Trials and Tribulations of the Oathkeeper

Chapter 157: One Last Push, One Last Fight

—At the Twins—

A massive feast was held at the Twins, the seat of House Frey. Despite the over 300,000 still stationed at a strategically vital location in the northern Riverlands, the atmosphere was merry. It was noisy with the babble of crowded voices of men, women, children and elderly. Word had arrived from the North announcing the Night King's defeat and subsequent extinction of the White Walkers, thereby eliminating perhaps the greatest threat to Westeros.

Seated near the main guest table, Catelyn and Talisa watched as Lord Walder Frey sat at the high table of his castle's feast hall, his eyes darting as he scans the room before banging his goblet against the table – and the room goes silent. The 97-year-old Lord of the Crossings raised his goblet in the air, seeking to capitalize on this glory on behalf of his family. "For House Baratheon!" Walder proclaimed as everyone cheered triumphantly.

"Ours is the Fury!" hollered many of the royal banners. "Hear! Hear!"

"For House Frey!"

"We Stand Together!" boasted the Frey bannermen.

"May we stand together through the centuries—the stone-grey towers and the stags, good friends to the last. And when we drive our swords through our enemies' hearts, may we speak the words of our alliance: 'The Freys and the Baratheons send their regards.'"

The crowd cheers loudly.

"Now... let the wine flow red and let the music play loud!"

Above in the balcony, the musicians playing the harps and fiddles. Talisa and Catelyn are seated at a table towards the front near Walder's main table; nearby sat several of Walder's sons—trueborn and bastards alike: Stevron, Lothar, Aenys, Black Walder Rivers, Waldron, Ryger Rivers, Hosteen, Raymund, Jammos and many more; too many Frey brood to count. Talisa sighed as she still held her son Little Ned close by.

"I'm relieved that this terrible war up north is over," Talisa mentioned. "But what comes next? Will the Dragon Queen and Oathkeeper shift their attentions to each other again?"

"From what we've been told, it would seem that way," Catelyn said. "Ever since the Dragonpit Summit took place I've had a feeling that whatever truce came out of it would only be temporary. Nothing lasts long between them for long until one of them makes the first move again."

"Will there be no end in sight?"

"I don't know, but no one prospers from war for long. It benefits no one."

Their conversation was cut short when Walder chose to sit in between them. "Ahhh... This came together rather well," he interrupted. His head bobbed up and down. "I imagine they'll be talking about this day for countless generations."

Catelyn looked visibly annoyed but maintained her composure. "I'm sure you must be very proud of your son's accomplishments, my lord," she said.

"Ehh, boy's always been so eager to please if it meant giving the family a leg up in the world. Like a mutt begging for a bone. Let 'em have his fun! Least this sovereign chose to work with me instead of laughing at me unlike some in the Riverlands; heh, boy actually kept his promises to my house."

"My lord—"

"Beh! Don't deny it. You think I care? Your family has always pissed on me, and you know it's true," Walder said in a huff. "'The Late Walder Frey,' old Hoster Tully called me because I didn't get my men to the Trident in time for battle. He thought he was witty. Made all the high lords laugh at us across the Riverlands... right down to King's Landing, they laughed at us. People snigger when I marry a young girl, but who said a word when Jon Arryn married the little Tully bitch? The Tullys mocked me for years. They all thought they were better than me. I still hear it in my sleep! Well, who's laughing now?!" His sudden disrespectful outburst caught everyone's attention. "Look at us now, Tully. You're dead, you never came to any of my weddings or the ones before, never married any of your children to mine but now my daughter is in bed with your son, our houses are bound for eternity... and to top it all off, a Frey is a knight of the Kingsguard! The Freys might be a lesser house, but I have Daveth Baratheon backing me. Fear is a marvelous thing."