บท 46: Gripes of Age
(A/N: Triple update to announce my return. Nationwide protests got the internet shut down.)
I sat by a rushing stream, one of many that slithered through Riverrun's godswood before emptying out into one of the two rivers running beside the castle. There was no real place to sit there, but I'd never been averse to plopping down in thick grass.
"You're a dumb little shit, aren't you?" I chuckled and poked the snake hissing at me with a small branch. It was a small thing, green like the grass and thin, barely as long as my arm, but for some reason it had decided it would bite me.
Not killing Littlefinger as soon as he admitted his guilt was my test for Robb Stark as a ruler. No, the strong emotional attachment of his mother and his uncle to Petyr was the real test. It would clarify his mettle as a ruler.
"Fancy seeing you here."
I didn't look up, quietly prodding at the snake, "Why so?"
"I was sure your lot didn't like the dirt much, God or Devil."
Huh.
Curious, I raised a brow, "Brynden Tully, right?"
A tall, lean man nodded back at me. His hair had greyed, and was swept to either of a rough, chafed face. A glance at his deep blue eyes revealed to me years of experience, beyond most I'd seen, but they also carried the kindness of a man who understood how fragile yet important life was.
I'd seen him in the war council with Robb.
That and the servants and soldiers of Riverrun admired Brynden 'Blackfish' Tully quite a bit.
"May I sit?"
"Is it true you've fought in a half a hundred battles?" I returned my gaze to the brave snake who still had it in him to hiss at me.
Brynden let out a small laugh and settled down next to me. He scratched the rough fabric of his black coat, then let out a small sigh, "Impressed?"
I smiled, "For a man."
"Aye, for a man..." He lingered on my words for a moment, "Did you have to do what you did in front of all? My niece is a mess."
Niece-... Catelyn Stark.
I glanced at him, "Then your niece needs to figure out if she loved her husband."
"It's not that straight." He scratched the back of his head, a thin smile on his cracked lips, "I remember them playing together where we sit. She loved Ned, aye, but Littlefinger was a dear friend too."
"I feel you might be misunderstanding something then."
The few times we'd met, Catelyn Stark didn't seem the type to hesitate when it came to her family, and there didn't seem to be any she trusted more either... unless she didn't love her husband? But no, I remembered her trembling eyes when she talked of him.
Human eyes gave away much, their subtle inflections gave away more... much more than they'd like to think.
"I hope so." Brynden let out another sigh.
"What do you think they're gonna decide on?"
"Stannis is the only right choice."
"What's he like?" I gripped the green snake by its neck, and forced its mouth open with my thumb, "Stannis, I mean."
Bryden looked at the clear sky. He fixed his cloth glove then cocked his head before finally speaking, "... He's a fair man above all else. I reckon he'd make one of the better kings to sit the Iron Throne. It's his by right."
There was truth in his words, but humans were often too rigid in what was theirs by 'right', to an absurd degree at times. They would rather put a cruel bastard on a throne over a definitively better choice based on this 'right', only to rebel later.
I would see the truth of this Stannis for myself, seeing as my next destination was Dorne, after a detour through the Stormlands.
As much as I'd come to have something of a soft spot for the wolves of the North, they weren't fit to rule.
Men had never bent to fear or to kindness.
They had always given their lives for what was just and fair.
"Well, tell Robb I'll be leaving tomorrow." I let the snake go, then rose to my feet before holding a hand out to Brynden. He took it and I pulled him to his feet, "And er... make sure he doesn't do something stupid like exiling Petyr. The dude technically started this whole war."
Perhaps not entirely, but a significant part of the blame fell on his shoulders and his shoulders alone.
But enough of that, I had something else to do.
-
"Addam." I called out calmly, pushing aside the pavilion flap as I stepped inside to the sight of my squire making the moves on a maidservant. He quickly pulled back the hand he had on her lap and straightened up, face flushing from embarrassment. Then, he put both his hands on the long table, like a kid about to be scolded.
"S-Sorry, ser."
"Why would you be sorry?" I questioned and took a seat across from him. "Somebody get me something to drink."
He was following in my footsteps. I was so proud I could shed a tear.
One of the servants hurriedly filled the tankard lying by me, shaking and trembling as he did, before bowing his head and rushing off to Marika knew where.
"They don't have to be so weird about it." I let out a small sigh.
Addam raised a brow, having quickly calmed down, "Can you blame them, my lord?"
"Nope." I gulped my mead, "But I can blame you. Where the hell did loyalty go off to? Did you forget Bess exists or something?"
A nearby flagon suddenly cast a long shadow on my young squire's face, "I met her at Pinkmaiden." His words weren't excited, and his fists were clenched so I was naturally curious. "She got married to the fisherman's boy."
Silence descended on the mostly empty pavilion, even soldiers eating nearby went silent in pity for their fellow man.
"Huh. Well... er, I guess there's plenty of fish in the sea?" I offered politely, "Somebody needs to write a story about your life."
Addam didn't answer me, he returned to his drink.
This was one of those times one was meant to feel sorry... I cleared my throat, "I'm heading out soon enough. Think you'll tag along? Or will you stay here?"
He seemed to forget his previous dilemma entirely and stopped short, mumbling incoherently, fumbling with his food. Several moments passed like that until, finally, he let out a small groan and spoke in a small voice.
"What would you have me do?"
"Hmm?" I cocked my head, "It's your choice, man. I'm not saying I wouldn't miss the company but I can understand if you wanna stay."
Being my companion meant long instances of me disappearing towards whatever it was that caught my eye, doing things based on whims and whims alone, and long travel times. I could understand why that would be taxing for someone, especially with a shor-...
"Actually, stay. I'll get Robb to take you in. He owes me that." I looked Addam in his confused grey eyes, "Don't waste your time serving me."
I could blink my eyes too long and a human lifespan would be complete. I'd miss his company and naivete but there was no reason for him to waste his fleeting life following me around and catering to my basic necessities... He had that right, at least.
"You... don't care either way then, ser?"
Kids could be so strange.
"What part of my words made you think that?" I shot him down, crossing one leg over the other, "It's cause I care that you're going to stay and make something of yourself."
I wouldn't force my concern on anyone, my life had taught me that lesson in a rather harsh way.
I could make him accompany me but then there would come a point where he'd realise that he was wasting his life, like a few others before him, and the admiration and loyalty I appreciated would inevitably turn to frustration and hate.
There was a chance that that wouldn't happen... but it was a chance I wasn't willing to take.
It was better that all I cared for lived naturally and passed in peace as they were meant to than be dragged along unwillingly.
That was what I had come to believe after so long.
"But I want to go with you, ser."
"It's not a matter for debate, Addam." I shut him down again, calmly.
Of course, he didn't appreciate that... but he was wise enough to withhold those thoughts. He closed his eyes in silent anguish, and for a moment, I wanted to take back what I'd said... But that moment came and went quickly.
"I'll check up on you from time to time."
"But ser...-"
"Don't make this harder than it is man."
I could give it any number of names but the plain truth was, I was suddenly abandoning him. It didn't matter if it was for his sake or mine, just that I would never deny that simple truth.
Before he could say anything else, I rose to my feet and left the pavilion, with hurried steps.
Perhaps he'd understand later, maybe he wouldn't.
My decision was abrupt, too sudden for a kid like him to understand but I hoped he would.
And truthfully... I didn't know what I would do when news of his eventual passing reached my ears.
It didn't take long for me to push what I had done to the back of my mind as I walked through the camp. Steel clanged all around me, accompanied by shouts and the slow footsteps of the occasional patrol or the rushing sprint of squires and helpers. In the distance, I could spot hundreds of Vale knights rushing into the woods along the River Road, riding as fast their horses could carry them.
They grew more and more distant as I neared Riverrun until finally, they became little more than a buzz once I crossed the lowered drawbridge and went past the raised portcullis. After that, it was going to be a straight walk through to the great hall where I'd find Robb Stark.
Or well, it was going to be until I found Robb talking to Arya.
She had her head lowered and her hands behind her back. From the looks of her clothes, she'd taken a nosedive in the muddy part of the Godswood. Arya spotted me from the distance before running over and hiding behind me.
"What'd she do?" I asked with a chuckle as Robb approached me.
"...She tried to catch a fish with her bare hands and got stuck in the mud." The older brother let out a small sigh, the first bit of emotion I'd seen from his face, "But, it is fortunate that I ran into you." Robb reached into his coat and produced a letter sealed with the direwolf sigil of House Stark, "The North, the Riverlands, and the Vale will declare for the rightful King Stannis Baratheon, First of his Name."
"The Vale?" I raised a brow.
Robb looked at the ground, and I could note frustration, "Littlefinger revealed it was... Lysa Arryn who poisoned the late Lord of the Eyrie."
Why would he ever do that?
"Roose Bolton has ways of making men speak."
"You let him flay Petyr?" I cocked my head, somewhat surprised.
House Bolton was famous for flaying criminals and enemies for information or as outright punishment. It was a savage way of being, but not one I hadn't seen or heard of before. Messmer made a show of impaling the Hornsent, Marika's punishments were even severer.
Robb averted his gaze, "A moment of passion. I stopped him but... I was late."
"Well, he had your father killed so I won't blame you."
Who could? And Robb was young, so a few mistakes could be excused... especially when I could see the guilt written all across his face.
"It was a mistake. A stain on my honor." He admitted with quivering lips. Arya slowly came out from behind me and gripped her older brother's hand, squeezing it tightly.
Then, with a voice so emotionless even I was somewhat surprised, she reassured him, "He deserved it."
...This girl was weird.
Robb cast an estranged glance her way before turning back to me, "'Lord Yohn Royce will spread the word, discreetly... and will act as Lord Regent until Robert Arryn comes of age. My aunt. She will be punished for her crimes against the realm." His words became resolute as he spoke, "We will stand with what is just, so long as we are promised justice against House Lannister."
I raised a curious brow, "And your bannermen?"
His pursed lips curved into a thin smile, "My bannermen have become agreeable after your earlier actions... even Rickard Karstark and Roose Bolton. I trust this letter will reach the right hands."
Did he just assum-...
I grinned.
"Cheeky brat."
-
Hope you enjoyed.
Comment any thoughts or ideas you might have for the story, really, it helps a ton.
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