Ned Stark's voice was deep and firm.
He took a step forward, standing beside Catelyn like a mountain of the North.
"The future of the Vale is not in your hands."
"And the honor of House Arryn is not maintained by your despicable methods."
"Lynn has taken the Eyrie without shedding a drop of blood."
Ned's words hammered into Lysa's heart.
"All the nobles of the Vale have sworn loyalty to Robert Arryn."
"Your son, Robert, is in the Eyrie right now, waiting for you to come home."
"You are alone. Betrayed by all. You have nothing left."
Ned's gaze swept over everyone in the hall.
"Your only choice now is to surrender immediately and beg Lord Lynn for forgiveness."
"Otherwise, you will face the wrath of the entire North, the entire Vale, and every righteous noble in the Riverlands!"
Lysa shook violently.
She looked at Ned's commanding grey eyes, then at the hesitant faces of the Freys and the Riverlords who had turned against her.
She knew she was cornered.
Her previous plan had failed completely.
She thought she could use the Freys to block the Kingsroad, then use the Riverlands to stalemate the North and starve them out.
But now... the Bloody Gate was gone, the Vale had switched sides, her son was in Lynn's hands, and the Riverlands were turning on her.
She had no chips left.
"Surrender?"
Lysa forced a smile uglier than crying.
She knew surrender meant humiliation and death.
But if she didn't, these angry nobles would tear her apart right now.
Her mind raced, looking for a sliver of hope.
"Fine!"
Lysa slammed the table, her voice tinged with hysteria.
"I surrender! I will beg Lord Lynn for forgiveness!"
The hall went silent. Everyone was stunned.
"But!"
Lysa stared at Ned and Catelyn, a hidden venom in her eyes.
"I have one condition!"
"What condition?" Ned frowned slightly.
"I demand that everyone here..."
"Including you Starks, Edmure, Brynden, all the Tullys, and all the Freys... we must drink this cup of wine together!"
Lysa pointed to the full goblets on the tables, a weird smile on her face.
"As a witness to our reconciliation!"
She paused, looking at Edmure and Brynden.
"If you don't drink, it means you don't trust me, and you intend to kill me!"
"Then I will die before I surrender!"
"We'll burn together! I'll hire assassins, I'll do whatever it takes to ruin every one of you!"
Edmure and Brynden exchanged a look of confusion.
Lysa's words sounded reasonable—a way to save face and heal the rift.
But they couldn't shake the feeling that this woman wouldn't give in so easily.
Ned Stark's lips curled up slightly.
He knew Lysa.
She was deep and calculating; she never did anything without a purpose.
But Guest Right was in effect. They couldn't touch her right now.
If she was truly willing to surrender with this condition, there seemed no reason to refuse.
But if Lysa was planning something...
Then that would be the reason for her death!
"Agreed!"
Ned nodded.
He picked up a goblet, staring firmly at Lysa.
"I drink!"
Catelyn picked up a goblet too, looking at Lysa with complex emotions, and drank.
Edmure and the Blackfish still had doubts.
But since Ned and Catelyn drank, they had no reason to refuse.
They drained their cups.
The Tully bannermen followed suit, drinking the wine that symbolized reconciliation and oaths.
After drinking, everyone looked relieved.
Because Lysa was a daughter of House Tully, they would surely plead for her life to Lynn.
Plus, Lysa was kin to Lynn's mother-in-law.
For that alone, they were sure Lynn wouldn't execute her.
In their eyes, admitting her mistakes and retiring from politics was Lysa's best option to survive.
After all, Robert Baratheon was dead. No one would remember Lysa's deeds for the sake of Littlefinger.
They were just glad she was giving up power.
Walder Frey's face was a mask of wrinkles.
Watching Ned, Catelyn, and all the Tullys drink the wine, a perverse, chilling smile flickered in his eyes.
He sipped his own wine and looked at Lysa.
Lysa met his gaze, a hidden smugness in her eyes.
She sipped her wine too.
The melody of The Rains of Castamere echoed through the hall, getting lower, darker, more oppressive.
Like the overture to a bloody feast.
Walder Frey's smile twisted further.
He raised his goblet to the guests and let out a sharp, piercing laugh.
"Alright! Now!"
His voice sounded particularly sinister against the backdrop of the music.
"Everyone has drunk the wine! Now, we can—"
He paused, his cold eyes sweeping over Ned, Catelyn, and the Tullys, his grin becoming savage.
"—send our guests on their way!"
As his words fell, every Frey soldier in the hall drew their swords!
Bright steel flashed in the torchlight, glinting with bloodlust!
The music of The Rains of Castamere suddenly became frantic and wild, like the wailing of countless restless souls!
The faces of the Tullys changed instantly.
They realized then... they had been tricked!
That cup of wine wasn't a witness to peace.
It was...
An invitation to death!