26 Truth

298 AC, Near the Northern Border of the Reach…

It had been more than a week since Rody and the little prince escaped from the village in the Steadmon lands. At first, nothing happened as they continued to travel towards the Westerlands borders but after a day or two, everything went awry. Rody had to kill at least three men sent by the nobles of the Stormlands to hunt them down.

He shaved the boy's head by force, fearing that he would be recognized because of his hair. At least, the boy had the decency of listening to him after what happened during the week following their escape from the village.

Nevertheless, Rody had to travel through plains and forests, avoiding the roads. They fed on wild animals and various plants he scavenged. However, even then they had to stop by a true civilization to learn about what was going on.

…

The day was young when a grown man and a boy with shaved-head were entering the town of Tumbleton. It was a small town in the Reach with two dragon heads displayed in the town center. According to what the prince said, those dragons were killed during the Dance of Dragons, a civil war that happened at least a century ago.

"Are we going to stay here?" the boy asked.

"I don't think so. You saw the guards at the gate, their numbers are too many. It is obvious that they are preparing for war. I would be surprised if they do not conscript me if we overstay." Rody snorted. "We will be leaving after buying some supplies."

"Besides, Tumbletown is a small place close to the King's Landing. Its lord must have visited King's Landing many times. We cannot take a risk of them finding out about you." he said. "Come, let's sell these things before we go to eat something at the local inn."

The prince nodded his head and followed Rody obediently. They stopped before the local smithy and Rody went in. It was a small place for a smith that lived in a town in the Reach. The walls of the smithy were decorated with various weapons and shields.

Hot air was permating from inside while a pair of young boys were hammering down a flaming sword on an anvil. A man with grey hair and wrinkles adorning his face was sitting on the back and watching the boys.

The eyes of the old man turned towards the front of the smithy as he eyed the pair of the newcomers. "If you came here to buy, take yourself out. We do not have any weapons or farm tools at hand, all of them are bought by the lord, even those hanging on the walls."

Rody did not answer and, instead, looked around. He saw a table wide enough to accommodate the things he was carrying on his back. He went beside the table and unloaded everything onto it.

The clinging of the swords, axes and spear rang true in the shop as the old man raised an eyebrow. He rose to his feet and went towards the table.

"How much would you give for these?" Rody asked.

"You should have wiped the blood, at least." The old man did not give an answer right away as he took some of the weapons and studied them. "I will give you a few silver coins, that's it."

Rody snorted upon hearing the old man's words. "A few coins? These are worth at least a golden dragon, considering there is a war brewing."

"Aye, but that is not my concern. You either looted these weapons from the dead, or you are a bandit who stole them." The old man grinned with his dark yellow teeth. "I'm sure the lord would be happy to hear about it."

It was only a few seconds of stare later did Rody give up and accept the deal. The old man was telling the truth, no matter what, he was on the run and he had no chance but to yield before the man's threat. Nevertheless, the coins were enough for them to freshen their supplies for at least for a few days.

"Thirty silver coins, a bow and a few arrows." Rody tried to save some of his coins as he extended his hand for a handshake.

A broad smile took over the old man's face as he reached out to shake Rody's hand. "Deal." Then, he turned around and called one of the boys to carry the weapons.

Rody left the smithy with the prince running after him. "That man should be punished! It was a robbery." the prince said.

"Lower your voice," Rody spoke without stopping at his track. "The old man will probably go to his lord to inform him about us with the hope of gaining some extra coin for the information."

"Does he know us?" The prince asked with a scared face. "Are they going to hunt us again?"

"Stop spouting nonsense, he probably thinks that we are working for some bandit group and came to sell out our gains." Rody snorted. "Well, say goodbye to your hot meal at the inn. We are leaving after buying some supplies for the road."

"But you promised we would eat some proper food!" The prince complained. "I've been waiting for this for a few days!"

Rody couldn't handle the boy's mouth anymore so he grabbed him from his collar and pulled into an alley. He pushed him onto the wall and lowered himself at his level. "I think you still do not understand it clearly. There are men out there who would kill us in a heartbeat. I am not even talking about what they would do if they found out about your identity. They won't care whether you are a prince or an illborn bastard. The only fate that awaits you will be death."

He let go of the boy's collar and straightened his clothes. "Now, we are going to buy some supplies and leave the town. Meanwhile, you are going to stay quiet and follow me. Is there anything you fail to understand?"

"No," The prince spoke with a whisper as Rody watched him lower his head with tears welling up in his eyes.

Rody sighed and said, "Good, now stop crying, if you behave like a good boy, I will buy you some dry fruits. You can have them all on the road."

The prince's head shot up as he looked at Rody with shining eyes. "Really?!"

"Yes, come now." Rody groaned in annoyance. From the looks of it, his meager amount of coins were already being spent.

By the time Rody was done with the town, there were only a few coppers left in his pockets and they were ready to leave. Surprisingly, they did not meet anyone preventing them from leaving the town in the name of some noble.

Rody opted to travel through the vast plains between the Reach and the Westerlands. However, on the fifth day of their departure from the Tumbletown, a heavy rain took over the sky during the night.

They did not have anywhere to take shelter so they hid under a small tree and put their robes over their to shield themselves from the rain. The night was dark and only the sound of the raindrops were ringing in their ears.

Neither Rody, nor the prince could force sleep in their eyes. They were both awake even when the moon rose above their heads and made its way down behind the heavy clouds, hidden from their sights.

"When will the rain stop?" the prince asked.

"I don't know." Rody said.

"Do you think my family is still searching for me?" the prince asked.

"I don't know." Rody repeated the same answer.

"If it still rains like this, will we continue to walk?" the prince asked.

"Do you want to walk under the rain?" Rody asked in return.

"We would be stuck here if we don't walk." The prince said. "Besides, my father always said that there is no greater thing than feeling the rain wash down your face."

"If you get soaked under this rain for a few hours, you will get sick. If you get sick, we will have to stop for a few days in a settlement. If we stop, someone will come to question our identities. Do you want that to happen?" Rody spoke in an annoyed fashion. He was at his last straw from being bombarded by questions at every second.

The prince shook his head and finally stayed silent but even then, it was only for a few minutes as he opened his mouth again. "Can I ask you a question?"

Rody sighed and said, "You can,"

"Why did Lord Stark betray my father?" the prince asked.

"Betray?" Rody shook his head in dismay. He pulled out the Valyrian steel dagger hidden in his robes and stabbed it on the ground, just between himself and the prince. The prince recoiled seeing the dagger but did not attempt to escape.

"Do you know what this is?" Rody asked.

"A dagger?" The prince answered with a doubt.

"Not just a normal dagger, it is a Valyrian steel dagger." Rody said.

The prince furrowed his brow and looked at Rody, "What has it to do with Lord Stark's betrayal?"

"This dagger was used in an attempt to assassinate Brandon Stark, Lord Eddard's son." Rody spoke in a monotone tone, "And before that, this dagger was owned by your family."

"Why would my family harm Bran?!" The prince shook his head in denial, "You are lying!"

"Because Brandon saw something he shouldn't have," Rody said. "And Lord Stark found something he shouldn't have."

"What did he see?" the prince asked.

Rody shook his head and said, "That is a secret you shouldn't be hearing now."

"You can tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone." the prince spoke with hope in his eyes.

"No," Rod said.

"Are you afraid because it's a lie?" The prince asked with an obvious goading.

"I said no," Rody spoke with annoyance and frustration.

"I knew you were lying." The words of the prince were like the sting of a bee, poisonous but fleeting, but still enough to pry away the truth.

"Hmph, it was this secret that caused the death of good Northmen and the cause of the coming war. Do you really want to hear it?" Rody snorted and asked like he was gnawing the last threads inside him that was holding him down from bursting out.

The prince nodded his head as he waited with a great expectation like he was ready to hear the best fairy tale.

"He saw your mother with her brother, the Kingslayer, and when Lord Stark investigated it in the capital, he discovered the truth about you and your siblings." Rody looked at the boy in the eye with coldness seeping from his eyes. It was all because of this boy's mother, all those Northmen gave their lives in that goddamn tower. "None of you came out of the king's loins, every one of you are bastards born on the wrong side of the sheets."

Rody did not shy away from the truth and spilled it without hesitation. "When your mother learned about us knowing her secrets, she had the king murdered. All of these are caused by your mother."

The prince was shocked at the words leaving Rody's mouth. He shot to his feet and let his robe fall to the ground. "You are lying! You Northerners are savages who want to usurp my family!!" By the time his words were at an end, the prince had the face of an angry bull with the courage of a chicken. He turned around and began running away without any purpose.

Rody groaned as he rose to his feet and ran after the boy. It did not take long for him to tackle the boy to the ground. The prince tried to wrestle out but his green body was still too young to escape from Rody's clutches.

Rody held him from his wrists and put them on the ground. "Stop!! No matter what you think or say, the truth won't change. Your mother murdered Lord Arryn when he learned about this. He murdered the king and attempted to kill Lord Stark when it was going to be revealed."

"You are lying!" the prince yelled with all his might. "Lord Stark tried to usurp my father, my mother said so!"

"Lord Stark was content staying in the North, do you think he came south out of his greed?" Rody couldn't hold it anymore and yelled his lungs out. "Good Northmen died because your mother couldn't hold herself and open her legs to everyone. I saw the bastards that came from the king's seed. All of them, every one of them had black hair and blue eyes. Look at you, your mother fucked her brother and what came out is the embodiment of a Lannister. There isn't even an ounce of a Baratheon in you."

"Now, get under the tree and sleep like a good boy. I did not drag you all the way just so you can cry and get sick because of the rain and die on me." Rody forced the boy on his feet and pushed him towards the tree.

The prince walked towards the tree but did not forget to give a hateful glare to him. Rody had not treated the boy as a prisoner until now but he was done now. He was not going to deal with the sulking and groveling little shit anymore.

They waited a few hours under the tree and the rain stopped when the first lights of the sun shined upon them. Rody gathered his things and kicked the sleeping boy to rouse him. The boy woke up and looked at him with anger in his eyes but held his mouth back.

They were back on their track in no time. However, there was still a tension between them. The prince was silent and did not speak much. The only words that left his mouth were for food and water.

Rody preferred things this way since he was not one to utter empty words. He had some sick sense of joy from spilling the truth but it was also disturbing in a weird fashion. After a few days of journey, they came upon a sight that pushed the prince to empty his stomach.

Dozens of bare bodies were lying on the ground and being preyed upon by the crows with glistening eyes. When Rody came close to the bodies, crows gawked and flew away in hurry.

Rody knelt on the ground and touched the hard texture of a flag lying on the ground, a peacock on a cream field was adorning it.

He turned his head and saw another flag with a golden tree on silver. There were only twenty or so bodies around which meant that it was only a small skirmish. The bodies were already stripped bare so it was not possible to recognize who won or lost.

If the skirmishes already started, then they were in a dangerous position. At least, now, he knew they were already inside Westerland's borders.

"They are already at each other's throats, we need to avoid the roads if we do not want to get caught." Rody murmured to himself.

Meanwhile, the prince was trying to look away from the dead bodies but the pungent smell of the rotting flesh wasn't something he could shy away from.

Rody rose to his feet and looked towards the hills surrounding them. Just as he was going to tell the boy that they were going, he saw a few small dots in the distance. He squinted his eyes and tried to shield them from the sun with his hand.

The dots grew bigger with each second and soon Rody realized that they were horsemen. He clicked his tongue, realizing that the coming men were wearing shiny armors.

Rody and the prince did not have any horse to ride and everywhere the eye could see was covered by the grass fields. There was nothing they could use to hide. He thought about using his sword but there were a dozen of them and there was no chance he could defeat them. After all, from the looks of their shiny armor, they were not peasants wielding swords.

It did not take long for the clopping sounds to reach Rody's ears. However, he suddenly remembered the prince standing beside him. He quickly turned his head and looked at him but instead of excitement for seeing the Westermen, he saw fear in his little eyes.

The prince hid behind Rody and asked, "Are they Reachmen?"

Rody creased his eyebrows. The boy probably thought that they were one of the bounty hunter groups that were chasing them. Thus, Rody did nothing to wake him from his delusions, "I don't know, don't utter anything. I will talk with them."

The prince nodded his head but Rody felt his little hands grab his clothes and shake continously. It was apparent that fear was a constant thing in the prince's eyes after all they lived through on the road.

Ten horsemen surrounded Rody and the prince, their steeds snorting and stamping as they closed in on him. Rody's heart raced as he looked up at the mounted men as he was afraid of the boy noticing about the horsemen's heraldry.

The leading man who had a snarling red scar on his face was wearing a sigil with per saltire, checkered red and gold, a silver and black ferret on a green field.

However, seeing the boy's face, he realized that he did not know this sigil or the house it belonged to.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the lead horseman demanded, his voice stern and commanding.

"Probably another looter, captain," said another horseman. "We should just cut his head and be done with it."

The leader of the horsemen turned his head sharply and looked at the one who advised Rody's execution. The man lowered his head as all of their eyes turned back to Rody.

Rody licked his lips nervously, trying to compose himself. "I'm traveling with my boy, mi'lord. We are going to my father's village. I will leave him there to join the levies." he said, keeping his voice steady. He was trying to create an image of someone who was with a purpose.

The horsemen looked at each other, their expressions skeptical. "Every peasant we saw tries to escape from the war, how can we know you are not one of them?" another one of them said.

Rody shook his head frantically. "They killed my wife on the road, mi'lord." he said while clenching his fists and showing an angry face. "How can I look at my son's face while knowing those bastards still live?"

The horsemen looked at each other again, their expressions unreadable. Finally, their leader spoke. "The roads around here are dangerous, let two of my men escort you to your village. It is hard to find good people like you these days, let it not be said the Stranger has taken hold of these lands."

"Rest of you, dig a pit!" said the leader as he dismounted his horse. "We are going to burn the bodies before they completely rot."

Rody breathed a sigh of relief as the two horsemen approached him, their expressions cold but understanding.

"Which way is your village?" One of them asked and turned his head to the prince, "Boy, you must be tired. Come, you can sit before me."

The prince looked at Rody with hesitation but Rody nodded his head, there was nothing he could do other than to play along. At least, they were not going to worry over being hunted down. However, he was still wary of the prince recognizing who they were travelling with. Still, if things came down to it, he was sure that he could handle these two men.

They trekked up the vast green and fertile plains of the borders and, finally, the high hills of the Westerlands grew bigger in their eyes.

As they rode down the road, one of the horsemen began talking non-stop. "The captain always gives these jobs to us. I'm certain that he is doing this because we are fresh recruits. I told you we should have stayed at home."

"Oh shut your mouth, Kelling." said the horseman who let the prince ride the horse with him. "At least we don't have to deal with those corpses."

"Aye, you are right. This is better than digging graves." said Kelling and turned his head to Rody, who was walking with quick steps beside them. "Good man, pray tell us your name. I hope you are not planning to stay silent all the way?"

"My name is Robert, mi'lord." Rody said but did not add anything, trying to stay as silent as possible.

"Robert, eh?" Kelling smirked towards his brother. "He has the same name as you, brother!"

Kelling turned his eyes back to Rody,. "Your father must have named you after the late king. I bet nearly half of the kingdom is named Robert."

"I said shut your mouth, Kelling." Robert said, "No wonder cousin Tyland says that you close your mouth only when eating or drinking."

"Hmph, what would Tyland know?" Kelling snorted. "He thinks he is above us all because he lives in Lannisport. I tell you, he will die when they conscript him to the army. He can't even wield a knife, let alone a sword. Those fucking Reachmen would butcher him."

The prince's eyes grew wide as he directed his head to the talking man. "Lannisport?!"

Rody clicked his tongue. He knew that he had to act quickly and decisively if he were to prevent the boy from creating an undesirable situation.

He grabbed the Valyrian steel dagger hidden behind his armor and sank it deep into the leg of Kelling's horse. The horse reared on and whined in terror but it couldn't stand so it fell sideways.

Rody did not wait to see what was going to happen as he knew Kelling's legs were going to crush under the horse's weight. He turned his head to Robert who was looking at the scene with shock in his eyes while holding the prince with a firm grip.

Rody jumped and grabbed the man, pulling him down without any hesitation. Robert fell to the ground with a thud but his fall was slowed down by soft grasses. His fall was also followed by the prince as he met the ground with the same force.

Robert tried to rise from the ground but Rody was already there for him. Rody grabbed his arm, twisting it until he heard the bone snap. Robert howled in pain and tried to pry away his broken arm from Rody.

Rody stood over him and while Robert was howling in pain, he quickly slit his throat. The man gargled in his own blood.

Turning his back on the dead man, Rody's eyes wandered towards the fallen horse and Kelling.

The only thing that came out of Kelling's mouth was the screams of pain. His lower body was under the horse. The horse thrashing around because of its wound while making a toast out of the man under him.

Rody decided to end both of their pain as he pulled out the Valyrian dagger he stabbed on the horse's leg and used it to stab the horse through his head.

He wasted no breath with the other man as he silenced his screams with the cold dagger and sent him on his way to his Gods.

He wiped the dagger using the dead man's clothes and sheathed his dagger back into where it belonged.

His cold eyes turned back towards the boy who was shivering on the ground. Rody wondered when the boy was going to get used to the killing as he always acted the same way whenever he killed someone.

"Strip him," Rody said, "They must have some food in their bags, look for it."

The boy rose to his feet with fear in his eyes but still done as Rody told him. It was not the first time Rody was giving him such tasks so he did not shy away from it. However, touching the dead was one of the dreaded parts of his current task.

Rody was also doing the same thing as he tried to scavenge anything he could find from the upper part of Kelling's body.

There was nothing aside from a few silver coins and a golden necklace around his neck. He quickly gathered them and rose to his feet to see whether the boy found anything useful or not.

The boy was also quite good after getting some experience with their previous encounters. He knew the places he should be looking for hidden treasures but they were not lucky with these two men as they were poorer than them.

The only things they could get were two swords, a few coins and a small necklace. Rody looked around to see if there was anything else and saw one of the horses staying still a few meters away and eating the grass on the ground like his owner was not killed a moment ago.

Rody slowly went towards the horse as he did not want to scare him. The horse raised its head while chewing the grass in his mouth. Its black eyes were focused on Rody but it was not backing away.

He approached slowly, talking to the horse in a soothing voice and offering it a piece of sweets he bought for the little prince. As soon as the horse began sniffing the food on Rody's hand, Rody knew that he got the horse.

He combed its mane with his fingers, soothing it to trust him. A small amount of bribe always worked with animals and it was the same with this one as well. He took its reins and led him towards the corpses.

"Boy, gather everything. We need to go." Rody said. "It won't take long for them to find the bodies and come after us."

The prince was done with its job so Rody took everything and mounted the horse. He grabbed the prince and pulled him up. He held the reins in his hands, guiding the horse as they rode through the narrow road. The prince sat behind Rody, clinging to his clothes to keep from falling off.

Rody was happy to ride a horse at last, their journey until now had been on foot and despite not complaining, his feet were full of blisters. He knew it was the same with the prince because of him complaining all the way on the road.

"Now that we've got a horse, I hope you will stop complaining about your feet." Rody said, being happy about his situation.

"They were Westermen…" The prince whispered but his eyes slowly burned with an eerie anger. "You told me they were Reachmen!"

"Huh?" Rody lowered his head and looked at the prince. "I never said anything about them being Reachmen or Westermen. It was you who assumed so. Besides, do you expect me to tell you about them being your grandfather's men? Fat chance, I say."

It was the same argument as always and it wasn't different this time as well. Rody knew no matter what he did, he could not stop the boy from escaping. The only thing he could do was prevent the situation from escalating.

Nevertheless, he believed he could cross Westerlands without much trouble because nearly all of the fighting men were out of the region and the only ones left behind were huddled in their castles. As long as he passed through the border, there was nothing that could stop them.

The horse plodded along, its hooves sinking into the road with each step. They bounced up and down in their saddles as the horse took them up the road.

Despite the muddy road, the horse remained steady and reliable, its powerful muscles straining to pull them through the muck and mire. The prince leaned to Rody, trying to stay warm despite the harsh wind battering on them.

Rody saw many stragglers on their way and most of them were roaming through the roads, trying to escape from the coming war. He avoided staying with other people through the nights and entering any settlements.

Now that they were in Westerlands, staying in a settlement or with a group was dangerous as the prince could talk with the people and reveal his identity or escape from him to inform the local leaders.

Still, no matter what, they met with several busybodies who tried to snatch away the truth from them and help the prince. Even though their end was swift as others, Rody was getting paranoid enough to be unable to sleep.