Chapter 22: Battle of Bitterbridge - Prelude
Starpike castle, 8 days after the massacre of Bitterbridge,
"My Prince, there are three men at the castle gate who crave an audience with you," Areo Hotah informed Quentyn, who was busy holding court with the entire nobility of Dorne who had finally managed to make their way to Starpike.
All talk ceased as Quentyn looked up at his sworn shield, "And? You surely did not interrupt me just to inform me of this? Who are they?"
All talk in the room ceased as everyone turned around to look at the bearded priest of Norvos expectantly.
"Barristan Selmy, Arthur Dayne and a young man who is severely disfigured, who I presume is Sandor Clegane," the reply was curt and precise, misinterpretation was impossible.
Quentyn's eyes widened even as he began to tap the armrest of his chair even as he tried to sort his thoughts. His uncle and fellow lords on the other hand were not so restrained.
"A Clegane! And he dares to show his face in Dorne! That boy has some nerve!" Oberyn seethed in anger as his hand automatically fell towards his spear which was currently lying next to him on the table.
"I had heard Ser Barristan had escaped, but this is quite surprising!"
"And the Sword of the Morning has returned now after all this time? What the hell was he doing until now?"
"What is their purpose here? And now?"
After a few minutes, Quentyn raised his hand and everyone fell silent.
"Admit them inside," he ordered, even as Hotah went out while a ripple of unease spread throughout the room.
Twenty minutes later, when Areo Hotah entered the room, all of the men in the room became silent, as they observed the two Kingsguard members enter the room. The third member, the Clegane was not so poised, as he took in the venomous glares of all the men in the room but remarkably, he managed to hold his composure, just barely at that.
As they approached the throne room of Starpike, all three of them knelt on one knee and bowed, and waited for Quentyn to give them leave to stand up.
"My guests, you place me under an interesting conundrum," Quentyn spoke out, even as he looked at his guests, "I see before me three different people. Two Kingsguard members, and a boy who was a servant of the greatest enemy of Dorne. Ser Barristan, you famously fought for Rhaegar and then spurned the usurper for the treatment he meted out to my Aunt and cousins. Then, you broke out and made your way here, to render me aid, I assume. You have the least to fear," he finished, at which a grateful Barristan Selmy nodded his head in gratitude and stood up.
"Next, we have you, Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, the greatest swordsman in the world," Quentyn continued, as his voice became harsher, "You were closest in council to Rhaegar, and followed him faithfully, and yet, when it came to the Rebellion, you participated in the one battle which was Rhaegar's greatest victory and came close to killing Hoster Tully and Jon Arryn themselves. But after that, you left the battlefield, and never returned. And now, after the death of your prince, your king, and my aunt and her children, you now return. What am I to make of it, I wonder?" he concluded as he glared at the man, who simply stayed bowed and gave no answer.
After a moment, Quentyn's eyes hardened as he looked at the man, "So I see, it is as I thought after all. Your silence has given me all the answers that I need, yes?" he asked, to which the Sword of the Morning looked up at him and gave him a curt nod.
There was a hint of a smile on Quentyn's face, "Very well, we will speak on this later, but for now, we come to the most important person in this room. Sandor Clegane, I must admit, you place me in an unusual situation. What am I to make of you, I wonder?" he asked, even as he looked at the young man in fascination. Both of them were of the same age, but that is where all the differences ended.
Fearlessly, the Clegane looked up at him and spoke out, "Well, for starters, you could let me live," he spoke in a dry tone which was quite unappreciated by all the Lords present.
"HOW DARE YOU, BOY?"
"LANNISTER SCUM, YOU DARE SHOW YOUR FACE IN DORNE?"
"MY PRINCE, JUST GIVE THE WORD AND WE SHALL DISPATCH THIS FOOL TO THE DEPTHS OF HELL!"
"CLEARLY, HIS BRAINS WERE BURNT OUT AS WELL, WHEN HE BURNED HIS FACE!"
"SILENCE! THE PRINCE DID NOT GIVE YOU ALL LEAVE TO SPEAK!" the thunderous voice of Oberyn Martell roared and drowned out the din of the Lords who were rocked back into silence.
"Thank you, uncle," Quentyn smiled pleasantly, even as he looked at the Clegane, who looked very bored with the proceedings.
"Now then, what do I do with you? Give me a good reason as to why I should not have you killed where you stand?" he asked curtly, at which Barristan Selmy jerked and looked as if he wanted to protest, but deflated at a single glance from Quentyn and became silent.
"We are waiting for an answer, boy?" Oberyn interjected harshly, to which the Clegane stood up, and looked at Quentyn fearlessly, eye to eye.
"Because our interests align," he said with as much force as he could muster.
"Oh, and how would that be?" Quentyn asked curiously, even though an inkling of what the boy wanted flickered through his mind, but he shook it away. He needed it hear directly from the person in front of him.
"I want revenge," the boy said calmly, "However, I lack the strength or resources to achieve it. You on the other hand possess both. I intended to use Selmy here to achieve it, but you are a better prospect," he admitted shamelessly, as the jaws of everyone in the room dropped at the audacity of the boy's words.
"You intend to use me?" Quentyn asked perplexed, and then broke out into uproarious laughter, while the room descended into shocked silence looking at the two boys dazed and surprised as to what was going on.
"Amusing, and why should I indulge this request of yours?" Quentyn asked, as his doubts were now confirmed, but he dragged it out for the benefit of everyone else present.
"Because the person on whom I want revenge is the same as you. My brother, Gregor; agree to aid me, and I will tell you where he and Lorch are," he admitted, while the Lords in the chamber hissed in anger at the name of Gregor Clegane.
"And what makes you think that we can't torture the information out of you?" Quentyn asked after a moment's pause, to which Sandor grinned. He took out a small knife hidden within his boots, and placed it at his own neck. Immediately, shouts of alarm rang out, as all the men in the room drew out their swords and surrounded the young Clegane.
"Hold!" Quentyn ordered after a moment, and stood up from his throne and stepped down and approached Sandor until there was a distance of only ten feet between them. "You do realize that by killing yourself, you will fail in your own goal, correct?" Quentyn asked with an amused smile on his face, to which Sandor grinned ferally.
"No, but I will rob you of your best chance to get my brother and Lorch," he replied back, "Usually Tywin keeps those two arseholes close to him, and does not allow anyone else to order them around. But due to the chaos you caused by killing the little lion, they are currently far away from him due to orders issued by Tygett, but it will not be long before he calls them back to his side. And once he gets them back to his side, you will never get them. That old fuck will kill them himself if only to deny you the revenge you want above all else. He is a spiteful bastard like that. As of now, I am the only one who knows where those two are, and if you want to avenge your aunt and your cousins, you will guarantee me my right to live, and in return I will tell you where they are," he finished, while everyone looked at him, as if he was mad.
After a moment, there was a loud chuckle, and Oberyn Martell laughed out, "Oh, I like him! He is smart, this one! It must actually be a crime against nature to like a Clegane, but then again, we are in an age of miracles, I guess!"
"Hmm, you are not lying, that much I can tell; however, you were on the run after escaping with Ser Barristan. How can you possess knowledge about events that occurred in the Lannister camp even after you left them?" Quentyn observed even as he circled Sandor like a hawk circled around its prey.
"Because I am the only one here who knows how they think, and what they will do. I was Tywin's cupbearer, and thus privy to lot more information than you can imagine, and know how the Lannister's will act in case Tywin was incapacitated!" Sandor replied back with a hint of arrogance lacing his tone. However, his visage quailed as Quentyn glared at him, and he shrunk back.
"I will allow your insolence to pass. You seem not to care whether you live or die, and courage of that sort must at least be acknowledged, if not respected. Very well, I will agree to your terms. Your life and safety will be guaranteed, as long as your information proves worthwhile, should it not …," he left his sentence hanging, to which Sandor nodded in agreement, knowing that he had pushed his luck as far as he could.
"Well, where are Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch?" Quentyn asked, even as he sat back on his throne.
"Bitterbridge! They are in Bitterbridge with the rest of the Lannister Army. My brother is too much of a rabid dog to be left alone without supervision, and from what I have heard, the old fuck was bedridden when your man killed the little golden shit. Tygett would never leave him unsupervised, and why do you think the massacre at Bitterbridge went so well? It is because he has my brother and that cunt Lorch, with him. This is the kind of thing they revel in," he spoke with disgust rife in his tone, while Quentyn became silent.
His men on the other hand were not.
"My Prince! This is a golden chance! We must make for Bitterbridge with all haste!"
"Give us the order, and we will avenge Princess Elia and her children!"
"Let us move now!"
As the din began to grow, Quentyn stood up and everyone became silent. Oberyn was watching his nephew with a gimlet eye.
"Silence," Quentyn spoke out, even as he gazed at the assembled lords.
"If we are to mobilize our forces, the preparations for supplies are not yet complete," he spoke out, as everyone became silent. "The enemy having eliminated the entire population of Bitterbridge has no distractions and will commit itself to the complete defence of the city. Though Bitterbridge is a small city, it cannot be termed as a military stronghold, but the rules of siege warfare still apply. They are well supplied, if we consider their own supplies as well as the one's they have plundered from the city as well," he concluded, even as he began to pace around.
"So, how shall we proceed? We are going, are we not?" Oberyn asked after a moment, as everyone turned to look at him in anticipation.
"Do you even need to ask such an asinine question, uncle?" Quentyn smirked, at which the Lords of Dorne began to smile in anticipation.
"The problem we face, is that of time," Quentyn continued, "Tygett Lannister is hoping for us to invest in a lengthy siege, and wait for Robert Baratheon to come and relieve him, by attacking us from the rear, while we besiege them. Planning to corner us through a two pincered attack, they hope to defeat us. As far as plans go, it is not a bad one. Unfortunately, against someone like me, it will not work," he smirked, as he stood up.
"Hear my orders," he spoke out loudly and immediately, all the commanders in the room stood rigidly in attention to hear the orders.
"The enemy seeks to trap us in a war of attrition, but we will not give them that chance. We will strike hard, with swiftness and without mercy! We cannot permit ourselves to get caught in a long siege. We must break Bitterbridge in less than 10 days, anything less in unacceptable! Do you understand what I mean here?" he asked loudly, to which all his commanders shouted out in the affirmative.
"Good! Lord Yronwood! You shall command the Vanguard! Set out immediately with five thousand lightly armed horsemen! Your goal is to reach Bitterbridge as fast as you can and gain complete control of all the roads leading to and out of Bitterbridge! No one shall be permitted to come to the city or its surroundings, and likewise no one from within the city is to leave as well! Take a company of cavalry archers with you. Their only job will be to kill any bird that flies over the city. Be it a raven, a sparrow, an owl, or even an eagle. No birds of any kind must be permitted to fly out from that city! Travel light and carry enough provisions to last for only two days! If you run out, forage for supplies from the surrounding area. Within two days, the rest of the Army will arrive as well, so you need not overly worry! You have six hours to complete preparations and then you must leave!"
"As you command, My Prince!" Lord Yronwood bowed and left in high spirits. Clearly, being awarded the honour of commanding the vanguard had pleased the man.
"Next, Lord Uller! You will take command of the remaining cavalry forces in Starpike and set out behind Lord Yronwood. It will be your responsibility to transport both the soldiers as well as enough provisions to last for 10 days along with you. You must reach Bitterbridge in two days. Failure to do so will result in execution! I will not permit delays of any sort, no matter what! Are we clear?" he ordered harshly, to which Lord Uller gave a curt bow, and immediately left without even speaking a word. Time clearly was of the essence to him.
"Lord William Dayne," Quentyn continued, "You will remain in Starpike with 5,000 men and command this castle, while the rest of the Army and the remaining commanders will move with me to Bitterbridge. Once we reach the city, then I shall take command of the siege personally. You are all dismissed! See to your preparations," Quentyn commanded and as he was preparing to leave, he turned around, "Oh, and Lord William, you may expect Mace Tyrell to arrive in less than three days. If he does, then please explain the reason for our absence and direct him towards Bitterbridge. I will take it from there," he concluded, to which Lord William Dayne nodded in agreement, while the rest of the Lords began to leave the room to their assigned duties.
"Wait, Prince Quentyn!" the voice of Barristan Selmy came out, and Quentyn paused, as he looked at the Kingsguard.
"Please allow us to join you in battle! Allow us to avenge Lady Elia and her children!" Barristan asked, no begged him, as he knelt down to one knee, while Arthur Dayne remained stone faced, but he too knelt down.
After three minutes of agonizing silence, Quentyn replied, "No!"
"What?" Arthur Dayne was the first one to jump up in shock, followed by Barristan while Sandor turned around and looked at the young prince of Dorne with curiosity rife in his eyes.
"I am not that generous of a Lord, to allow men whose hearts belong to another Lord to serve me," his words were like a slap on the face to the Kingsguard, who looked as if someone had flayed them alive.
"Even now, your loyalty is to Rhaegar and his family, and you have come here only because you believe I will aid you in bringing down Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch! But I have no need of men with differing loyalties! House Martell and Dorne has severed all ties with the Iron Throne and House Targaryen. We will not fight in the name of the family which betrayed us so deeply and caused the death of our princess! As long as you hold to the oaths of the Kingsguard, you serve House Targaryen, and I have no need for servants of House Targaryen! Of the three of you, only Sandor Clegane was honest enough to tell me what he desires and as such, he alone has earned the right to come with me to Bitterbridge," Quentyn continued, while the eyes of Barristan and Dayne widened in alarm, while Sandor looked nonplussed.
"What will it take for us to convince you of our sincerity?" Arthur Dayne asked after a moment's silence, to which Quentyn turned towards him and spoke in a tone which was final.
"Renounce your oaths to the Kingsguard! Renounce all oaths of fealty to House Targaryen and all of its living members! Renounce all oaths of fealty you have sworn to Rhaegar Targaryen and his family, and swear your service to me and mine! Only then will I allow you to come," Quentyn ordered and then turned around and made his way out of the chambers leaving two disturbed Kingsguard and a confused Westlander.
Twenty minutes later, in Quentyn's chamber, Oberyn Martell was standing behind his nephew, even as said nephew looked somewhat disturbed. There was nobody else in the room, as his nephew had ordered that they be not disturbed.
"What is going on, really?" he asked his nephew outright, forgoing any roundabout speech.
"I have been outmanoeuvred, for now, I must admit that I find it … irritating," Quentyn chuckled as he poured himself a glass of wine, while Oberyn whirled around in shock, "WHAT?!"
"Surely, you did not think that Barristan Selmy and Arthur Dayne's arrival here was a bit too precipitous? The two greatest warriors in Westeros arrive at our door, and coincidentally bring the one person alive who can tell us where our targets are! Did you not find that a bit too arranged? Especially considering the fact that those two men are the only one's alive who can bring down Gregor Clegane in combat? This was clearly planned by someone who intends to make use of us to achieve their own goals," Quentyn admitted, while Oberyn's jaw dropped in shock.
"Who in the world could …" Oberyn began to speak, while Quentyn interrupted him.
"Eddard Stark."
"You cannot be serious!" Oberyn whispered, even as he sank into his chair, his eyes wide open with disbelief, even as he looked at his nephew wondering whether the boy had gone mad.
"I admit, it all makes sense now, retroactively, once I look at it from this perspective," Quentyn admitted quietly, as he brought out his cyvasse board and began to place the pieces on the board.
"From the beginning, once I conquered Starpike, there were a series of unexplained events which occurred simultaneously, that while innocuous at first, now it is clear, was designed to exacerbate the conflict between us and Robert Baratheon to an unresolvable degree. The very first of it is the fact that Arthur Dayne killed Lyanna Stark. More to the point, it was designed to inflame a searing feeling of hatred in Robert towards Dorne, the same level of hatred he possesses towards the Targaryen's. They succeeded, simply because of who Ser Arthur is," he finished his point as he moved a pawn forward on the board.
"Because he is a Dornishman," Oberyn replied back, to which Quentyn nodded.
"Correct. Next point, and the most crucial, Eddard Stark's prolonged absence from Robert's side during this time. Eddard Stark's reasoning was that his sister was dead, and he was travelling with a reduced retinue to avoid being targeted by our agents, which is a lie. We have never targeted him, you know that, but Robert doesn't. Then, the reasoning is simple, is it not? Eddard Stark does not want to come under public scrutiny and is trying to hide his presence from the eyes of the world. Why? Why is he trying so hard to stay away from the eyes of everyone? What is he hiding?" he asked, even as he moved another pawn forward.
"Third, he is not doing this alone. He has collaborators. You have known Arthur Dayne since he was a boy. Is he the kind of man who would kill a woman regardless of whatever offence she may have given?" he asked quietly, to which Oberyn scrunched his face as if trying to remember something.
"No, he is not," his uncle admitted after a while, to which Quentyn chuckled, "Then why did the Sword of the Morning, the greatest knight in the realm accept that blemish on his honour without a single word of protest?"
"Why indeed," Oberyn mused before his eyes widened, "He willingly accepted it! Why?"
"I will come to that," Quentyn smirked, even as he moved ahead another pawn.
"And now, to the main part, this is where he tipped his hand to me, by executing too volatile a move. He arranged it so that Mace Tyrell would have no choice but to ally with me," he admitted, as he moved one more pawn on the board.
"WHAT? HOW? THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE?" Oberyn shouted as he looked at his nephew in shock and was almost literally close to tearing his hair out.
"By murdering Jaime Lannister and pinning its blame on me," Quentyn spoke in subdued anger, while Oberyn dropped his wineglass in shock as he looked at his nephew, eyes wide with horror.
"Impossible!" Oberyn whispered, as he looked at his nephew as if he was a mad man. "You were the one who did it, you hired the surviving Reyne's to …," he looked at his nephew hoping desperately to hear confirmation for his words, to which Quentyn shook his head in the negative.
"The faceless men refused to take a second contract from me after killing Kevan Lannister for unknown reasons, whoever the man who killed Jaime Lannister was, he was no Reyne and he most definitely was not my man," Quentyn admitted dispassionately, while Oberyn looked as if he had been kicked in his balls.
"And even if they had accepted my second contract, my second target was Cersei Lannister, not Jaime," he admitted, while Oberyn imitated a fish by flapping his jaws open and then closing them.
"But why did you go along with it?" Oberyn asked hoarsely, to which Quentyn shrugged his shoulders.
"What did you expect me to do? Announce publicly that I didn't do it! Who would have believed me in the first place? Tell a lie boldly and grandly without any fear, and people will believe it to be the truth even if it is not. By killing Jaime Lannister and blaming it on me, he knew that Tywin would lose all sense of rationality and make a mistake, which led to …,"
"Bitterbridge!" Oberyn interrupted, to which Quentyn nodded as he moved another pawn on the board.
"He knew that by doing so, Mace Tyrell would have no course left but to ally with me. He is pushing Robert and Tywin to a war with me with all possible speed, and at the same time, he evened the odds on our side by forcing Mace Tyrell to side with me, by giving us parity in numbers. What does this tell you?" Quentyn asked as he looked at his uncle, who was deep in thought.
"He wants us to get rid of Robert Baratheon and Tywin Lannister for him, and is stacking the board on our side," Oberyn admitted grudgingly.
"Yes, but that is not the point. The point is why is he doing this, what is his motive?" Quentyn asked, to which Oberyn scoffed. "He and Robert are allies, and the greatest of friends in the eyes of the world. He cannot afford to make an enemy of Robert, at least in the eyes of the world, lest he lose all credibility," Oberyn spoke out, to which Quentyn nodded.
"Close enough, you are now beginning to think like a strategist, uncle, but the point is, why is he moving against Robert? For what reason? Why has he remained hidden in the shadows while pulling all these strings?"
"Because he has something to hide …," Oberyn's eyes widened, even as Quentyn nodded in agreement, "There is something that he wants to hide, something that if revealed would turn him and Robert into enemies. Before that happens, he plans to use us to get rid of Robert," Oberyn Martell wondered, while simultaneously acknowledging the tremendous masterstroke played by the Lord of Winterfell.
"Exactly!" Quentyn crowed, "and that something is of so great an import that even Arthur Dayne believed it to be worth sullying his honour for and accepted the blame for killing Lyanna Stark, who I believe very much, to be still alive!"
Oberyn jerked back as if he had been scalded, "Nonsense, why would Arthur do that for a Stark? The only one's he would go to that externt are the … Targary …," his eye's widened in horrified realization, to which Quentyn nodded grimly, even as he pointed to the cyvasse board in front of him.
The pawns had all been arranged to protect one particular piece.
The King Piece.
"Lyanna Stark has borne Rhaegar Targaryen a son. There can be no other explanation. There is no way that Arthur Dayne would accept such a stain on his honour except to save the life of the new-born child of his greatest friend. If Robert Baratheon were to find out that Lyanna Stark is alive and has borne Rhaegar's child, he will demand their deaths, which will fracture their alliance. To avoid this scenario, Eddard Stark has destabilized House Lannister and is using them and their actions as bait to goad Robert into fighting us prematurely," Quentyn scoffed, even as Oberyn purpled in rage.
"And once, we get rid of Robert and Tywin for him, he will return as the saviour of the alliance, and at the same time, produce the last trueborn heir of Rhaegar Targaryen, who coincidentally happens to be his nephew, and will claim the Iron Throne on his behalf, with himself as the hand of the king. With Robert and Tywin dead, we will have no cause to fight them, and he will sue for peace. Only difference being that instead of his friend, it will be his nephew on the throne. It is ingenious really, absolutely cold-hearted, ruthless and calculating, I never thought that I would meet an opponent of this calibre in this world," Quentyn shook his head in wonder, while Oberyn stood up and kicked his chair aside in anger as he went into full vitriolic flow.
Some curses like 'evil, twisted, macabre, vicious bastard' were barely tolerable, but the rest was frankly unspeakable.
"You cannot seriously be accommodating of this, this …," Oberyn whirled around in anger at his nephew who scoffed.
"Of course not! Who do you think I am? And besides, have you forgotten that if we allow him to press his nephew's claim, by default we would be acknowledging the fact that Rhaegar set Aunt Elia aside and named my cousins as bastards? Eddard Stark may have forced me to act according to his plans, fine, I will go along with it, as it gives me what I want, the head of Tywin Lannister with Robert Baratheon as the price to be paid for Stark's actions. But, there is no obligation for us to go along with his end goals. He may have devised the plan, but I will be the one to decide its outcome!" Quentyn retorted with a bit of anger in his tone, while Oberyn looked at him sharply.
"What do you mean?"
"It means that against my will, I will have to conquer Westeros or at least half of it, before Stark comes forward with his nephew, I guess I will have to conquer Kings Landing after all," Quentyn sighed as though he was tired, while Oberyn looked at his nephew in shock.
"What?" he asked hoarsely, while Quentyn grinned wanly with mirth coloring his eyes.
"Yes, I guess I will have to claim the Reach and the Crownlands along with Dorne, basically the entirety of Southern Westeros after all," he grinned, while Oberyn looked at him dumbfounded.
"That still does not remove the problem of Lyanna Stark and her whelp," Oberyn replied, to which Quentyn paused, and after a few moments he smiled ferally.
"Then let us pre-empt them. The one advantage we have over them is the fact that they are not yet aware that we have erased all lawful evidence of Rhaegar and Lyanna's marriage. I need you to contact that enterprising smuggler of yours … Salladhor Saan, I believe his name was?" he asked Oberyn who was caught off-guard.
"Yes, but what do you need him for?" Oberyn asked in surprise, to which Quentyn pointed at a particular location on a map hanging on the opposite side of the wall.
"I need him to go there and smuggle back the only people capable of countering the claims of Lyanna Stark's child to Sunspear. He is to go to Dragonstone and bring Rhaella and Viserys Targaryen to us. If he succeeds, I will make him my vassal, as well as a Lord Paramount and hand over Dragonstone to him," Quentyn admitted while Oberyn's nostrils flared in anger, but after a moment's contemplation, he sighed.
"So, A Targaryen to counter a Targaryen then?"
"Of course not, we are no longer bowing to a Targaryen dynasty. Aerys and his actions saw to that. However, once I conquer the Crownlands, we need a vassal house to govern them. The people of the Crownlands are fanatically loyal to the Targaryen's. This will be our offer. We will allow House Targaryen to rule the Crownlands and Kings Landing as our vassals, and in return they must back our claim that Lyanna Stark's child is a bastard, a new Blackfyre, or Icefyre considering their land's history. This way, they are protected and their House does not get destroyed, and we get someone to counter the claim of Lyanna Stark's son, if in the future he presses his claim over all of Westeros," Quentyn concluded, while Oberyn sighed heavily, but nodded in assent.
"And what of our errant Kingsguard?" Oberyn asked after a moment, to which Quentyn narrowed his eyes.
"Unless they renounce any and all forms of loyalty to House Targaryen, they are not welcome on this expedition to Bitterbridge. Make it clear to them that if they wish to avenge Elia Martell then this is the price they have to pay. The question is, does their love and respect for my aunt trump their loyalty to the child of a northern harlot?"
The answer was it did. The next morning when Quentyn's army departed for Bitterbridge, it counted three new commanders amongst its numbers.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I did say that Ned's actions when revealed would be a game-changer.
And before anybody complains that this is not the honorable lord Stark, I will remind everyone that I do not follow canon.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
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