Wolf of Númenor

Chapter 53: The Battle of Winterfell

After witnessing the last petty moments of Baelish's life, Catelyn and her brother Edmure and her uncle Brynden were accompanied by a dozen or so members of the Brotherhood as they set out to the Eyrie.

When her brother Edmure discovered that the Kingslayer was her prisoner, he howled with laughter, clearly amused by the fortunes of Tywin's son, and so either out of dullness or resentment, Edmure was content to mock the lamed lion as he called him at every opportunity.

Jamie Lannister was her enemy of that there was no doubt, that man had thrown her son Bran from the broken tower to hide his affair with Cersei and even wounded her dear Ned though the man had some honour as he had sworn to bring her daughters back alas he had failed for no fault of his own.

Arya has been missing since Ned's failed attempt to remove Cersei from the throne, and no one has heard from Sansa since the death of King Joffrey. Yet Jaime Lannister tried to fulfil his oath by arming Brienne as best he could. When they captured her, Brienne possessed two bags full of coin, a mail hauberk, a shield, and a letter signed by King Tommen saying that she is on a royal mission... And finally, the Valyrian steel sword known as Oathkeeper.

Catelyn's eyes strayed to the sword that Brienne carried with her.

It has grey-black and red ripples through the steel, with the red almost as dark as the grey. Its scabbard glitters gold and is decorated with a row of Lion's heads and smouldering red rubies. The pommel has a golden lion's head with ruby eyes that shine like two red stars... When Catelyn saw it, she wept; that sword had belonged to her Ned and before him to the ancient Kings of Winter and the Lord of Winterfell long after them reduced to a pretty bauble of those wretched Lions.

Jaime Lannister noted that it is appropriate to protect the daughters of Eddard Stark with his own steel, and Catelyn did not refute that ... Brienne insisted that this man had changed, and although she would never acknowledge it, Catelyn was beginning to accept that this was true. Jaime Lannister was no longer the rash, headstrong Knight that he once was.

"None are as innocent as they once were; it seems war makes monsters of us all in some way or another", Catelyn thought with regret before eyeing her brother, mocking Jaime again.

Edmure's enmity was rather vexing, of course, but he had good reason as the lamed Lion had threatened to deliver his heir with a catapult a rather cruel threat as House Tully had lost much in war already, a war that begun in part because of her foolish trust in Baelish, though the Lion could boast that no servant of House Tully lost their lives at the end of the siege.

She would speak to Edmure once they reached the Eyrie.

After several days of travelling at night on the river road, they saw the great mountains of the Vale rise before them snow-capped and aged.

"When last I trod this road, I brought one of Tywin Lannister's sons as my captive, and now I'm bringing the other ... Catelyn thought dryly.

"You have to rest."

Her uncle's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Uncle?" Catelyn asked.

"We have come very far, Cat... We are almost there, but we are wearied, and we are about to enter the realms of the Mountain Clans if they attack us now... We shall not reach the Gates of the moon; we need to rest," Said her uncle Brynden looking up at the sky with a thoughtful expression.

She did not answer and nodded as she did not wish more bloodshed than necessary.

"I do not want to cause more deaths by my recklessness," Catelyn thought with some sadness.