Chapter 4: End of the War
289 AC, Wintertown…
It had been seven months since Rodrik's father left home and the war was fading away from Westeros. The Northern host was on his way home and already nearing the Winterfell. Word was they were going to arrive in the town by noon.
However, war was not only in the South as Rodrik was also giving his own war here. Lydia and her son was a constant nightmare for his life. Lydia was still giving food to Rodrik as little as possible and she was, still, forcing him to sleep on the floor.
Sometimes Rodrik would stay outside and sometimes he would sneak into the home rather early to stay inside.
Today was one such day as Rodrik woke up early. He staffed his blankets into the storage. He quickly went to the kitchen and took out a few slices of bread from yesterday. He ate them silently to not wake up the two monsters. At least, this morning he had something to eat as yesterday morning went without anything.
Rodrik left the house quietly and trodded down to his treasure trove, Whore's Backyard. The place did yield quit income since he occupied it. Although he was forced to give some share to Lenny, he was proud of his doing.
He even recruited some boys from the other parts of the town as there was quite pressure on him. After all, he owned the hotspot of the town. Even the beggars were frequent visitors of the place due to the low prices.
His gang's number was nearing twenty and that was a force to be considered in Wintertown. Every member of his gang was present in the yard but he was planning to close it down early today as the Northern army was returning home by noon. He was going to wait for his father at the gates with other boys.
Rodrik entered a little shed. The shed was actually used for storing old goods by Rony but Rodrik turned it into his own office. Now, Benny was counting coppers here and that was a job he liked a lot.
"Oi, Benny. So how much we earned yesterday?" Rodrik asked with a smile on his face.
Benny was busy with counting coppers when Rodrik came in so he angrily looked at Rodrik and cursed him, "You twat, can't you see I am counting coppers? Now, I forgot how much I counted!!"
Rodrik laughed without caring as he slapped Benny's back, "Forget about it, our fathers will be returning today, that is what only matters! Just stuff the coppers underneath the planks so we can go to the entrance of the town."
Benny snorted but still collected the coppers into a sack and put them with others underneath the plank. There were at least 200 coppers in there. Rodrik was planning to expand his numbers and territory when 500 coppers were collected. He had big ambitions like owning the town and becoming someone important.
Even now, he was enjoying a higher position than the other boys and he hoped to climb higher on the ladder. However, everything required coins and this was no exception. Thus, he was forced to wait for the right chance.
"I am done, let's go," Benny said as he placed the plank into its place.
Rodrik nodded his head and left the shed with Benny. Rodrik took out a key from his pocket and locked the shed. There were only two keys opening this shed and they were with Rodrik and Benny. After all, all of their stash was hidden inside this place.
After being sure the door was locked, Rodrik and Benny gathered the boys and told them that there was no work today and they were going to watch the returning army.
Most of the boys were happy as their father was also returning so they tagged along with Benny and Rodrik.
Rodrik was very happy so he bought some hardtack for everyone. They were surely going to get hungry while waiting and hardtack was the perfect snack for that.
They finally reached the old ruined stone arch at the entrance of the town. One by one, they climbed it and sat at the top.
They began to nibble away the hardtacks as they looked at the horizon for any sight of the marching soldiers.
"I heard wildlings were seen in the Wolfswood. My uncle was sent with other guards to track them down." The youngest boy spoke as he took a bite out of his hardtack.
"Aye, a friend of my uncle's son told him that the wildlings kidnapped a girl from the town." said one of the boys.
The boys continued to talk amongst each other but Rodrik listened none of them as his focus was on the horizon looking for any sign of the army.
A few minutes later, he squinted his eyes and looked hard at the plains. His eyes grew wide as he yelled, "They are coming!!"
Every one of them stopped talking and turned their head forward and looked at the horizon.
"Where? I can't see anything," Benny squinted his eyes and looked around but couldn't see anything.
"Look at the main road!" Rodrik said.
"I saw it, I saw it!" Benny yelled as he jumped down the arch.
Two other boys followed him and jumped down. Three of them run back to the town while yelling about the coming army.
The town became lively at once and everyone gathered along the road waiting to see their loved ones.
Rodrik turned his head back and saw many faces filled with worry, excitement and happiness. Even Lydia and her son were amongst the crowd waiting for his second uncle.
Minute by minute the sight of the army grew bigger. Although it was a lot smaller than when they have departed, it was something that was expected as many of them departed from the army on the road.
The first to pass from the stone arch was the nobles. All of them looked weathered and tired. However, unlike the rest who came after them, most of them did not even have a scratch.
The boys sitting on the stone arch watched with bated breath and searched for their fathers. As soon as they saw them, they climbed down the stone arch and run to their fathers.
After an hour, only four boys were left on the stone arch and the end of the marching army was already near the entrance of the town.
Amongst those boys were Rodrik, Benny and two younger members of their gang. They waited and waited but did not see their fathers.
However, Rodrik did not yield and still waited for his father. While searching for his father amongst the soldiers, he saw a man who looked like Benny so he nudged him and said, "Hey Benny, isn't that your father?"
Ben raised his head abruptly and looked where Rodrik pointed, "Father!!"
Benny did not bother with climbing down, he directly jumped down and run beside his father. However, their reunion was not a happy one.
Benny's father was using a stick to walk as, apparently, he lost his leg. Rodrik saw Benny crying while hugging his father.
Rodrik lowered his head and hoped that his father would come home whole. At least, Benny and his father had a family they could rely on but Rodrik did not have anyone other than his father, except the two fat monsters.
Benny went home with his father while Rodrik and the other two boys continued to wait. The sun was falling down when the last person passed beneath the stone arch.
Rodrik looked at the other boys and said, "I guess we missed them. They might have gone home."
The boys forced a smile onto their faces and nodded their heads. The three of them climbed down and made their way back home.
Rodrik easily entered the house as it was not locked surprisingly. He saw Lydia sitting at the table in the kitchen while holding her head between her hands.
She raised her head hearing the footsteps. Rodrik saw her red and puffy eyes looking at him with hate.
"You!!" She rose to her feet, "It is your and your father's fault!! Crag died because of your father!"
Rodrik frowned and backed away seeing the hulking figure of the woman coming towards him, "Where is my father?" he asked.
"Rotting and getting eaten by the fishes like the useless wretch he is… If not for him, my Crag would be alive!!" She grabbed Rodrik by his hair and threw him towards the kitchen.
Rodrik was dumbstruck as he still did not perceive what was said. The woman before him told him that his father was dead and already rotting.
Tears gathered in his eyes. Although he tried to hold them back, they rolled down from his cheeks. His father was gone.
He did not know what to do, the only thing in his mind was the loss of his father. While he was lost in thought, someone kicked his abdomen.
"If not your useless father did not push my husband, he would not be dead!! The one who was going to die was your useless father, not Crag!" Lydia kicked Rodrik mercilessly. "This house was meant to be Crag's!!"
"My father is not useless," Rodrik murmured while trying to escape from Lydia.
"Get up," Lydia grabbed Rodrik and made him rise to his feet, "Now that your useless father is gone, you are not allowed to stay here anymore. Get out and find yourself another place to stay."
At that moment, Rodrik realized what was happening. The reason his father died was this woman's husband. His father was killed by these monsters to take over their house. And now, they were going to throw him out.
Lydia began dragging Rodrik across the kitchen. Just as they were passing beside the table, Rodrik grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed it at Lydia's leg and yelled, "My father is not useless!!"
Lydia screamed and fell to the ground. She turned her head back and looked at Rodrik with anger in her eyes. "You little bastard. You are a wretched little thing like your useless father!!"
Jason ran beside his mother and tried to help her stand up. However, the one thing they did not expect was Rodrik continuing what he started.
Rodrik took a few steps forward and looked at the mother and son duo before him. Their back was faced to him so they did not see what was happening behind them.
Rodrik clenched the knife in his hand and murmured himself, "My father is not useless…" He raised the knife high above him and red colour dyed his eyes.
The knife rose above all and fell again. The same thing was repeated all over and only a sharp scream crying for murder broke the cycle.
His eyes went to the open door of the house and saw an overweight boy running out while yelling. Then, he lowered his head and looked at his bloody hands holding a knife. By the time he collected himself, neighbours and bypassers were filling the house.
And what they saw was a little boy holding a bloodied kitchen knife with a dead woman before him.
"I… I…" Rodrik let the knife drop to the ground. He did not know what to say. At that moment, guards came in and saw what happened.
The last thing Rodrik remembered was the guards arresting him and marching him to the castle…
…
The dungeons of the Winterfell was colder than the streets of the Wintertown. Rodrik did not know whether it was day or night as the darkness was the only friend in this place.
Two days passed without anyone taking him out of here but at least he was not alone as there was another boy just beside his cell. The boy was not very talkative as he never gave an answer to Rodrik's questions. Rodrik decided that the boy was mute as he tried to speak through gestures.
Rodrik finally heard footsteps coming down the stairs two more days later. A stout man with white hair and whiskers graced him with cold stares. He tilted his head and the two guards beside him grabbed Rodrik and the other boy.
Rodrik knew the guard who grabbed him. He was the one who caught him, Lenny and Jon. Also, the one who stopped him from making a scene before his house.
They marched them up to a big hall. Rodrik saw many people gathered whispering to each other. They all donned the best clothes he had ever seen and they were looking at him with pity and contempt.
There was a line of people before a man who sat on a high chair. He was listening to them one by one. Rodrik knew this man as he was the first one to cross the stone arch a few days ago.
The guards stopped them just beside the wall and waited for the line to end. Then, the other guard dragged the mute boy before the Lord.
"My lord, we found this one sniffing around maester's turret. He was holding a letter in his hands." said the guard. "However, he is mute so we were not able to learn anything."
"A mute child…" The lord thoughtfully hummed and turned his head to the stout man beside him, "I heard there is a merchant caravan leaving for the south by morning?"
"Yes my lord," said the stout man.
"Pay them for the boy and send him with them. Tell them to release him near the Twins." said the lord, "I will need to write a letter about this to the king. Winterfell is not a place the Spider can send his spies."
The stout man motioned for the guard and the guard took the boy left the hall. It was Rodrik's turn and the guard dragged him forward.
"My lord, this one murdered his uncle's wife with a kitchen knife. We caught him on site. We also brought several witnesses." said the guard.
Rodrik turned his head back and saw Jason and his old neighbour looking at him vehemently. Looks like the witnesses were them.
"Bring forth the witnesses." said the Lord who was sitting on the high chair.
The old man came forward and lowered his head before the Lord and opened his filthy mouth.
"My lord, I have known this boy, Rodrik, since the day he was born. He was always a naughty one. It was apparent something like this would happen." Seeing the lord frowning slightly, the old man began telling about that day, "I was at home that day. Just as I was going to sleep, I heard yellings coming from the boy's house. He was yelling about how he was going to kill them. When I went to their door to make them stop, I saw the boy behind me running out while yelling for murder. I peeked inside and saw Rodrik holding a bloodied knife in his hand. Then, the guards came and arrested him."
Rodrik was burning with rage while gazing at the old man. He hated this man as he always bad mouthed him. And now he was spewing lies about him. Still, Rodrik held his mouth as he knew speaking out of turn was going to do him no good.
"Let's hear the other witness," the lord said.
This time Jason came forward while hatefully glaring at Rodrik, "My lord, this vile beast killed my mother after she offered to look after him. Seeing that both our fathers died during the war, my mother offered to look after him but he told us that we were just trying to steal his father's us and yelled about wanting to kill us."
Jason began crying but that was the last string for Rodrik as he couldn't hold himself anymore and refuted his claims, "I never said anything like that!! It was you and your mother who tried to kick me out of my house and claim it!"
The guard, Harold, slapped Rodrik on the head as he rebuked the words of Jason. In the end, the one who ended the yellings was the word of the lord.
"Enough of this babbling!" The lord looked at the stout man beside him, "Are there anything to doubt about the killing?"
"No my lord," said the stout man, "The boy was caught in the act and he did nothing to refute it."
The lord nodded his head and turned his head to the little boys, "I won't going to sentence a boy of 10 years to death. However, the crime is apparent and there must be a punishment."
Rodrik wondered what fate was awaiting him. Although he regretted killing Lydia, there was no return any more. He had to face what was coming, whether the Wall of worse in the cold of the North…
*******
I am still thinking about the fate of Rodrik. If you have any suggestions let me know in the comments!!
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