Chapter 31
CATELYN TULLY
Death rode behind a Stark headed South. The words were once said to her by her father, but she had long forgotten about them. Still, when Robert had come calling for her husband, she had protested weakly and unsuccessfully.
But their friendship was strong, and one could hardly deny a King. Robert had made up his mind, and Eddard had never denied his friend before, and so he had ridden forth to the capital along with their daughters, even as Bran was still to wake from his slumber.
It was painful watching him go, yet duty had come calling, and Eddard had answered the call. She had hoped that the King's friendship would serve them well, and Robert had openly betrothed his eldest son to Sansa, tying their two Houses together as closely as possible.
All of it was enough to dull the doubts being whispered by her sister, and the trouble aching her own heart. But she should have listened to them.
She should have listened to them all.
For her father's words had come true, and just as he had said, war had followed a Stark's steps, and now an army sat between Catelyn and her daughters, and the only word she ever got of them came from letters whose truth she would never know.
Word of treachery and treason had come with Robert's death, as both of his brothers declared themselves Kings, and sought to usurp the Lannister Queen and her children. Renly Baratheon rose in rebellion with the support of the Reach and the Stormlands as he declared himself Robert's true successor.
He was said to have his brother's features and charisma, though many doubted his prowess as a fighter. Yet still, the man had a hundred thousand men at his command, and was wed to the beautiful Lady Margaery Tyrell of the Reach.
Though it was Stannis's claim which troubled her more, for it echoed the words of her sister, and spoke of Lannister treachery and incest. It spoke of a heinous plot to seat a product of incest on the throne, and though many a lords wished to rub the accusations.
She found herself wondering about the truth of them all. Wandering about where their loyalty truly lay, even as they gathered in the desolate Halls of Harrenhall. Riverrun was not a large castle and could not sustain a host of this size.
With the addition of some twelve thousand Northmen, their combined army was some twenty-five thousand strong.
A quarter of Renly Baratheon's strength, but with them stationed at Harrenhall and Eddard building a host in the capital, they had him trapped, and if Lord Tywin were to join from the West, then the war would be over.
"A parlay," she asked with a frown, and her uncle, who had ridden down from the Vale, nodded.
"Aye, the traitorous stag wants to parlay with us," and that was not so out of the ordinary, but then her uncle's eyes turned towards her.
"And he wishes for you to be present," and now the entire Council turned towards her.
"Me," she asked, and it was true that she had ridden with the Northern host, but it was Robb who was leading the men, and asking specifically for her presence at the parlay seemed somewhat strange.
"Aye, the rest of the terms are standard. But the letter specifically mentions that they wish for you to be present," and now she was frowning.
"Any reason why they would want Mother to be there?" Robb asked, and the Blackfish shrugged.
"Perhaps he wishes to curry favor with her, and use her to turn Eddard against the Lannister Queen and her children," and there was little love lost between the Lannisters and the Tullys.
Stannis's accusations had rattled many oaths, and loyalties, yet Starks and Tully's were bound by blood. Her daughters carried Tully blood in them, and with Eddard and her daughters at the mercy of the Lannisters in the capital, few dared to voice out their doubts.
"The bastard has not yet sat the throne and thinks that he can dictate terms to us," Lord Umber screamed from the end.
"I say piss on that parlay, and let us crush this sword swallower," and many a lord roared with him, as the man shook the table with his punch.
"The man still outnumbers us four to one, and I am told that my good brother is not having the easiest time gathering a host within the capital," added her brother, and Ser Umber scoffed.
"They are summer Knights, all of them. Let them have a taste of Northern Steel, and they will all scurry back to their pretty little castles," Lord Umber added, and before this could go on any further, she decided to cut in.
"I will go," and the entire Hall turned towards her.
"My husband is the current Hand, and my daughter is betrothed to the King himself. That is reason enough for me to be at the parlay," and Robb rose from his chair.
"I will go with her," he added, and then all eyes turned towards her brother, who gave her a nod.
"Good then, we have our fill then," her uncle said.
"We will ride at sundown today. I will ready the hundred men," and parlay was no simple affair.
"Has there been any word from the Vale?" and just like the Tullys and the Starks were bound by blood, then the Vale was bound to the Riverlands.
Yet despite a dozen missives, the Eyrie had refused to answer the call. The Knights of the Vale would have been valuable allies in this war, especially as no one knew what the Dornish would do.
They had yet to declare for any side, much like the Iron Islands despite them holding Theon as hostage.
"No. Not yet," her uncle answered, and with that the meeting ended, and the Hall began to empty out until only Ser Bryden and her were left. She had not spoken up in the meeting, but she had noticed how he had tensed up when she had mentioned the Vale and her sister.
It was subtle, but the man had practically raised her and Lysa, and so she was able to notice the shift in her expressions. He turned towards her and raised his brow as Catelyn joined him.
"You were hiding something during the Meeting?" she asked, and he smirked.
"You have grown into quite a woman," he said kindly as Catelyn smiled, and she only prayed that the war this war would not them of any more family. They had just begun to recover from the pains f the rebellion, and now they faced another war.
"What is it?" she asked, again as his lips thinned.
"I am afraid there is not much, except for some rumors and whispers," and she frowned at that.
"Whispers?" she asked, and he did not say anything in response.
"Of what kind?" she asked again, and he gave a deep sigh before he walked out of the room.
"I believe we will know soon enough..."
.
.
.
.
The Parlay was set for the night, and so with a hundred men they rode forth towards the designated area, just as Renly did the same. A tent was set and with five guards each they rode towards one another to discuss terms.
Robb sat to her left, and her uncle and her brother sat to her side. Renly wore armor and a golden crown shaped into the horns of a stag. She had not seen the young Baratheon lord in years, and the man did resemble Robert Baratheon of his youth.
He sat with his Lady wife, and Ser Loras her brother, yet for some reason the fourth seat on their end remained empty.
"First of all, I must say that I am greatly relieved to hear about the waking of your son," and it was the young lady Margaery who brokered the conversation, and she was young, but she could see why she was called the Rose of Highgarden.
She was thin, and her brown hair was lush, and her eyes were kind and graceful.
"Thank you, my lady," she answered, as her eyes turned towards Lord Renly.
"And you have our condolences on the death of your brother, my lord," and it was Ser Loras who cut in.
"Your grace," the Knight of Flowers cut in.
"Not my lord," and Robb was quick to cut in.
"He is no King of ours," and the tension rose at once, and before the young man could say another word, Renly Baratheon raised his hand.
"Please, there need not be animosity here. Lady Stark and her retinue has simply been misguided," he added, and her uncle scoffed but did not say anything.
"If not me, boy. Tell which King do you serve then?" he asked as he turned towards Robb.
"Do you serve my brother, who is all brittle iron. Who would burn us all down just like our Gods on the word of the fanatic he worships, or is it the pretender King who is nothing but a product of incest and greed?" and before Robb could say anything, she placed a hand on his arm.
"There is no proof of those allegations," and the man chuckled at those words.
"My lady, you will have proof soon enough," and now her brother chose to intervene.
"And why would we ever trust anything coming out of your mouth, you traitor?" and she saw his jaw clench, yet Renly refused to turn to him.
"Tell me, my lady, do you truly know what is going on with your husband and your children?" and now she felt a chill run up her spine.
"Of course, we receive letters from them," and the man smiled.
"Indeed you do, but are they really written by them?" he asked, and Catelyn could feel her heart race as the man turned towards the back of the tent.
"Come in," he said, and the tent moved, as a cloaked man walked into the room, and a Myrish scent filled the tent.
"Who is this?" her uncle asked with a frown, and he was ready for an attack.
"Please, my lord sit," Lady Margaery consoled, before her eyes turned towards her while they were filled with pity.
"We are not here to deceive you, my lady. We are only trying to open your eyes to the truth," and the man unfurled pushed back his cloak to reveal a very recognisable face.
She had not met him in years, and even then she had only ever caught a glimpse of the man. But he was rather hard to forget, and she doubted there were many within the kingdom who would fail to recognise him.
"YOU!" her uncle snarled, as the bald man bowed his head.
"It is good to set sights on you after so many years, lady Stark," and it was the man who had sung songs in the ears of Kings and Queens for decades. The man whose little birds told him of all tales between the Red Keep and the Wall.
The traitor, Spider.
"You would dare bring a traitor to this meeting," her brother raged.
"I am no traitor, my lord. I am but a humble servant of the Crown," and she very well knew that her husband had been looking for him for days now. And he was not the only one.
The Lannister Queen was after him for some reason as well, though she refused to divulge the reason to Eddard. What she had offered, he refused to believe.
"What are you doing here, Lord Varys?" she asked, as the man bowed.
"Trying to make up for past mistakes," he said solemnly.
"By betraying the Crown," her uncle added, and the man shook his head.
"I am not the one who betrayed the Crown, my lord. Not at all," he answered, and suddenly it clicked together, as her head snapped towards Renly Baratheon.
"You think I will trust the word of this man here," she asked sharply.
"What do you mean, Lady Stark?" he asked, and she scoffed for they wished to make a fool out of them.
"The man is your servant. His testimony in any matter is simply useless," she countered, but it was not Renly who answered her, for the bald man cut in himself.
"You are right to be wary of me, Lady Stark," he said, as she looked at those light amethyst orbs and wondered what his intentions were and what he was doing here.
"Still, while you may find my word untrustworthy, I do hope you will put more trust in the word of your husband's mentor," and her eyes widened at the mention of him.
"You speak of Jon Arryn," and he nodded.
"But he is dead," her brother added from the side.
"Indeed, but his squire, I believe, is still alive," and now the man reached into his pocket and took out a missive.
"You see, he was amongst the last people to see the old man before he succumbed to his death. It was a strange fever, for it ate him up in but a few days," he added, as an unopened letter lay in the center of the table.
"Many, including myself, thought it to be only age, but the truth was truly treacherous. I only ever became suspicious when your sister fled the capital in a hurry, but then there was an attack on the Prince and the matter was pushed aside, but now I believe I have the truth of the matter," and she turned towards Lord Renly.
"You would trust this traitor?" she asked.
"Not truly," and he was being honest.
"And I intend to change that," the bald man added.
"What is the truth then, Lord Varys?" her uncle asked.
"The fever had addled his mind, but the last words whispered by Lord Arryn as witnessed by his squire were 'the seed is strong'," and she frowned at them, as he pointed towards the missive.
"That missive there contains his oath pertaining to the matter," he said, and so that was what it was.
"Initially, I thought nothing of them, but then it all began to come together as I traced back his steps, and realized that the man had been looking into the heritage of the Queen's children before his death," and that was a lie.
"But we were told that it was Petyr Baelish who killed him," and he nodded.
"Indeed, and that is the mind of the little Lannister Devil at work," he added.
"The attack on the Prince, it was all truly staged to draw away the eyes from the Hands murder, but when I got too close indeed they used the Master of Coin as a scapegoat and had him removed from the city," and he had not called him a traitor.
"You are saying that Petyr Baelish was innocent" she asked, and he shook his head.
"No, but I do believe that the circumstances of his escape were highly suspicious, and that perhaps the man was not the true perpetrator here," and her uncle caught on to the truth of it all.
"Are you saying that the Lannisters orchestrated all this?" he asked, and he nodded.
"Indeed, but that is not all," and now he turned towards her.
"While I am not in the capital my birds still whisper to me tales about the Red Keep and its Halls," and the man slid forward another missive.
"Yesterday they sang a rather disturbing song," and now she was frowning.
"What?" she asked, and he placed the missive on the paper.
"You should read this on your own," he said, and Lady Margaery was the first to come in.
"The three of us here know of it as well, but we assure you my lady we shall speak of it to no one," and then her eyes softened.
"And while we may stand on the opposite sides in this war for now, no girl deserves a fate like that," and her heart nearly stopped beating at those words.
"Girl?" she repeated aghast, and Robb was pale as well.
"Sansa, Arya?" he gasped.
"Our terms are simple," Renly Baratheon began as he rose from his seat, as the rest followed after him.
"Bend the knee, and swear fealty to me as your true King, and I shall forgive all your transgressions, and I promise that no harm shall come to your husband and your children when I take over the capital," and with that, they walked away, while the four of them remained seated.
"Girls? What was he talking about?" her brother asked, and she had no idea.
"Let me see that miss..." but her uncle grabbed his hand.
"Stop!" he warned threateningly.
"What?" he asked.
"The letter is hers to read," and his eyes carried pity as well, and so he had reached the same conclusion as her, and she could hardly breathe now.
Robb jumped out of his chair.
"NO! NOOO!" he raged.
"I will kill them. If they dare harm a single hair on their bodies, I will kill them all," and she had no energy to stop him, as she reached for the letter, and opened it with trembling fingers.
The letter was short, and there was but one line written there, and as her eyes skimmed over the letter, all her fears came true as she screamed out in agony.
"Sansa....."
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