Chapter 27
Lady Roslin Frey, the lady of Riverrun, understood the implications of her husband's actions and struck a deal with Aemon, who had surrounded Riverrun with his men. She would open the gates of the castle, allowing the army to enter and search the castle for the Sparrows and their leader.
Yet as both she and the Prince would meet at night, to strike the deal, their enemies would strike. Unknowingly, a large number of the castle's men had already been replaced by zealous Sparrows, who attacked the Lady of Riverrun and Prince Aemon, hoping to kill them. Though fortune, would favor the lady and the Prince, and they would be able to retreat back to the safety of the army camp.
Though, that is where their luck would run out. The Sparrows would make hostages of the very man who had provided them with refuge, despite his oaths to the Crown. It would be found out that the leader of the Sparrows would be in the castle as well, commanding his men as they made Lord Edmure and his three children their hostages. The Prince would have to pull back to save their lives, yet these actions would lead the other lords to prosecute religious fanatics in their lands with haste, as they all lost whatever sympathy they had ever held for the group.
King Rhaegar would hear of this ordeal, and some men in his army would advise him to turn back to Westeros, to deal with this issue. Yet the Prince would ignore such advice and would choose to trust his brother and sister, believing them to be fully capable of handling this mess.
Back, in the capital, Princess Daenys would learn of this ordeal and, after much deliberation, write a letter to her brother, the effects of which would shake the foundations of the Seven Kingdoms.
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RHAEGAR TARGARYEN
Rhaegar Targaryen frowned as he read the latest missive from the capitol detailing the happenings in Riverrun. It seemed to him, that these so-called Sarrows were proving to be more trouble than they had all expected and had now taken some very valuable hostages.
"This is a mess, Aemon should have stormed the castle," spoke Arthur from the side as they stood on the deck of the Titanic, the flagship vessel of the Royal fleet.
"We weren't there, so I have to believe that he made what he thought was the best decision," Rhaegar came to Aemon's defense, though he did feel that Aemon should have stormed the castle as well.
But, it was also true that they hadn't been there and weren't aware of the specifics of what had happened and so couldn't really comment on it.
"Maybe you are right, but we are in a mess now. The Sparrows have taken Lord Edmure and his three children as hostages, other lords of Riverlands have locked themselves into their castles out of fear, and we still have no plan of action for freeing Eddard Stark," Arthur countered, and the way he said it, showed that they had a lot of problems. Though, Rhaegar saw through his words and knew that he was trying to say something else.
"So what are you trying to say," Said Rhaegar with a raised brow as they slowly sailed towards the island of Grey Gallows for the offensive against the pretenders. He saw Arthur hesitate for a moment, before his best friend and closest aide, spoke slowly.
"Perhaps there is some merit to the proposal of Lord Manderly. Maybe you should return to Westeros to deal with this issue first before continuing this campaign against the pretenders," and Rhaegar shook his head, not entertaining the idea.
"But Rhaegar, there is genuine merit to this proposal. The Pretenders are trapped. You could go back to the continent and deal with this issue and then return and then continue the campaign," Arthur argued, and Rhaegar shook his head.
"No, this was with the pretenders has gone on for long enough. It is time to end this," especially since they still did not know much about the true enemy gearing up in the true North. He had to put an end to this Backfyre business quickly so he could prepare the continent to face the true enemy looming up north.
"Plus, I trust Aemon and Daenys to deal with this. They may be on the back foot for the moment, but I have no doubt in my mind that, they will be able to pull through," he once more showed complete confidence in the capabilities of his siblings.
"Are the preparations for the offensive complete?" he questioned Arthur, who still didn't seem convinced but held his tongue wisely about his doubts and simply answered his question.
"Yes, they are. The men are ready, I have also written to Benjen Stark and Lord Tarly and informed him about the plan," Arthur informed him, and Rhaegar felt satisfied with this. If the Gods favored them then soon they would clash with the Golden Company within the month, putting an end to this whole war conflict once and for all.
"Write to Lord Brynden Tully as well, inform him about the situation at Riverrun, and tell him that the Crown will do everything to make sure that no harm comes to his nephew and his kids," Rhaegar told Arthur, who nodded, though suddenly the voice of an acolyte interrupted them.
"Your grace, a letter has arrived for you from Kingslanding," said the acolyte as he presented a sealed missive. Hadn't he just received a letter from the capitol yesterday? Why had they written to him again?
He picked it up and unfurled it and saw that it was from his sister, Daenys. And as he skimmed through the contents of the letter, a smirk appeared on his face as he shook his head, and turned towards the acolyte, and spoke up.
"Bring me some parchment and a quill," Rhaegar said as Arthur frowned by his side.
"Of course, your grace," and the acolyte nodded and rushed to get the parchment and the quill.
"It's from Daenys. She has thought of a plan to get us out of this mess and was informing me about it," he said as he handed the missive to Arthur, who took the missive and skimmed over it, his eyes widening as he read its contents.
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QYBURN
Qybrun smiled as he saw the Princess leaning over the table, examining the three massive charts sprayed in front of her. Her eyes were sharp, and focused, and there was no sign of her usual complaining and non-seriousness, as the youngest of King Aerys's children showed their true colors.
Qyburn had played a minor role in the education of the three children of King Aerys, and as their teacher, he had a very good idea about their personalities. The three of them had inherited specific traits from their father.
King Rhaegar, had inherited his father's steadfastness and was able to remain calm even in the face of extremely stressful situations. Prince Aemon, had the courage and the chivalry of his father, refusing to bow down without a fight, and being true to his promises.
And then there was Princess Daenys, she had inherited the King's unorthodox mind. And much like her father, she had the ability to completely ignore the habitual approaches and bring out an out-of-the-box solution.
"Are these maps of Riverrun accurate?" questioned the Princess, as she pointed towards one of the massive charts in front of her. He nodded.
"Yes, princess. Your father had them made in his time, in preparation for situations similar to this. The maps contain every detail about the castle," he assured her, and the Princess nodded.
"And about the location of Eddard Stark, are you sure that this 'False Preacher' is taking him to the Vale," and he nodded, a sense of satisfaction bubbling inside him as he finally caught up to the False Preacher. The Preacher was extremely smart and had continued to evade his spies, though Qybrun wasn't one to shy away from a challenge and had finally succeeded in establishing full surveillance over the man.
"Yes, my lady, he is headed to Vale at this moment, his entourage has about a hundred men, and Lord Eddard Stark is with them," Qybrun informed her, and the Princess continued to scan the charts, her fingers continuously tapping the table as her mind raced to search for a solution.
"My brother's armies surround Riverrun, but he is unable to make a move because the High Sparrow and his followers have taken Edmure Tully and his three children as hostages, and we have finally managed to locate Eddard Stark's whereabouts, but we cannot inform my brother of them, in case our communication channels get compromised," the Princess concluded their situation, as she closed the two charts, and looked up at him.
"We are in quite a pickle, aren't we Qyburn," said the Princess seriously, and Qyburn, nodded, his head tilting downwards in shame.
"I am sorry that my negligence has caused all this trouble," and it had. Had he pertinent information about the riots in Riverlands and the growing influence of High Sparrow and The Preacher, they could have planned accordingly, but that time was now gone.
"Nahh, it's okay. We will just have to deal with this," said the Princess as she sat down on the chair and closed her eyes as she began to speak.
"This whole movement is being orchestrated by this High Sparrow and This Preacher. At this moment, we know the whereabouts of both of them," she said, and Qyburn frowned, not seeing where she was going with this.
"Aemon's army cannot move, at least not without securing the hostages which are held in dungeons, and we also need to free Eddard Stark somehow," said the Princess, as a smirk appeared on her face. And Qybrun knew that her mind was made, and she had made her plan.
"Write to Aemon, have him covertly rush back to the capital, and have the 'Kingsmen' infiltrate the entourage of this High Preacher," the Princess ordered.
"But what purpose would having Prince Aemon return to capital serve? It would leave the army leaderless," questioned Qyburn.
"Ohh, he isn't coming to stay. He will be coming here to retrieve the greatest weapon at our House's disposal," said the Prince, and Qyburn stilled as the implication behind those words dawned on him.
"You don't mean..." but the Princess didn't let him finish, and cut in.
"I do. It is time that the people are reminded of just exactly why the House of Dragon rules these lands," the Princess's gaze reminded him of her father, and it showed that her mind was made up a she uttered the fated words.
"Inform the Dragonkeepers to make the preparations. It is time!"
0000
EDDARD STARK
The Quiet Wolf of the North was quiet as he felt the carriage move underneath him. The last time, he had seen the outside world apart from the small glimpse he got out of the small opening in his wooden cage was weeks ago, when he had been kept imprisoned in a cellar built underneath a sept.
The rabid mob on the command of the rogue septon had attacked him, and his men. His guards had tried to calm down the enraged crowd. Yet the people refused to listen and continued to attack, and when one of the younger guards took out his sword, things had escalated beyond reason.
The people fell on them like a tidal wave and killed his men. They would have killed him, too, yet someone stopped them. A person who stood above even the septon, someone they all referred to as the Preacher. And though Eddard hadn't gotten a good look at the man, he was sure that he had seen that face somewhere else.
"We need to hurry. The mountain clansmen are said to raid these lands quite frequently," warned the same voice that had saved his life. And though Eddard was weak, and malnourished, his meals since his abduction were cold gruel and water. His mind remained sharp, and through the rocky nature of the terrain, and the overreaching mountain arches visible through the opening of his cage, he had guessed his location.
And those words just now had confirmed his suspicion. He was in the Vale right now, for some reason, they had hurriedly taken him out of his cell, had put him inside a cage, and had begun to transport him. He had heard whispers about the Crown and the Prince, and he had a theory that they had hurried out of the Riverlands because of the crackdown by the Crown.
And that was a glimmer of hope for him, that the Crown hadn't given up on him. He grimaced, as he struggled to his feet, and then suddenly the carriage stopped suddenly.
"AGHH!" he grunted in pain, as his head hit the wooden wall of the cell. And he could tell that the horses pulling the carriages were spooked for some reason.
"What's going on? Why are we stopping?" came the frustrated voice, of their leader, the one called the Preacher.
"The horses are afraid of something!" someone answered, as the atmosphere was filled with the cries of horses, as they neighed loudly, and tried to break free from their reins.
"What is happening!" the leader screamed again, and by then Eddard had stood up and was able to look out through the opening and could see the men struggling to control the horses.
"ROAR!" and then suddenly he felt his whole body still, as the sound of a distant roar made his heart race.
The men stilled at that as well and began to look around, trying to look for the source of the roar, yet their search proved useless as another massive roar shook the whole ground. Until it didn't.
"LOOK THERE! UP IN THE SKY! WHAT'S THAT!" the men shrieked, and Eddard looked up as well, before his heart stilled, and his mind refused to believe the sight in front of his eye as a massive shadow appeared right above them.
"ROARRRR!" and he felt the whole ground shake as the massive shadow descended, at a rapid pace, landing on the ground in front of him, and Eddard could hardly believe his eyes as the massive beast flapped its wings, arching its long neck, before it opened its maw, showing its mighty teeth ready to tear them all apart.
The massive growl made the men shake and whimper and fail to notice how more than two dozen men had suddenly surrounded them.
0000
Damn, this was fun to write.
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(P)(A)(T)(R)(E)(O)(N) / Dkrest
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