WILOW-Ch.325: Catelyn Stark's Letter
Highgarden, Tyrell Lands, Reach
POV of Catelyn Stark
"My lady." King Renly Baratheon said as he sat down in the chair on the other side of the table.
"Your grace," Catelyn said, not showing any emotions to the enemy. And that's precisely what King Renly was. And enemy.
Oh, he might have brought her to Highgarden and allowed her to live in a luxurious room with all the services that someone with her title deserved, but she knew very well that she was nothing but a tool being used against her husband.
And if her husband chose King Stannis instead of King Renly, then she might find herself sitting inside a prison cell the very next day.
So, when King Renly gave her a warm smile, she didn't believe it even once.
"I hope you are being well accommodated here in Highgarden."
"I am." She replied.
He remained silent for a moment, contemplating his words carefully before he spoke.
"Your daughter, Sansa…"
"What about her?" she asked, perhaps a bit too eagerly.
"She's not being treated very well in Kings Landing." He said, "Joffrey Waters was not happy with her escape attempts and still punishes her by humiliating and beating her in front of the whole court. This whole thing has become a terrible joke. I don't think your daughter is safe in King's Landing."
She remained silent, not showing how badly this news was affecting her.
"Do not worry, my lady, once my army conquers King's Landing. I'll free your daughter and correct any grievances that House Stark has suffered in the Lannister hands."
"I thank you for your kind generosity, your grace." She said, trying to create a distance between them by being as formal as possible.
King Renly sighed, "The Lannisters have crossed the Golden Tooth. Ser Devan Lannister has defeated two smaller armies of your brother's friends and is now moving toward Riverrun. Lord Tywin has unleashed the Mountain and his fellow riders in the Riverlands. He is now burning, raping, and pillaging through villages and towns alike. Destroying the kingdom you once called your home. And as if that was not enough, Lord Tywin has brought another bigger army to stop any Northern or Vale Army from crossing the Trident and getting to the Crownlands."
She tried not to listen to him, but he continued.
"My brother has amassed a small army of some 7,000 men." He said, "Good enough to harass the pirates roaming the Narrow Sea, but of not much use otherwise. My own army is now standing in front of Highgarden. 70,000 strong. With 30,000 more coming from Stormlands. By the time this army is formed, I'll have the biggest army in the whole Kingdom. An alliance with House Stark will allow me to defeat both my brother and the Lannisters with ease."
She remained silent.
He sighed after a long moment and continued, "Loras' brother Willas Tyrell is a good man. You must have met him by now. What are your opinions of him, my lady?"
"He has a sharp mind. He'll make a great lord someday." She said. She might have remained silent till now, but she couldn't stay silent once he asked her a direct question.
"If he is betrothed to Sansa Stark. The Baratheon-Tyrell-Stark alliance will easily become the strongest faction in the whole of Westeros. Sansa might not marry a King, but she'll live like a queen. I can promise you that."
She remained silent and kept gazing at the wine on the table. He was losing patience with her; she could see that much.
But she was not going to promise anything that might force her husband's hand in the future.
He sighed and got up from his chair. "I can understand why you would not want to support me." He said, "The crown should rightfully go to my brother. And because of that, Lord Stark will support him. But you must also understand that my brother is not the kind of man who inspires loyalty. Even if he sits on the Iron Throne, no one will support him. The Dorne, The Reach, The Westerlands, The Vale, The Iron Islands, and even his own homeland, the Stormlands, don't support him. Even if he somehow managed to sit on the Iron Throne, no one would bow to him, and the Seven Kingdoms would crumble to dust. An alliance between House Stark and House Tyrell will be beneficial to everyone, my lady. Your husband is a hard and honorable man, and he might not see this. His honor would not allow him to support me."
He sighed, then he continued.
"If he wins against the Lannisters, then his battered and broken army will still have to fight my own. Is that an outcome you would like, Lady Stark?"
She shook her head.
"Then persuade him to support me. Ask him to bend the knee to me. No one needs to die unnecessarily. Persuade him to do this, and you'll be the maker of the biggest alliance in Westeros." He said and handed her a paper, a quill, and ink.
She thought about his words for a while. Technically, he was not wrong.
He had the largest army in the entire Seven Kingdoms, but he didn't understand that in a war, anyone can die, and even the man with the larger army might lose.
Still, he was not wrong. Her husband could not fight both the Lannisters and the Baratheon-Tyrell alliance.
If they wanted to emerge as a victor in this war, then they needed to join the winning side.
And would marrying Sansa to Willas Tyrell really be all that bad?
Having an alliance with the Tyrells would help them now and during the long night.
So, after some hesitation, she picked up the quill and started writing to her husband.
"Oh. Perhaps you would like to mention your unborn child's condition to Lord Stark in your letter, my lady." King Renly said suddenly.
And she lifted her head and looked at King Renly with terrified eyes.
"There's no need to be surprised, my lady. The maids who attended you have said that you've been showing signs of sickness lately. And Maester Lomys confirmed that these signs are a result of pregnancy. According to Maester Lomys, considering when you left Winterfell, you should have been showing these signs much earlier."
King Renly paused for a moment, as if wanting his words to be fully understood, before continuing.
"This indicates that you've been trying to hide your pregnancy for a while. But that's not right, my lady. If anything happens to your unborn child, I cannot answer Lord Stark. Oh, by the way, does Lord Stark know that you're pregnant with another child?"
She could only respond by shaking her head.
Catelyn understood perfectly well what he was thinking. Her pregnancy would increase her value as a hostage and make it harder for Ned to switch sides to Stannis.
That's why he thought she was hiding his pregnancy, trying to conceal her pregnancy symptoms for some time.
But the truth was far more complex. She knew Ned wasn't the father of this child. But she still couldn't understand how she had gotten pregnant despite drinking Moon Tea. Was the Seven punishing her for her betrayal of Ned?
"I see. But we don't want to keep Lord Stark without this good news for any longer, do we? It would be best if you mentioned this good news in your letter. Otherwise, I will have to give this news to Lord Stark in my own letter." King Renly said.
And she knew this was a clear threat. Either she would mention it to Ned in her letter, or King Renly himself would write a letter to Ned to deliver the news.
Reluctantly, she also mentioned in her letter that she was pregnant with another child.
She wanted to delay the news as much as possible, perhaps even until the end of the war or until the child was born.
Keeping track of the dates would be much more difficult that way. But now she had no other choice.
Although the consequences of the truth being revealed terrified her, she could no longer hide her pregnancy.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.326: Craster's Keep
Ch.327: Judgment
Ch.328: Wyvern Journey