WILOW-Ch.380: The Joy of the Northern Lords
Northern Host Camp, Trident, Riverlands
POV of Eddard Stark
Eddard looked at the Northern and Vale Lords who had gathered in the command tent.
"Those Lannister fucks are running Ned!" Lord Greatjon Umber said as he stood up from his chair, "Should we chase Tywin, or should we go to King's Landing and save your daughter?"
"I received a letter from Lord Bolton which explained why Lord Tywin left for the Westerlands instead of going to King's Landing to protect his children and grandchildren." He said.
Everyone in the room looked confused at his words, and some even frowned.
He could understand why.
They thought that Tywin feared them and ran away, but that was actually not the case. Because if it were, then Tywin would have left before the Knights of Vale could even arrive at the Trident.
"What has the lad done now?" Greatjon Umber asked.
He waited for a second, knowing what kind of reaction this bit of news was going to get from everyone.
"I got a letter from Lord Bolton this morning by an owl, along with a newspaper." He said. Everyone waited with bated breath, and he continued, "Lord Bolton… has taken Casterly Rock."
There was a stunned silence in the command tent for a moment.
And then, as if a dam had burst, everyone rose from their seat and cheered so loudly that he felt the urge to close his ears.
He looked at Jon's and Robb's direwolves under the table and noticed them covering their drooping ears with their paws.
The cheers for a long time before the command tent finally started to calm down a little.
He picked up the cup and slammed it on the table a few times.
The lords calmed down a little after that, and he sighed inwardly, knowing that the next part would have the men cheering once again.
"Lord Bolton has taken 5 million gold dragons from the Lannister vaults and plans to use them to fund us for this upcoming Winter." He said and closed his eyes in resignation as the men started cheering once again.
He waited until the men calmed down once again before he took a look at the letter and continued.
"Lord Bolton is returning to the Golden Tooth, where he would hold Lord Tywin and his army." He said, "He plans to trap Lord Tywin under the castle. So that we could come from behind and attack the Lannisters, our armies will act as hammer and anvil, and we'll break the Lannisters under the Golden Tooth."
His words once again elicited cheers, but they were interrupted by Lord Umber's loud words:
"Wait, Golden Tooth? Ned, you just said Lord Bolton was returning to Golden Tooth. Now, Lad intends to seize Tooth?"
"No, it seems Lord Bolton deviated from his initial plans and chose to capture Tooth instead of sneaking past it when entering the Westerlands. Golden Tooth is now in the hands of Lord Bolton's men as well. The newspaper that came with the letter mentions all of this." He said.
There was a brief silence in the tent.
Then, the Northmen cheered at his words again, and he waited for them to stop before he turned to the Vale lords. To Lord Yohn Royce, specifically, as he was the commander of the Vale army.
"Lord Yohn Royce. Will the knights of the Vale join us in this venture?" he asked.
Lord Yohn Royce got up from his chair and gave him a nod of respect, "Lord Stark. If Lady Lysa Arryn is right, then the Lannisters murdered our liege lord, Lord Jon Arryn. Just like they murdered King Robert to usurp his power and seat their incestuous bastards on the Iron Throne. Lady Arryn has tasked us with supporting you and the Riverlands in this war. And that's exactly what we'll do. We'll join you."
The other Vale Lords nodded in confirmation, and he stood up from his chair.
"Have the men prepare." He said, "We'll cross the river and chase after the Lannisters from tomorrow morning."
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POV of Catelyn Stark
Catelyn sat on a stone and looked over the small waterfall in the distance.
"Lady Stark." She heard a familiar voice and turned around to see Renly Baratheon coming toward her with a huge smile on his face.
She got up and gave him a bowed in courtesy, "King Renly." She said.
"I bring good news, Lady Stark," Renly Baratheon said with his usual charismatic smile.
She nodded with a fake smile and waited for him to continue.
"Lord Bolton has broken the Lannister army outside Casterly Rock." Renly Baratheon said, "And not only that. It seems that Lord Bolton has done the impossible and has also taken Casterly Rock."
Her eyes widened at that, and seeing her reaction, Renly's smile widened once again. "Lord Tywin has left the Trident to go save his castle and his wealth. And your husband, along with the rest of the North and the Vale forces, has crossed the Trident and is now chasing behind him."
She came out of her stupor and almost frowned at that news.
She would rather that her husband and the army of the Vale go to King's Landing and save her daughter. But she understood that if they defeated Lord Tywin, then the rest of the war would turn in their favor.
She nodded at him and asked, "What about your brother, your grace?"
At the mention of his brother, Renly's expression soured, and he let out a tired sigh. "My brother… has decided to remain as stubborn as ever and has refused to see reason."
He said, "He would rather break than bend, and doesn't see that his army stands no chance against my own. The negotiations were a waste of time. We'll go to battle in 2-3 days."
Battle? She almost scoffed at that.
Renly had over 100,000 men, while Stannis barely had 10,000.
This was not going to be a battle. This was going to be a slaughter unless Renly Baratheon decided to do something foolish and challenge Stannis Baratheon to a duel.
"Brothers shouldn't fight amongst themselves." She said, the words coming from her heart this time, "What would your parents think, your grace?"
Renly Baratheon sighed at her words, looking for all the world like even the thought of fighting against his brother pained him, even though she knew better now.
"I do not wish to fight my brother, either, Lady Stark. But as you know by now. My brother is a stern and hard man. He would rather break than bend. He doesn't make compromises, and compromises are what keep the balance, and balance is what keeps the Kingdom stable. There is a good reason why my brother has no friends and few allies. He will not make for a good King, my lady. So as much as it pains me to do so, I must step forth and take the Crown for myself. I only hope that my brother will survive and I'll be able to send him off to the Wall."
She nodded.
There was not much to say after that, so Renly took his leave.
Once he left, she gazed at the waterfall and thought about Lord Bolton taking the seat of power of the Lannisters. A feat considered impossible by almost everyone.
She wondered what would have happened if Sansa had still been betrothed to Lord Bolton.
She closed her eyes and decided not to think about such things. "Ifs and whats" were what destroyed a person, and she wanted to be ready for what was to come.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.381: News Reaches Everywhere
Ch.382: We Need to Try
Ch.383: A New Pawn & Aldrich Abomination