The Redfish (Chapter 12) (Patreon)

An invitation

Eddard POV

It was another day here at Winterfell. The sun shone brightly on the courtyard, where Robb and Jon were sparing with each other. Maester Luwin came with Catelyn on his heels, bringing a letter to me.

“My lord, a letter from Riverrun,” Maester Luwin tells me before he hands the letter.

“Do you know what it says, my lady?” I ask, after reading.

“It is an invitation,” She replies. “Edmure has invited us to join him on the Tourney at Harrenhall.”

“Harrenhall,” I mutter. “Why has he chosen it, not Riverrun?”

“Riverrun is a great and beautiful castle, but it isn’t a big one,” She answers me. “My brother has invited all lords from Westeros. The only castle in Riverlands that can accommodate them all is Harrenhall.”

“There always should be a Stark in the Winterfell,” I respond quietly.

“The children have not seen their uncle and grandfather,” She tells me.

“I said nothing of the children,” I reply. “It would be good for them to see more of the world.”

“Thank you,” She responds with a kiss on my cheek. “My brother asked that the bastard too should come.”

“He has no place there,” I tell her.

“My lord, it is natural to want to know about a boy that is living with one’s kin,” Maester Luwin says.

“There nothing to know,” I reply with a raised voice.

“Don’t be foolish, Ned. I don’t want for the boy to come with me too,” Cat responds. “But my brother has the right to know what kind of boy the bastard is.”

“My lord, it would be good for the boy to see the world. Not speaking all the knights that will come, it wouldn’t be hard to find someone to squire him to,” Luwin says.

“He belongs in Winterfell,” I respond to him.

“Does he think so, my lord?” Luwin asks. “Would it not better for the boy to have his own path?”

“Enough, Ned. I can ask my brother to recommend him to one of his friends,” Cat tells me. “He won’t be that far away and could come to visit.”

I knew that it was probably one of her plans to get rid of Jon. My wife never liked him. It didn’t help that every year he looks more like me than her children. It was a blessing that he looked more like a Stark.

“Fine, but I won’t give him to just anybody,” I reply.

Honestly, what other path can I give him? Jon deserves more than being just a bastard of the Winterfell. In my heart, I know he is destined for greatness. All my children are, but he’s nine name days now. Any later, and it would be too late for him to leave.

“The tourney will start in two months, my lord,” Maester Luwin says. “But wouldn’t it be better if the children visited Riverrun first?”

“Yes, it would be,” I answer with a sigh. “I will tell them of the journey myself.”

Looking down on the boys, I sigh again. Bran, my youngest, will only be three on his next name day. But in no time, the boy will become a man, just like the rest of them. I only fear that I won’t be able to see it.

Oberyn POV

On the dining table, I sat with my and Doran’s children. It was dinner, and after finishing our food, I looked at my brother and then at my niece.

“The time for Arriane to we has come,” I said solemnly

“Uncle,” Arriane call out to me. “Why do I hear the sadness in your voice? Are you not happy for me?”

“Why? Of course, it is sad for, now that you are all grown up and leaving home,” I answer her with a smile.

“Enough. We all know about your feelings for this marriage,” Doran tells me.

“Well, it doesn’t matter what I feel,” I reply bitterly. “But I don’t lie when I said that it would be sad for me when you leave, dear niece.”

“It’s not like I will stay at Riverrun all the time,” Arianne tells me. “And you can visit me.”

“I would be sad, but not that sad, that I would go willingly to the fish knight’s home,” I respond with a laugh.

“Still, we are all going to the tourney. It is in our honor, after all,” Doran says.

“Harrenhall. I still don’t know why he would choose such a place,” I mutter in a low voice.

Did he forget what had happened last time, when there was a tourney at Harrenhall? Does he wish to humiliate my niece, just like Rhaegar did to my sister? Well, if he did, this time I would kill him.

“Don’t worry, uncle,” Arianne says. “I heard that my betrothed has commissioned to repair the castle, and he wants to show it.”

“If only that would be so simple,” Doran replies. “Well, it doesn’t matter why he decided to do what he did. It is a tourney in our honor, and afterward, Arianne will marry. Then, only then will we leave back to Dorne. Am I understand, Oberyn?”

“Yes, yes. I am not stupid. I will play nice.” I answer him with a smile.

Afterward, I left. It’s not like I hate the idea. With the glass making, we reached new highs, which is just one benefit we have gotten. It just makes me feel like we are dependent on others. I have made mistakes, the worst being the murder of Yronwood. Now My nephew had to pay for it. But am I the only one who thinks that we shouldn’t depend on others so heavily? Well, it doesn’t matter much. I am not a lord of anything, nor will I ever be. It is best to leave those things to Doran.

Edmure POV

Only a month was left till the tourney. The invitations were sent to every lord and knight, from the Wall to the Dorne. I didn't care for most of them, with names and titles I will forget once they leave. What I cared about is my family. I wanted to see the little Robert Arryn, my nephew, but Lysa was still weak from birthing and stayed at the Eyrie.

Catalyn has written to me, informing me that she will bring all her children. They should arrive any day now. Thinking of my nieces and nephews, I couldn’t help but wonder about their future. What if my decisions make them suffer more than they would have to.

Still, I would try. Destiny can go to the seven hells. I will not let Robb die. He will grow up being a great lord, better than any. Bran would be a knight, even a kingsguard if he wanted, not some plaything to a treeman. Sansa will dream of knights in shining armor if that makes her happy. Arya will be a wandering wolf if she doesn’t want to be a lady of the castle.

All of them are of my blood. I will destroy everyone who would harm them. The sad truth is that many would want to do so. No matter how many I kill, there will be others. Not speaking of the Others, how can you defeat them? I still don’t know.

Closing my eyes, I thought of not what I want to do but what I need to do. Now I have a squire who likes to read, dance, sing and eat more than training. At least he is an honest boy. Samwell tried his best when I asked him. But I will never make him a great fighter, but at least I can do is make him a good lord.

“Ser Edmure, your father has called for you,” The steward Utherydes says to me as we cross paths.

“Very well, I will leave for him at once,” I reply to him. “Where is he? In his solar or in the great hall?”

“In his solar, ser,” He answers me.

So I went to see what my father wanted. I found him in his solar, as the steward has said. He was working on some papers. Every time I see him, he becomes older and older.

“You have come,” My father says.

“I have,” I reply.

“The tourney you wanted will cost us too much,” He tells me.

“It is worth the price,” I respond.

“Worth for what? After it, we have set back some of our projects,” He says.

“Don’t worry, soon my men will be able to create a clear mirror,” I reply. “It will be better than any bronze mirror. It will sell like hotcakes.”

“I hope so, but we can’t spend our gold so easily. The sellswords that we hired need to be paid constantly. Our guards need new armor and blades too,” He complains to me. “I let it slide, this time, as it is to celebrate your wedding. But I won’t tolerate such expenditure in the future.”

“As you say, father,” I respond to him.

After talking with my father, I went to the courtyard. Deciding to have some sword fights to let some steam out.

…

Looking at myself through the mirror, I smiled. I have cut my hair short, shaved my beard. It was better that way. The heat of the day bothered me too much. Looking at the workers, I ordered them to set it in my room and another to my lord father's room.

As I was walking back to the castle, I saw the captain of the guard ordering and yelling at others. I deduced it was because my sister finally is near or someone is besieging us. I took my chances and went to the gates.

“There you are,” My father says after seeing me. “Cat is coming soon. We should greet them together.”

“As you wish, father,” I agree with him and await my sister.

It surprised me when among the direwolf banners, there was a Sunspear banner too. Well, it seems we get more guests than expected.

“Sister, it’s so good to see you,” I greet my sister first as she steps out of the carriage. “These must be your children.”

“Yes, my son’s Robb and Bran. My daughters Sansa and Arya,” Catelyn introduces her children one by one.

“Look at all of you, little wolf pups,” I ruffle their heads. “It seems that the sun has caught up with you too.”

“Ser Edmure, it’s been a long time,” Prince Doran greets me after he had a quick word with father.

“Three years,” I agree. “Princess Arianne, you look more beautiful than the first time I met you.”

“Ser Edmure,” Princess Arianne greets me.

“The feast will be prepared in a couple of hours,” My father informs us. “For now, you will be shown to your chambers.”

After servants have taken their luggage and led them to the assigned chambers, I walked next to my sister. Looking a bit, I found a dark-haired boy with fair skin.

“This must be the bastard,” I tell my sister, who nods. “He can share the rooms with his brothers while the girls have another room. It’s better for them to be close, as they are far from home.”

“Very well,” She agrees with a tired tone.

After their rooms were arranged. I left to meet with Martells. As they arrived, I have not seen Oberyn. He was probably in some brothel. There is a town not far away, it was built to accommodate our guards and sellswords, but more buildings were added in a couple of years. Brothels among them, I had to check constantly them to ensure there are no spies. Well, I probably miss some, but it was okay. I could feed them false information when it is needed.

Samwell POV

It was a feast I never saw. Well, it was expected, as the three most powerful houses in Westeros have gathered to on the table. I sat among other squires and guards, but I was eating alone. I didn’t have many friends. Those who wanted to get close to were only interested in ser Edmure.

The feast was still only beginning, but I decided to leave. No matter how nice ser Edmure, master-in-arms Desmond, and Maester Vyman were, I felt like I didn’t belong here. So I went outside, even though ser Edmure said I was good with shield, it was hard to train with it. The only thing I could do was to ram at the wooden pole.

“What are you doing?” After few rams, a boy came and asks me.

“Training,” I answer him.

“What kind of training is that?” He asks, confused. “Shouldn’t you be hitting the pole with a weapon?”

“I am,” I tell him. “Ser Edmure said that a shield can be as good as any weapon.”

“I see,” He responds.

Looking at him closely, I saw that his hair was dark, but his skin was fair like girls. At first, it was hard to say if he was a boy or a girl. Only when he picked up a sword and started to strike another pole did I deduce that he was a boy.

“Could you, ah, would you train with?” I asked hesitantly. “I am not good with any other weapon, and it is hard to train just with a shield.”

“Alright,” He agreed. “I am Jon Snow.”

“Samwell Tarly, but ser Edmure and my mother call me Sam,” I introduced myself nervously.

After shaking our hands, we started to spar. Jon was good, better than most of the older squires. It was nice that he didn’t gloat when he managed to hit me.

“You really are good with shield,” Jon says. “You blocked most of my strikes, but you never will be able to defeat anyone if you can’t attack.”

“I know,” I said sadly. “It just so terrifying to hit anyone.”

“I never met anyone, who is afraid to hurt others,” A new voice says. “I am Sarella Sand. I heard someone there, so I went to see what was going on.”

“He must be just a nice guy,” Jon defends me.

“Ser Edmure said that it was okay to not like to hurt others,” I say, not looking at the girl's eyes.

“Than ser Edmure is a fool, my father always said that men should hurt others or they will hurt you,” She replies, with a laugh.

“I might be a fool, but if you want to change how the world works, one should first start with themselves.” Ser Edmure says after walking from behind. “It is dark. You should go to your rooms. You can hang out with each other in the morning.”

With those words, he turns around and walks back. When I looked at Seralla, she looked aghast. Jon looked lost, not knowing what to do.

“Ah, can we spar together tomorrow?” I asked Jon.

He looked surprised, but nodded his head to me. I never imagined that today would be the day where I got my first real friend.