Chapter 26

The disrespectful and indolent behavior of the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands came as a shock to many, even his wife, who continuously tried to sway him to follow the Crown's instructions. Rosalin Frey was known as the fairest of the many Frey children, and along with breathtaking beauty, the Lady of the Riverrun had been blessed with sharp wit as well.

Lord Edmure would refuse the counsel of his wife and continue to provide refuge to the rogue septons, much to her consternation. In the end, the Lady of Riverrun would have to step in herself, taking action herself to preserve the prestige of her House given that the Crown had threatened to remove them from their position of lord Paramount after their indolent behavior.

Prince Aemon would join up with men from Stormlands, which were led by Stannis Baratheon, and lead them to the castle of Riverrun, and yet in a sign of utter and baffling disrespect, the Lord Edmure would close not let the army enter his Halls. Yet the Gates of the castle would open later that same night, and bread and salt would be offered too on the orders of the Lady of Riverrun, and the Prince would enter the castle only to get attacked by the Sparrows who had infiltrated nearly all of the castle.

The Prince would survive, yet the tragedy would incite the wrath of the House of the Dragon upon the Rogue elements in the city, and the whole world would be reminded of just how the Targaryens had conquered the whole continent.

0000

DAENYS TARGARYEN

It had been a couple of weeks since Aemon had departed from the capital to deal with the religious uprising in the Riverlands. Though before that, he had first made for Storm's End to join up with Stannis Baratheon. On the other hand, reports had come from Stepstones as well, and Rhaegar was preparing for a massive assault, and many were saying that this one battle could spell the end of the whole Blackfyre rebellion.

The whole war had taken a massive toll on her family. They had lost their father at the start of the war. His loss had been hard for them all, for the man had always been there like a solid wall behind their back, standing tall behind them, ready to shoulder the burden of the whole world. Yet even in death, he continued to help them, even using his own body to revive the mythical beasts of their House for them.

And as she sat in her brother's solar, staring at the report from Qyburn, those very creatures were causing her a great headache. Dealing with the usual day-to-day tasks was stressful enough, and now the dragons were adding to her stress.

"So, you are saying that we have to move the dragons soon," she questioned, and Qyburn shook his head.

"No, princess. The Dragon's pit can house them well enough. After all, that is its purpose, but I believe it will be very difficult to keep their presence a secret. They have grown quite a bit, and their growls can be heard in the whole city," said Qyburn, and she nodded.

The dragons had grown at an astronomical rate. It had been a bit over a year since they had hatched and were now large enough to ride. She herself had mounted her Aerion in the night, taking advantage of the darkness to fly on Dragon's back. It had been a surreal experience, and the thrill and the excitement of soaring in the skies above and looking down at the city through the clouds was simply something else.

"There are already rumors circulating around the city about a shadowy beast that takes to the skies at night," added Qyburn, and her head snapped towards him.

"What? But I was so careful!" she nearly shouted.

"I know, princess but dragons are massive creatures. The truth is that I believe it is nothing short of a miracle that we have been able to keep this a secret for this long," added Qybrun, and she grained as she leaned back into her chair, her headache becoming worse.

"Aghh! Can't we just wait until Aemon is back," she pleaded, and Qybrun just shrugged.

"It would be better if the Crown makes an announcement about this before things get out of hand."

0000

BRANDON STARK

The atmosphere in the North was tense. The Northern lords were extremely tense after the abduction of his brother, and their anger and frustrations were growing with every passing day.

Brandon himself was wroth with fury and anger, and it was only the constant assurances from the Crown that held him back from calling an army and decimating these so-called Sparrows and showing them just what these 'Northern heathens' were capable of.

Yet, Prince Aemon had assured him that this matter was for the Crown to deal with and that he wouldn't let anything happen to Eddard. The behavior of the newly enthroned Lord of Riverrun had been surprising as well, as he had refused the Crown's call and had continued to provide refuge to those militants despite their actions. And there were already rumors circulating that the Crown wasn't going to let this disrespect go and that the Crown planned to replace House Tully as Lord Paramount.

The Riverland was in complete chaos, though things in the North weren't much better. The Lords were angry and were demanding that they raise the banners and march towards Riverlands. And as much as he would like to do exactly that, he knew he couldn't do this.

Had it been years earlier, Brandon would have called the banners by now, yet the years of lordship had made him more mature, and he knew that ignoring the instructions from the Crown so blatantly wouldn't be an intelligent move. And even though he may have the support of his lords in this, such an action on his part could plunge the whole continent into a massive civil war. A war they couldn't afford, especially with the rise of their true enemy.

"Things are much worse than I thought," he commented to one of his friends, William Dustin. The Lord of Barrow lands was one of his closest friends. Add to that the fact that Brandon was his good brother. He had asked the man to his solar to know about the thoughts of the Lords before he addressed them at the feast later.

And Brandon sighed as soon as he heard those words, for he had expected as much.

"Ok, so what are they thinking?" he questioned as he picked up his wine glass and gulped down a mouthful of the Arbor Gold to prepare himself for the discussion ahead.

"They are angry, of course, both at you for not calling the banners. Though most of the criticism is towards the Crown, they are saying that the Crown is being insincere and is stalling needlessly," William informed him and Brandon shook his head.

"Gods. What am I to do with them? Do they have any idea, what will happen if I call the banners?" he said exasperated by their shortsightedness, ignoring that he would have done just that if he didn't know what he did about the enemy growing more and more powerful by the day in the true North.

"DO they think I don't care about Eddard? He is my brother! Yet if call the banners, the whole continent could end up in religious civil war," he nearly shouted and saw William nod along.

"I understand that, and maybe the Lords do so as well, and that is the reason most of them are more angry at the Crown over this whole issue," added William, and he shook his head, exasperated by this.

"The Crown is doing everything it can. We are in a war with the Blackfyres, and without the army, the Crown has to be careful as well. And I don't think the Crown expected this from Lord Edmure, and now the Prince himself is marching towards Riverlands with an army to deal with this issue," he retorted to William as he leaned back into his chair.

"At this point, I don't think there is much else the Crown can do," he added. Prince Aemon had been fairly sincere and had written to him as soon as news of Eddard's abduction had reached the North.

He had assured him that the Crown was keeping an eye on this, and would not let this go. And though things hadn't improved from there, the Royal family had been sincere enough according to him.

"I know, but you need to make the Lords see that, they feel that the Royal family has abandoned them. You need to convince them that the Crown stands with them and is doing what it can to free Eddard," added Williams, and Brandon's mind raced as he thought of just how he could convince the Northern lords about the Crown's sincerity. And then suddenly it clicked and he reached into his drawer and began to rummage through the various missives.

"What are you searching for?" questioned William, and he found what he was looking for.

"This!" he said as he pushed the missive towards William, who picked it up and began to skim through it with a frown.

"What is th…?" but he didn't finish the sentence, and his eyes widened from shock.

"This is from before this whole incident. I hadn't made the announcement because I was waiting for Eddard to come back, but I think it is time to announce it to the Lords," said Brando, knowing that the contents of that missive could assuage the lords somewhat and show them that the Crown stood with the North.

"A royal match for Lyanna! Is this real!" questioned William, perplexed and surprised by the words of the missive, and he nodded.

"Yes, it is. It was one of the reasons she wasn't returning with Eddard. Things haven't been finalized, but I believe an announcement can be made. I think it will go a long way to assuage the concerns of the Lords," and he saw William nodding, a bit dazed still as his eyes remained focused on the missive in his hand.

0000

ROSALIN FREY

Rosalin Frey had hoped that marrying the heir apparent to the Lord Paramount of Riverlands would make her life easier. Yet as she sat there in her bed, her heart thumping in her chest as Edmure slept by her side, she realized that it had gotten life had gotten somewhat harder.

After marrying Edmure, she may have gotten the prestige and respect, yet she knew that if she were to let the man continue down the treasonous path he had taken, she could lose it all just as readily. She had tried to talk him out of it and had used every method at her disposal. Yet Edmure remained adamant, fueled by the religious zeal he had remained headstrong. He had refused to budge from his stance.

And so, even as the Prince of the realm camped outside their halls, he refused to open the castle gates, refusing to let the Prince inside Riverrun lest he spill the blood of the Sparrows who had taken refuge in the castle.

And Rosalin had known that she had to act soon if not for herself, then for her children, whose very future hung in the balance at this moment. Her heart hammered in her chest as she slowly got out of bed, being very careful not to make any noise at all.

As Edmure refused to let the Royal entourage into their halls, showing extreme disrespect, it was up to her to act. And so she had used added a sedative to Edmure's wine and had cajoled him into drinking the modified wine so she could do right by her house and her children.

She looked towards his sleeping form and felt guilty about betraying him like this. He was a good man if not rather fickle and easily manipulated. He wasn't the kind to deceive others and was rather innocent. And though such qualities may be endearing to many, they weren't the qualities of a strong Lord.

"I am sorry, but I must do this for our House," she mouthed as she began to dress up. She slid on a simple dress and a woolen cloak, for the late-night winds had become rather chilly as of late. She then slowly walked towards the door and gently opened it. The two guards stationed outside saw her and gave her a nod.

One of the guards then began to follow her, as her trusted maid Shiera walked up to her and handed her a thick cloak to cover up. Rosalin thanked the old woman and began to walk through the castle halls towards the main gates of the castle.

"Did you get my letter to the Prince?" Rosalin asked her maid Shiera. Shiera had been the maid she had brought from her home. She had been her nursemaid and had practically raised her for much of her life.

The aged woman nodded.

"Yes, I did, and the Prince agreed to your terms, though the Prince did state that there will be no terms if the gates don't open tonight. He said he would be waiting outside the gates, waiting for you, my lady," said Sheira in a worried tone, as she looked towards her with a worried gaze.

"Are you sure about this, my lady?" and the question made her gulp down nervously.

Was she prepared for this? Prepared to betray her own lord and husband?

NO! Yet this was what needed to be done. And so, she would do it.

"Yes, I am!" she answered as they stepped out of the castle gates. The massive path now lead to the large walls that went up around Riverrun. Guards and men stood on the wall, wearing full armor. Beyond the walls, she could see smoke rising from fires, and a few massive wooden towers, that were probably sprung up by the Royal army as they surrounded the castle.

Her heart thumped in her chest as she saw the eyes of several men land on her form. The guards manning the gates saw her walking up to them and stood up nervously.

"My lady!" they bowed as she walked towards them and gave the final glance towards the massive wooden gate standing between her and the Prince. She closed her eyes and took in a gallop of air as before she spoke up in her most regal and authoritative voice.

"Open the gates!"

0000

AEMON TARGARYEN

"Is it wise trusting the words of a woman, my prince? House Tully has disrespected the Crown. Don't you think this could become a bad precedent?" questioned Stannis from the side, and Aemon could understand the hesitance of the man, but the offer from the Lady of Riverrun had been filled with desperation.

She, unlike her idiot lord husband, understood the dynamics of power, and had reached out to him in that desperation, hoping to secure the future of her children. Aemon was angry with House Tully, and they would get their due, yet first, he had to deal with this Preacher and his so-called Sparrows.

"Well, it was the best option. And we will deal with House Tully afterward. She did accept that her son would become my squire and that once her daughter is of age, she would come to the capital to serve as a handmaiden for Princess Rhaenys," Aemon told Stannis about the terms he had offered to the lady of Riverrun, as they sat on their horses, staring at the gates of the castle in front of them.

"That should keep them in line," said Stannis, realizing what those offers were. Hostages. The two children would act as hostages. It was a tame punishment for the offense committed by their house, though given the services of Lord Brynden to the Crown, perhaps such leniency was needed.

Though, Aenys did plan on writing to the famous lord about this whole debacle, asking him to come back so he could put his own house in order and teach his nephew a lesson or two.

"They are opening," said Stannis, and Aemon's eyes narrowed as he saw the doors to the castle open as a cloaked figure walked out of the massive doors.

"Let's go," he said and pulled on the reins of his horse as Stannis and their guards made to follow as they silently moved towards the three strangers that had come out of the castle gates. He stopped his horse in front of them and jumped down, and walked towards them. He recognized the old woman standing at the back. She had been the one who had brought the message earlier in the day, and the other person was a guard.

Leaving, the person in front wearing that woolen cloak is the Lady of Riverrun, Lady Rosalin Frey.

"Do we have terms, my Prince?" came the voice of the Lady of Riverrun, and Aemon could tell that she was nervous. And she should be. She had just betrayed her lord and husband's trust. And he nodded as he raised his hand, signaling for the army to begin their move.

"Yes, we have…." But before he could finish, he didn't miss how the guard standing by her side suddenly took out his sword and aimed it at her back.

"Watch out!" Aemon shouted as he reached for her and pulled her back. The sword managed to catch her, despite his efforts, drawing a scream from her.

"AGHHH!" she shouted as Stannis took out his own sword and rushed towards the man who was quick enough to shout.

"CLOSE THE GATES! THEY HAVE ATTACKED THE LADY OF RIVERUN! IT'S AN AMBUSH!"

And only then did Amon notice the Seven pointed star, embezzled into the pommel of the sword of the guard.

"He is a freaking Sparrow. I want him alive!" he shouted in anger as the Lady Of Riverrun bled in his arms.

0000

As always, you can read ahead and support me on Patreon. Your support makes it possible for me to write these stories. So, if possible, have a look and consider dropping a dime. It would help me out a lot. So, yeah, consider becoming a patron if you can.

www.Patreon.com/Drkest

Have fun reading!