-Chapter 87-
-Chapter 87-
-25th day of the 6th moon of the Year 299 AC-
-POV Roose Bolton-
I watched indifferently as my soldiers flayed the corpses of Rickard Karstark and his three sons, and I said, looking aside, "My part of the bargain has been fulfilled."
"I will fulfill mine as well," said Arnolf Karstark.
I nodded, and then he said, drinking beer from a skin attached to his belt, "To King Aegon VII."
"As you say, to King Aegon VII, may he reign long," I said.
-POV Paxter Redwyne-
"Have you heard that troubles are occurring throughout the kingdom? Do you think war will start again?" asked Desmera.
"No, of course not, my dear, our king has a dragon. Who would want to attack him?" said my wife.
I frowned and then said, "I am not as sure as you are, my dear."
"What happened?" Mina asked, worry etched on her face.
"Nothing happened to Hobber or Horas, but it seems that the King has hastily gathered the Dark Guard and left the capital the same day heading North," I said, frowning because, honestly, it smelled like war.
"Are you sure?" she asked, somewhat reassured.
I nodded and said, "Hmm, according to Hobber's letters, it seems the North is being attacked by..."
"My lord," said Maester Kolian.
"Wait outside."
"My lord, it's a message from the capital."
"From the King?" I said, surprised that he would send me a message as relations between the crown and the nobility of the Reach had been tenser than ever after he had finally chosen a Dornish woman to be queen instead of Margaery Tyrell.
The maester nodded, and I quickly stood up, took the letter, and broke the royal seal to read:
Count Paxter Redwyne,
The Ironborn have decided to come out of their lair. I expect your fleet at Seagard in two weeks. We will take the Ironborn by surprise by attacking their domain now that the Iron Fleet and the majority of the Ironborn have left the Iron Islands.
I count on you, know that I will reward such loyalty when the time comes.
Aegon VI, King of the Seven Kingdoms
---
"What does the King ask of you?" asked Mina.
I took a deep breath and then said, "Maester Kolian, I want you to send servants to gather our war fleet as quickly as possible. We will leave at dawn tomorrow."
"What did the King ask you?" Mina asked again, more forcefully.
"It's war, and he has asked me to deploy the Redwyne fleet," I said, more sharply than I would have liked.
"You don't have to go yourself," she said.
"He asked me, and it's also our chance to stand out. Desmera could even marry a dragon rider," I said, thinking that if I showed the strength of the Redwyne fleet, Desmera could end up marrying Viserys Targaryen, the only other Targaryen with a dragon.
-6th day of the 7th moon of the year 299 AC-
-POV Eddard Stark-
I watched with cold rage rising in my veins as the skin of Rickard Karstark and his three sons was brought by the messenger, and I said, "What message does your master have?"
"The message from Lord Roose Bolton is this: I await you at Winterfell."
I frowned but eventually regained my composure and said, "Return to your master and tell him his days are numbered."
Once he had left, I frowned and said, "All this could have been avoided if only I had supported Jon; all this would have ended differently."
"You did nothing wrong; you simply tried to follow your honor to the end. All this is the fault of one person, Roose Bolton," said Rodrik.
"The Lords of the North won't see it that way, especially the Mormonts and Glovers; they are furious about the King's decision to grant half of the North to the Boltons, especially since the deaths of Maege Mormont and Robert Glover. Unfortunately, they will have to restrain themselves because I know my nephew, and he will not be patient with them... he is King now," I said, ending on a slightly sarcastic note.
Rodrik said nothing, and finally, I said, "I received a message from Robb; the King has decided that for the greater good, the North must stand alone for now."
"He didn't grant your request?" asked Rodrik.
"No, he refuses to leave the control of the Wall to the Night's Watch because he thinks Commander Jeor Mormont will decide to rally the Night's Watch against the crown."
"That's absurd," he said, furious.
I nodded and then said, "We have barely 19,000 men, and we are pinched between the Boltons and the Ironborn."
"May the old gods aid us."