Chapter 13: Journey to the South [2/2]
AN: Seeing all the comments made me happy, so here is another chapter. Now, I'm off to LOTR marathon, happy readings to you guys!!
298 AC, Riverlands…
Watching over the little lady by Lord Stark's order was a normal occurrence for Rody. He watched as Arya played with Lenny's half-brother, Mycah, just beside the river. They were clashing with wooden sticks.
Rody grieved watching them clamor at each other as he shook his head. He patted the head of the growing direwolf's head that was standing beside him as he watched their clumsy movements.
Seeing Rody's expression, Arya harrumphed and said, "Is it funny watching us, Rody?"
"Of course not, my lady." Rody wore a stony face as he answered.
"Father and Jon said you are the best the North has to offer. Surely you must have some tricks to teach us." Arya said with hope in her eyes.
"Lord Stark would not approve of that, my lady." Rody frowned.
"Maybe we can keep that as a secret between us?" Arya smiled slyly.
"Well…" Rody sighed dramatically. Maybe it was better this way as they would not hurt themselves while trying to swing their sticks to each other. However, Rody did not intend to come out of this without empty hands, "Only if you teach me how to read, my lady. I heard from Maester Luwin that you were pretty good with your words."
Arya scrunched up her face and looked at Rody with slanted eyes but, in the end, she yielded. "Deal, but only after we reach King's Landing."
"So do you know the first mistake you made, my lady?" Rody did not dwell and jumped into his first lesson directly, "It was swinging your sword like a club."
"Your sword should be like your arm, the strength of your swing should come from your whole body, not just your arm." Rody continued to give them instructions as he demonstrated for them.
"Now, let me see the two of you in action." Rody said after some demonstrations.
After several exchanges of sticks, Rody heard the steps of two people. He turned his head to see the crown prince and Sansa coming down the riverside. The crown prince was holding a castle-forged steel sword in his hand.
Just as he was going to tell Arya and Lenny's half-brother to stop, he heard the scream of Arya as Mycah landed a strike on her hand.
"Arya?" Sansa yelled in a horrified way seeing her sister playing with sticks.
Rody watched as Arya and her sister traded hateful words with each other. On the other hand, he saw the crown prince was eyeing Mycah with a smirk on his face.
However, before the crown prince got close to Mycah, Rody went beside him and told him to go back to the castle and wait for them.
Mycah ran with all his might towards the Castle Darry while Rody turned to look at the crown prince who looked like its toy was stolen. He watched as the prince's eyes turned towards himself.
"And who are you?" he asked.
"An unimportant guard, Your Highness." Rody kept the proper decorum taught to him by Ser Rody while answering.
"A guard?" The crown prince smirked in amusement, "Your lady was attacked by a peasant and you did nothing. Maybe I should teach you your duty?"
"Now, pull out your sword and go hunt that traitorous peasant in the name of your prince." The crown prince held his head high and tried to look down on Rody like he was the king.
"I serve House Stark, Your Highness. And the boy is the part of Lord Stark's entourage, I am sure he would find such action unjust." Rody said without taking his eyes from the crown prince.
As Arya smirked and Sansa grimaced, a red tint took over the crown prince's face and he yelled. "I am the crown prince!"
"You will listen to my orders, or else it will not be just your tongue that you will lose," he said.
Seeing Rody not moving, the crown prince put his sword onto Rody's cheek and pressed it until blood came out.
Rody did nothing as the cruel prince cut his cheek. After all, if he was to go against the crown prince that would be the worst offense.
Just as he was waiting for the crown prince to be done with his little show, he glimpsed Arya swinging his stick upwards down.
However, before Rody could do anything, the stick was already connected to the crown prince head. Sansa screamed in horror as the crown prince turned around with a mad glint in his eyes.
Before Rody could even realize what was happening, the prince was already swinging his sword towards his charge.
Just as Rody pounced forward, a gray fur flashed past him and knocked the prince down. Rody grabbed the prince's sword by its sharp side before he could swing it and yanked it to himself.
The sword cut Rody's hand but he ripped it off the prince's hand and threw it aside.
The prince howled in pain as he held his arm like he took a severe blow. Sansa ran to his betrothed side to help him up but the prince batted her away with anger in his eyes.
The prince collected himself and ran back to the castle after throwing a hateful look towards the Stark sisters.
Rody quickly ripped a part of his shirt and tied it to his hand. He grabbed Arya and turned to grab Sansa but saw her running behind the prince. He knew no good was going to come out of this so he trekked towards the castle with long steps while dragging Arya with him.
When he arrived at the castle with Arya beside him, he saw the red cloaked Lannister guards eyeing him and Arya with slanted eyes.
He met Jon while going towards where the Stark entourage was staying.
"The queen is telling everyone you, Arya and her wolf attacked the crown prince. It will not be long before they come for you." Jon said, "Father told me to bring you to him, immediately."
Rody's face paled at the accusation, the thing he tried to prevent was happening now. He turned his head to look at Arya and her wolf.
The girl was going to be okay as she was the daughter of Lord Stark but the same thing could not be said about Rody and the wolf.
There was no power preventing the queen from acting against them so Rody turned to Jon and said, "If it is as you said, the queen will be after the wolves. Take some greycloaks with you and ride north of the river in haste with the wolves."
Seeing the distressed expression on Jon's face, Rody said, "You are the only one the wolves will trust so it must be you who goes. If I do not send word by dawn, you should ride North with the wolves, lest they get killed by the queen's men."
Jon nodded his head with a determined expression and said, "You speak true, the queen is a vindictive woman. She will not stop at anything. I will let Lord Stark know before leaving."
Just as Rody was going to nod his head, he saw several Lannister guards coming towards them so he quickly whispered to Jon's ear, "They are already coming, don't bother with informing Lord Stark. He will not begrudge our actions so ride hard and be swift."
Rody watched as Jon left the grounds with two wolves following him behind while the red-cloaked guards came beside him.
"Are you the one they call Rody?" the leading man with golden hair asked as a crowd gathered beside them.
"Aye, I am." Rody said, "What would a Lannister guard want from a simple Northman?"
"Then, this must be Lady Arya Stark." The guard said with disdain in his voice.
"By orders of the queen, you are under arrest for assaulting and attempting to murder the crown prince, Joffrey Baratheon!" The leading guard yelled, "Come with us in peace, or blood shall be shed in these grounds."
The murmurs broke out in the crowd as Arya grabbed Rody's arm tightly, fear was evident in her face as she eyed the Lannister guards.
"Beware your words, it is the king who gives out justice, not the queen. Lady Stark is a member of House Stark, trying to arrest her like a peasant is unbecoming of nobility." Just at that moment, a voice came from afar and the captain of House Stark's household guards, Jory Cassel, came forward. "Only the king and his council could order the arrest of a highborn noble lady."
The Lannister guards mumbled and put their hands on their swords. In return, more than fifty Northmen grumbled and came a step forward in defense of their lady.
"Enough!!" Just as a fight was going to break out, Lord Stark came out bellowing like the cold winters of the North.
The Northerners put their hands down and opened the way for Lord Stark, "The queen cannot order the arrest of my daughter, we will take it to the king. Then, we will see the truth of this matter."
The Lannister guard snorted and said, "As you wish Lord Stark. However, the guard will come with us, for he is not entitled to your House's name."
"I will have you know, I am a knight and a landed noble." Rody said while smirking.
While they were trading words, Ser Barristan Selmy, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard came in. Apparently, he was sent by the small council to escort the king.
"Lord Stark, the king summons you to the great hall of the keep." said Ser Barristan.
Lord Stark nodded his head and led his small group towards the hall. On the road, Rody quickly told him about what happened in whispers so nothing unbecoming happens later.
The hall was packed to the brim with Lannister men and the number of the Northmen was thin as the willowy figure of a whore.
The king was sitting at the lord's chair while the Kingsguard was standing on his sides. On the other hand, the queen and her son were standing aside like statues. The prince was holding his arm like a war veteran and grimacing at the touch of the maester beside him.
However, the fine addition to their numbers were Sansa and her pet direwolf. Sansa was looking to the ground with teary eyes while Lady was chained just beside her.
Lord Stark did not hesitate and pushed the Lannister guards aside and went towards his daughter. He hugged her and looked at the king. "Your wife is sending her men to arrest my daughter… What is the meaning of this, Robert?"
The king looked at his wife vehemently and then turned to his Hand, "I'm sorry, Ned. The woman came to me barking about your daughter and her guard attacking Joffrey."
"They boy is saying they clubbed him with sticks and her guard pulled his arm so hard, it was dislocated." said Robert, "Now let us hear your daughter and be done with it."
Lord Stark nodded his head and turned to his daughter, "Speak the truth Arya, only the truth."
Arya spoke about the whole occurrence while the queen yelled about how the girl was lying. After Arya was done, the king's eyes turned to Rody.
"Is this the one, you spoke about Joffrey?" Robert asked his son. Seeing Joffrey nod his head with an evil glare in his eyes, Robert continued to his words, "If what the little girl said is true, you should have wounds proving them."
"Yes, Your Grace," Rody nodded his head and showed the wound in his hand, "It happened when I yanked the prince's sword, lest he hurt himself or Lady Arya."
Robert grumbled then his eyes turned to Sansa, "What about you girl? You were there with your betrothed, surely you saw what happened?"
"I… I don't know, Your Grace," Sansa sputtered out at the intense glares she was receiving from around, "It happened so fast I couldn't see anything."
"Will you trust the words of a peasant over your son, the crown prince?" The queen said, "They accuse your son of lying and you say nothing. The maester already told you, his arm was dislocated."
"Seven Hells," Robert swore, "What do you want me to do, woman? Should I order her to be whipped through the streets, she is a child!"
"Yes, they are children as you say but what about the wolf and that guard. If even a pet dog and a simple guard could attack the crown prince of the realm, what would happen to the prestige of the royal house?" Rody knew the words of the queen cornered and things were getting uglier each second.
Lord Stark tried to protest but even he knew that the prestige of the royal house needed to be upheld.
"So be it," The king grimaced and Lord Stark shut his eyes as the words left the king's mouth, "Ser Ilyn Payne, off with the guard's…"
However, before he could utter his last word, Rody spewed out the words to judge his fate on his own, "I demand trial by combat!"
A silence took over the hall and only after a second, a bolstreous noise broke out. Everyone was yelling for the insolence.
"Enough!" The king hit the armrest of his chair as he tried to put the hall in order.
However, the queen was not satisfied with the situation, "A peasant can't demand trial by combat! That right is reserved for nobles and knights only. Ser Ilyn Payne, take his head."
Ser Ilyn Payne attempted to pull out his sword but Jory Cassel put himself before him and did not let him come forward.
"What is the meaning of this Stark? Do you intend to go against the king's justice?" The queen tried to sow discord but things she didn't know were at play here.
"Your Grace should know better, I have informed you about the new noble house of the North and how its head was knighted by Ser Rodrik Cassel." Lord Stark said with a high voice.
"Aye, I remember something about that…" The king muttered to himself. "A trial by combat then!"
Rody watched as the queen's eyes turned to his twin who was standing beside the king. "Ser Jaime Lannister should represent the Crown, besides he is the uncle of the crown prince!"
Everyone's eyes turned towards the Kingslayer, "I would gladly defend the honour of my prince." he said.
The king did not dwell too much on who was representing the Crown as he turned his eyes to his friend, "So who will be representing the boy?"
Lord Stark's eyes turned to Rody and he nodded his head.
"I will represent myself, Your Grace." Rody said.
Shocked and surprised voices sounded around the hall but it died down several seconds later as the king ordered everyone to move out to the yard for the upcoming duel.
The two of them took their place. Rody pulled out his castle-forged sword while Ser Jaime pulled out the sword that could be bought only by the richest of the kingdoms. It was jeweled on its hilt and the body of the sword was shiny enough to make the enemy blind.
The crowd was split into two parts, on one side was the Northern party and on the other was the royal party.
Both of them were cheering for their respective sides. However, it was apparent from the nobles' eyes that they were already favouring the Kingslayer's side as his skill with sword was known all over the kingdoms.
"Prepare to meet your Gods, boy. You will learn the price of touching a royal, honour demands your death." The Kingslayer smirked as he said.
Rody snorted, "What would a Kingslayer know about honour, even the dogs have more of that than you."
Apparently, those words angered the Kingslayer enough to attack him with fervor. Even at the first sword strike, Rody realized that this enemy was the most challenging he would ever face.
The Kingslayer was faster than him but Rody did have something else in his sleeves, skill.
He parried his sword and countered by a strike of his own but the Kingslayer dodged his sword easily.
The Kingslayer sneered at Rody and threw an overhand cut. He parried quickly, reflexively. The Kingslayer cut from the other side, and Rody again parried. They moved, back and forth, until, realizing he wasn't dead yet, Rody began to remember his training. He started to think, to act instead of react.
"What is it, boy? Did you swallow your tongue? Where are your biting words now, huh?" The Kingslayer threw another overcut as Rody parried with a rise of his sword.
The Kingslayer was trying to get into his head, Rody knew that. However, his training with Uncle Duncan and Ser Rodrik Cassel taught him enough to let him know that taunting the enemy when the fight was already ongoing was either a sign of sneaky tactic or the challenging situation felt by the enemy.
Rody realized his enemy was leaning over his right too much so he attacked him from his left after parrying another strike.
The Kingslayer parried his strike and tried to counter with another swing of his sword but Rody did not give him that opportunity as he rained down one after another sword blow.
The fury in his eyes was evident to both parties as Rody remembered how the crown prince cut his cheek knowing that he could not pull out his sword considering his position.
The biting words of the Kingslayer were gone and in its place was the grim expression on his face. Apparently, he was not expecting such skill from a boy of his age.
The audience was watching in silence and wonder. They were watching a fight between two sword masters, one known across the kingdoms and one never heard before.
The boy before them was only three or four years older than the crown prince but his skill was already near the infamous Kingslayer, maybe even surpassing him.
It was apparent that all the Kingslayer was having a hard time. The king was watching with glee as his Kingsguard was getting battered by a simple Northman.
The queen and her son were watching with a scorn on their faces as their family member was getting beaten by a boy half of his age.
On the other side, Arya was cheering with the other Northmen for Rody. Lord Stark was watching with a smile on his face as the years of investment was finally paying out.
Rody did not intend to prolong this duel anymore. The Kingslayer was already getting tired and his advantage of speed was gone with each parrying. Rody put all his weight behind his last strike as he closed the space between himself and the Kingslayer.
He threw another strike as the Kingslayer staggered and Rody kicked him from behind his knee. With his enemy kneeling on the ground, Rody did not waste any time and put his sword on the Kingslayer's neck.
"Yield," he said.
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