Chapter 7: Chapter Seven: The Power Of Speech
A large company had assembled at the Tower of Joy. However, no one in it lingered for long.
It was decided that one of the Kingsguard would each travel with Rhaenys, Aegon, and Jon. Aside from their inborn obligation to protect Rhaegar's heirs, Ser Oswell, Ser Arthur, and Ser Gerold were adamant in their refusal to bend the knee to Robert. So the three of them would have to go into hiding, as well.
Lord Eddard Stark declared that when he returned to King's Landing, he would tell Robert that there had been a skirmish at the Tower of Joy, and all three of the Kingsguard had been slain. Then there would be no inquiries as to their whereabouts.
Ser Arthur Dayne, Ser Oswell Whent, and Ser Gerold Hightower were all brothers to the current lords of Starfall, Harrenhal, and Oldtown respectively. Their families were from Dorne, the Riverlands, and the Reach.
Ser Arthur was the only one who had the option to stay in his homeland. Furthermore, even if he was not famous for his swordsmanship, Dornishmen were fairly easy to recognize in the other regions of Westeros. So Arthur would be the one to remain in Sunspear with Aegon.
Ser Oswell and Ser Gerold would both be going to the North. Lady Minisa Tully – the mother of Lord Eddard's new wife Catelyn – had been a Whent by birth. Thus, if one was to look close enough between Ser Oswell and Lady Catelyn, they would eventually notice a number of similarities.
As a result, it was deemed safer if Ser Oswell accompanied Rhaenys to Greywater Watch. That left Ser Gerold to go to Winterfell with Jon.
Naturally, the White Bull and the Sword of the Morning would have to assume a new identity where they were going. They would have to change their names and their facades, but they would worry on that later. They had bigger issues to worry on than their appearances.
Eddardd knew it would have been ludicrous to claim that the three knights had fallen without taking some of his party with them. With that in mind, a few of Ned's companions would have to disappear alongside the Kingsguard. For a while, at any rate.
Obviously, Eddard Stark and Howland Reed would have to be among the survivors, otherwise the plans to protect Jon and Rhaenys would fail. Additionally, neither man had any desire whatsoever to feign his death, and the North and the Neck relied heavily on both of them. So the casualties would have to be selected from the other five Northmen.
Martyn Cassel did not wish to leave his son Jory fatherless, and Willam Dustin was the last of his house. They were omitted as potential casualties thusly.
Mark Ryswell, Ethan Glover, and Theo Wull had no children of their own, and they all came from relatively large families. For those reasons – along with a few person ones – the three of them agreed to play the victim. Lord Howland would give them asylum at Greywater Watch, too.
Gregor was impressed by just how much those men were willing to sacrifice. They were leaving behind everything in their own lives all for the sakes of three small children they hardly knew. Then he remembered; the chief characteristic of the North – the one that distinguished it from the rest of Westeros – was that almost every house was indisputably loyal to its liege lord, so long as he was a Stark. They must have been doing this more for Eddard than for Jon and his half-siblings. In any case, their actions were honorable.
Two days later, Lyanna was well enough to travel. That was when the company at the Tower of Joy broke off into the three smaller groups and made ready to depart.
Elia tearfully said good-bye to Rhaenys. The little girl wept, but she promised her mother that she would be good and that she would stay strong. She did find some comfort in her kitten Balerion, and she was overjoyed when she was told that Lyanna would be going with her.
Lyanna assured Elia that she would raise Rhaenys as though she was her own child. That seemed to reassure the older woman, who embraced the wolf girl the way she would a sister.
Gregor knew that Lyanna meant well by her pledge. Even so, it could have been interpreted in a good or bad light, seeing as how Lyanna was not even bringing her own child with her. Instead, she had charged someone else with the care of her son, much like Elia had.
Lyanna may have seemed indifferent to the concept of parting with Jon when the idea was first put forth. But now, when she was on the verge of going through with it, her maternal instincts fully rose to the surface. When Wylla asked for Jon, his mother held her newborn very close to her, as though she would never let him go. Gregor found her protectiveness somewhat reminiscent of Lysa Arryn. Only not as possessive, far less unstable, and not immune to reason.
So strong was Lyanna's reluctance to relinquish custody of her son that it threatened to ruin all their plans then and there. Fortunately, Eddard Stark stepped in and reminded his sister that this would not be the last time she would ever see her son. Someday, when it was deemed safe, the two of them would reunite. Until then, Eddard swore he would do right by his nephew.
Lyanna had not forgotten how the realm had already bled because of her carelessness. She had no desire to be the cause of any more trouble in the world so soon after. Plus, she knew she could trust her brother. He had always been the responsible one. He was also one of the few truly good men in Westeros. So she forced herself to give Jon over to Wylla. However, just before they parted, Lyanna went to Eddard and whispered into his ear "Promise me, Ned. Promise me…"
Gregor was the only one close enough to hear her. I can almost taste the irony.
Just as in the franchise, those had been the last words Lyanna shared with her brother at the Tower of Joy. The difference was that in this universe, they would not be the last words she ever had with him.
After Ned gave his sister his vow to protect Jon, the three groups split up.
Prince Doran Martell, Prince Oberyn Martell, Princess Elia Martell, Prince Aegon Targaryen, Areo Hotah, Maester Caleotte, and the entirety of Doran's procession went east by southeast. They rode straight back to Sunspear through the vast deserts of Dorne.
Princess Lyanna Stark, Ser Oswell Whent, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Lord Howland Reed, Theo Wull, Ethan Glover, Ser Mark Ryswell, and Ser Arthur Dayne went south by southwest. They made for Starfall. When they arrived, Ser Arthur sought out his sister.
Ashara Dayne had been Elia Martell's lady-in-waiting and her closest friend. As the rumors suggested, she had indeed been involved with Brandon Stark during the tourney at Harrenhal. He may have meant their affair to be nothing more than a fling at first, but Brandon secretly remained in contact with Ashara afterwards. He had died before she could inform him that she was carrying his bastard. Then the bastard herself died during birth.
In the weeks that followed, Ashara had been extremely depressed over the loss of both her one-time lover and their unborn daughter. There were even some concerns that her life might end by her own hand. That day when her brother returned home, he restored her will to live.
Ashara was surprisingly eager to go along with Gregor Clegane's plan. She was willing to enforce the claim that she and Brandon were Jon's parents. In fact, she went so far as to offer to accompany Lord Howland's party north. When questioned on her motives, she just said that helping Brandon's sister and Elia's daughter would give her a renewed sense of purpose.
Lyanna happily accepted the Dornish beauty's offer for aid. At Harrenhal, she had gotten very close to Ashara. That was due in large part to their relationships with Brandon and Elia.
To account for Ashara's disappearance, it would be said that she had flung herself from a cliff. It was not a dignified fate for her to have, but what mattered was that it was a believable one. Given how much tragedy Ashara had witnessed recently, including the supposed loss of her brother at the Tower of Joy, one could not blame her for finally breaking and taking her own life. In his first life, Gregor would have classified it as an instance of post-traumatic stress.
Ser Arthur Dayne kept a very profile whilst he was in Starfall. He managed to commission a ship to take his sister and the others north. After watching the ship sail into the horizon, he swiftly mounted his horse and rode for Sunspear.
Lord Eddard Stark, Ser Gregor Clegane, Prince Jon Targaryen, Wylla, Ser Gerold Hightower, Lord Willam Dustin, Martyn Cassel, and Gregor's men-at-arms went directly northeast. They were headed for King's Landing.
While all of Gregor's men-at-arms knew that Aegon and Rhaenys were still alive, none of them were even aware of Jon's existence yet. For Jon's safety as well as theirs, both Gregor and Eddard were hoping to delay them finding out for a while. So they had Wylla and Ser Gerold ride at the front of their column, and the men-at-arms brought up the rear. That way Jon was hidden at all times.
The march to King's Landing took about three weeks.
In the early phase of their journey, Gregor noticed Eddard was very morose. It was not difficult for Gregor to guess why. His father, his brother, and many of his friends had died in the last year. That by itself was something he could cope with. But to discover that all those deaths were actually the result of a misunderstanding concerning his ister… that was incomprehensible to him.
Gregor could not fault Eddard for harboring some feelings of resentment towards his sister. If Sandor died because of a reckless thing Ellyn had done, he would probably be cross with her, too. But he would love her no less.
Personally, Gregor thought Lyanna had made the right decision to go with Rhaegar. Considering what was going to happen north of the Wall in about twenty years, his belief in the apocalypse might not been wholly irrational.
All the same, Eddard had no way of knowing that. As such, he was inwardly fuming over his sister's actions. Eddard was not as easy to provoke as his late hot-tempered brother, but he was equally capable of being enraged. Gregor decided to do something about that. He felt the wolf lord had enough worry about without harboring a lasting grudge towards his sister.
Five days after their departure from the Tower of Joy, Gregor made a solemn effort to open Lord Eddard's mind.
He waited until nightfall, when the group made camp. Polliver and Chiswyck were guarding the horses, and Wylla was tending to Jon in her tent. Eddard was sitting alone in front of the camp's fire. Nearly everyone else had settled down for the night.
Gregor walked over to the fire and sat down opposite the wolf lord. Eddard was staring intently into the flames, as though he was a red priest. Gregor could tell he was not really trying to look into the future; he was simply lost in thought.
The Mountain gazed at the radiant embers, as well, and the two men sat in almost total silence. Finally, Gregor remarked softly "I would ask you not to be so hasty to judge your sister, Lord Eddard."
Eddard did not look up, but Gregor did not doubt that he was listening. He asked "Why is that?"
Gregor leaned back, folded his arms, and firmly stated "For all we know, there may very well be some stock in that prophecy."
That made Ned shift his gaze upwards. He bore the countenance of one who is stunned. "I did not take you for the superstitious type, Ser Gregor."
"Because I am not," Gregor claimed. As he fed a log to the fire, he muttered "What are your house's words? 'Winter is coming?'"
"They are," Ned affirmed.
"Have you ever pondered on their meaning?" Gregor inquired, "Or why they are your words?"
"Of course I have," Eddard professed, "I believe they serve as a reminder. A reminder that no matter how prosperous and beautiful life can be, there will always be suffering and hardship in this world. Like or not, we must all face our own trials and tribulations in time. Attempting to avoid them would be futile. The proper course is to face them as they come."
"You've a wise and heedful interpretation, my lord," Gregor admitted, "But it could mean something more. Perhaps they are a premonition."
"A premonition of what?" Eddard enquired, suddenly more interested in the conversation.
Gregor blew on the flames thrice to feed some air into them. After that, he spoke bluntly "I assume you are familiar with the Long Night?"
"I am," Ned responded, "It happened long ago, during the era of the First Men. It brought about a seemingly endless winter, which in turn threatened the demise of sunlight and the end of all life. There was no hope of it ending until the Night's Watch chose to ally with the children of the forest. Together, they repelled the Others and defeated the Night's King."
Gregor could not recall if Eddard's version of how the Long Night ended was in accordance with the widely-believed version of its resolution, but that was not what was really important. What really mattered was that Eddard was willing to talk on it.
"So you do not think the Long Night is a myth?" Gregor presumed.
"No," Eddard contended, "The world was young then. Momentous wonders and unspeakable horrors alike were commonplace in those days."
The fact that Eddard was not denying the Long Night as a historical event helped Gregor considerably here. He tossed some dried leaves into the bottom of the fire pit, and he commented "According to Rhaegar's prophecy, when the apocalypse comes, it will bring with it coldness, darkness, and death. What does that remind you of?"
Eddard quickly caught on to what Gregor was implying. For a moment, he appeared to be aghast. Then he eased down and said dismissively "The Long Night is centuries over, Ser Gregor."
"Who's to say it cannot happen again?" Gregor countered, "The Night's King was not destroyed; he was simply banished beyond the Wall. Eight thousand years would give him plenty of time to regain his strength and build up his forces. Think of all the watchmen and wildlings that have died in that timeframe. There must be millions, and every one of them could rise again."
By now, Eddard was at full attention. He sat up straight and murmured inquiringly "That's why you're willing to consider the validity of that prophecy? You believe 'winter is coming' is actually a warning that the Long Night will relapse?"
"Your ancestor Brandon the Builder erected the Wall," Gregor replied for emphasis, "If he made it solely to keep out the wildlings, he could have stopped at seventy feet. He stopped at seven hundred. No one builds an obstruction that massive unless the thing they wish to keep out is an absolute monstrosity. So I say he knew that the Long Night never actually ended. It merely went on hiatus."
Ned gradually returned his gaze to the flames. He stared longingly into them, as though they had become the world's last rays of hope. He mumbled in a chillingly calm voice "If that's true, then the war we just fought is nothing against what's to come."
"Do not lose faith, my lord," Gregor beckoned him. Throughout the conversation, the fire had gotten larger, warmer, and brighter. The Mountain used his sword to prod the branches around and replenish the kindling. He then pronounced "Westeros survived the Long Night once. It can do so once more."
"Aye, it can," Eddard conceded. He rested his chin on his hands and muttered "But suppose it returns during our lifetime. Will we be ready when winter finally comes?"
"That is entirely up to us," was Gregor's brief yet straightforward answer.
Us, and a trio of airborne, fire-breathing reptiles. Rhaegar was right about that much, at least.
Gregor was certain that by the following morning, Eddard would regard the second Long Night as little more than a probable occurrence. Within a month, he would most likely shove his newfound anxiety over it to the back of his mind. For now, Gregor was content with that.
He was just pleased that he had lessened Ned's feelings of resentment and fury towards his sister, and that he had succeeded in opening Ned's eyes up to the biggest threat Westeros would imminently face. He now knew he possessed the capacity to gain Ned's trust. That was imperative, as he would need men like Eddard Stark on his side in the days to come.
Slightly over a fortnight later, Eddard Stark, Gregor Clegane, and the rest of their party reached the capital city of Westeros. The outskirts of the city were far less crowded than they had been upon their departure. Evidently, most of the Westerlords and their forces had gone home.
House Clegane's camp still stood along the southeastern shore of King's Landing. Gregor sent his men-at-arms to inform the soldiers and servants that they too would be leaving for the Westerlands soon. Until he could don a disguise, Ser Gerold Hightower was bidden to stay with Gregor's men-at-arms. Only Lord Eddard, Ser Gregor, Jon, Wylla, Willam Dustin, and Martyn Cassel entered the city.
Eddard and Gregor were immediately summoned to the King's solar. They were informed that Robert wished to have a private audience with them.
Thankfully, it really was a private audience. When they arrived at the solar, they found two Baratheon knights standing guard outside it, but their liege lord was the only person inside it. He was seated at his desk; a goblet of wine in one hand, a stack of papers in the other. He seemed to be favoring the one over the other.
The stag king beckoned the wolf lord and the Mountain to take the seats before his desk. Once they both were seated, Robert asked them a single question: "How did it go?"
That was his way of demanding a report for how they had accomplished the tasks they had set out to do. In Gregor's case, it was escorting Princess Elia to Sunspear. In Eddard's case, it was lifting the siege of Storm's End and rescuing Lyanna.
Gregor could tell by the tone of Robert's voice that he had not lost hope that Lyanna would return to him. The Mountain was not looking forward to crushing Robert's spirits. He was not very comfortable with lying to him so prodigiously either. Even so, he knew it had to be done. He had to convince Robert that Lyanna was dead. Not only that, but Gregor also had to cure him of his infatuation of her.
Right before they had gotten to the solar, Gregor had asked Eddard to let him to handle the explanation of what had happened at the Tower of Joy. Eddard gave his consent to that arrangement, though he was suspicious as to what the massive knight was going to say.
After briefly going over the liberation of Storm's End and Elia's return to Dorne (with certain details removed from the latter account), Gregor told Robert a much-altered version of what had transpired at the Tower of Joy.
He claimed that he and his men-at-arms had arrived on the scene in the midst of the combat between Rhaegar's Kingsguard and Ned's company. Ser Oswell Whent had already fallen, but so had Theo Wull and Ethan Glover. Ser Gerold Hightower would have slain Martyn Cassel, but Gregor was able to join the fray and stop the Lord Commander before Jory Cassel lost his father. Gregor himself eliminated Ser Gerold, but Ser Arthur Dayne killed Ser Mark Ryswell only seconds later. After that, Lords Eddard Stark, Howland Reed, and Willam Dustin all fought Ser Arthur. Lord Willam was injured, but Gregor managed to get him to safety. Martyn managed to distract Arthur long enough for Lord Howland to wound him, and Lord Eddard delivered the killing blow.
While Lord Howland attended to Martyn and Willam, Eddard rushed into the Tower. Ser Gregor accompanied him as backup.
When they entered the Tower, they found Lyanna abed. She was in the final stages of a fever. Ned knelt by her side and pleaded with her to hold on for him. She struggled to obey her brother's wishes, but she was too weak to cling to life for very long. Her fever had not made her delirious, however. She was able to think and speak coherently right up to the moment of her death. She had not wasted her last minutes on Earth; she had used them to share her personal thoughts with the two men present.
Ned had been too immersed in his grief to remember his sister's exact words. Howeveer, Gregor had committed everything she had said to memory.
By this point in the explanation, Robert had become notably distraught over the loss of his beloved. He had lifted his goblet of wine to his mouth several times. However, when Gregor claimed that he could perfectly recall Lyanna's final words, the King's curiosity heightened.
He leaned closer and asked expectedly "Were her last words… about me?"
Putting on his best mummer's face, Gregor gave a nod and proclaimed "I shall never forget them, Your Grace. She said 'When you go back to Robert, tell him I'm sorry. I'm sorry he couldn't be my husband. I'm sorry I never got to be his wife. Most of all, I'm sorry I'll never see him on the throne. I know he'll be a great king. I also know he'll miss me terribly. But tell him not to mourn me forever. I could not bear to be the cause of his grief. His grief could ruin him. If it does, he could ruin the realm. The realm has paid enough because of me. The only way he and the realm can thrive is if he finds happiness elsewhere. Our betrothal ends with my death. Now he is free to love another woman. I want him to love another woman. After everything he's done, he deserves to have a queen who will make him happy. I know he'll find someone like that. He's a good man. But if he can love another, he can be a better man. I want him to be the best man he can be. Promise me you'll tell him that. If you tell him that, I can die in peace, knowing that he and the realm will be in good hands.'"
Gregor had spent the past twenty days composing and rehearsing that monologue. It had to be outlined in such a way that Lyanna would actually say every one of those sentences, and they were all things one would be capable of saying even when on the verge of death. He had no writing mediums on him, so making notes was not an option. He had to rely entirely on his own memory.
He also paid careful attention to how he delivered that soliloquy. He spoke in a sorrowful tone, he paused frequently for emphasis, and he made his voice crack occasionally. He even forced himself to produce a few tears. Amazingly, Lord Eddard shed a tear of his own, even though he was fully aware that the entire monologue was false. That was how convincing Gregor was.
When Gregor finished, he paused so that Robert could absorb the words. The King looked as though he was going to drown in his own tears. Gregor did not relish in the older man's misery. Part of him felt genuinely guilty about deceiving Robert, but for the good of everyone in Westeros, he had to continue this charade.
After about two minutes of uncomfortable silence, Robert turned his gaze to the goblet in his right hand. He slowly set it down on the table and pushed it out of his reach. Then he looked around at the two men on the other side of his desk and proclaimed "If Lyanna's dying wish was for me to find happiness and strive to be a better man… then I shall endeavor to honor her wish."
Eddard was flabbergasted by this sight. This was the first time he had ever seen his best friend push away a wine goblet that wasn't empty. If he could pick sobriety over drunkenness once, he could certainly make of it a routine. That implied that he might have actually meant what he said, and that he could change.
Gregor looked over at Eddard out of the corner of his eye. The wolf lord was staring at him. His expression was one of awe. Gregor just smiled at him.
Words, Ned. Words.
In canon, Jon Arryn, Stannis Baratheon, and Eddard Stark had failed to change Robert through speech. That was because they never played on his greatest weakness: Lyanna. Gregor had, and already, he was seeing promise in Robert's ability to change. At the very least, he had ensured that Robert would not be drunk at his wedding to Cersei Lannister. Because of that, Robert would not say the wrong name during the bedding.
Of course, there was still no guarantee that Robert and Cersei's marriage would be a happy one. But at least the incident that drove them apart in the first place would be averted. Now Robert would not give Cersei grounds to seek comfort in the arms of another man. Especially not her brother's.
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