The Duel

The Duel

Theon POV

I could hear people murmur outside my room as Anguy helped me put on my armor suit. As I picked up my helm, the time for the duel had come. Well, it was a duel for ser Hosteen Frey, but in the end, it would be murder. After all, anything can happen in a fight, even if it isn't to death.

"It is time, Theon," Thoros informed me.

"Then let's go," I said.

"Are you sure you will be fine?" Thoros asked. "I could fight in your place."

"Is that weasel face that good, that you are worried so much?"

"Ser Hosteen Frey, I met him in tourneys many times, as he is the sixth son of Lord Walder Frey. He skilled enough to win some of those tourneys."

"Is he better than the Kingslayer or the Mountain?" I asked.

"Well, no, but."

"Then there is no need to worry. I won't even give him a chance to fight," I didn't let Thoros finish.

"Still, don't let your guard down. Your life is of most import to me."

"Even if I die, you only need to revive me again."

"Don't joke about it, Theon," Thoros said. "The God of the Light has chosen you as his champion. You are destined for bigger things than any of us could imagine."

"Fine, you win. Still, you don't need to worry. I had planned this fight all night."

Leaving my chambers, I walked through Golden Tooth's halls, soon leaving the castle and arriving at the courtyard. The courtyard was filled with people awaiting the fight. The Freys looked relaxed. To them, it didn't matter if they won or not. Fighting me, they want to put other lords to their side.

"Good luck," Anguy said and left my side. He had something else to do.

"Most of them are Freys. It still surprises me how many of them there are," Thoros commented. "I hope your plan works as you indented."

"If it doesn't, I have you to protect me," I replied. "And you should know by this point. It is hard to kill me."

I walked up to the center of the courtyard and waited till ser Hosteen showed up. After he came, we were handed blunted swords and shields. At first glance, the blade looked blunted, yet its tip was sharp enough to penetrate skin and muscle.

I watched as ser Hosteen Frey fastened his shield on his arm. I didn't bother to do so. I held the wooden shield by its handle with my hand. I won't use it too much anyway. As we both prepared ourselves, lord Blackwood announced the start of the duel.

Before ser Hosteen could do anything, I threw my shield at his head. He blocked it with his shield, but he had to cover his sight. In moments he couldn't see, I had already moved close to him and started to swing my sword.

I was taller than him, so I decided to use it by swinging at him from above. He held his shield, trying to defend himself, but it was probably hard as I swung my sword with all my strength. Ser Hosteen attempted to hit my stomach and chest, but my armor protected me well, and I didn't feel anything from his attacks.

After a dozen swings of my sword, he couldn't help but drop his shield. At that moment, I knew I had won. Thinking that I would wing again, he tried to use his sword to block it. Too bad for him; I had planned for this and instead thrust my sword. And so the fight was over.

Ser Hosteen Frey was too late to react as my sword pierced his neck. Seeing his uncle bleeding to death, ser Ryman Frey quickly ran up to him. It was already too late to do anything to save him. I let out a small chuckle but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"My bad, it seems I killed him accidentally."

"You savage Ironborn, you did it on purpose," Ser Ryman yelled.

"You dare to accuse me?" I asked in a cold voice. "How about you own up to your words? Prove it by actions. I am tired of your empty words."

"Then I will," He drew his sword but was stopped by an older man. "Father? He killed uncle Hosteen."

"It was an accident. He died in the duel he proposed."

So, there are some smart ones in the House Frey. He didn't want to escalate it anymore. But I wanted. Looking at their faces, I could tell most of the Freys didn't care for one of them, but they cared for their reputation.

"Well, what can you expect from cravens like you? You all know how to speak some pretty words but couldn't back it up with your actions. Maybe it is a good thing you didn't join the war. You would have only thrown your lives away. Or you would have probably surrendered at first sight of the battle."

"Watch what you say, Greyjoy," The older man, who stopped ser Ryman, said. "There is no need to escalate the quarrel anymore."

"Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?" I shoved my finger at his chest. "First, you accuse me of raping Lady Lefford, and now you order me around. You have forgotten your place, Frey. His is my castle."

"Accuse? Lady Lefford would disagree."

"Would she?" I asked and smiled. "Lady Lefford, why don't you tell them how I mistreated you."

"Ser Theon Greyjoy," She began slowly. It was her chance to get back to me, yet she knew it wouldn't hurt me no, matter what she said. "Didn't do anything inappropriate to me."

"What? But we saw it."

"He was only teasing me, nothing more."

"You damn bitch, my uncle died because of you," Ser Ryman didn't like the answer from Lady Lefford.

"Don't spout nonsense. You only wanted to act like a hero to get me in your bed. You haven't even deemed yourselves to ask me first. And even if he did rape me, what is up to you? I would rather be raped by him than spend a day near any of you."

Alysanne spat at ser Ryman's face and turned and left. If I am not careful, I might fall in love. She knew that if she betrayed me here, the servants and people she grew up with would be in danger. I laughed out loud as everyone looked around, embarrassed. When everyone turned to look at me, I walked up to ser Ryman Frey and cupped his face.

"I am waiting for your apology," I told him.

Killing his uncle and then asking for him to apologize, anyone would try to kill me in this situation. He didn't disappoint me. With a yell, he drew his sword and tried to swing it at me. With a good punch at his face, he fell on his ass.

"Does ser piggy wants a fight?"

The humiliation made him too angry to think as he quickly stood up and swung his sword again. This time Thoros blocked the sword and kicked him to the ground before pointing his sword at ser Ryman's neck. Soon enough, the other Freys drew their swords. There were a couple of dozens of them in the courtyard and about a thousand outside.

They outnumbered me, even counting on the other Riverlords and their men. Yet I smiled widely. This is what I wanted. For Robb to rule the North, he had to eliminate the Freys. It would be nice to get rid of the Boltons, but I didn't want to open that can of worms just yet or ever.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked them. "Come at me, or are you afraid?"

Maybe because they knew that they shouldn't attack me, they hesitated. No matter how much I humiliated them, they didn't have a real reason to attack me. Even when I killed one of them, it was within the duel. Some tried to calm down the Freys, and as ser Ryman came to his sense and was about to drop his sword, a loud voice asked.

"What going on there?"

Nobody expected King of the North, Robb Stark, to come at this situation. Well, nobody except me. I knew he would be coming, so I pushed the duel to this day. I calculated everything. You can think of many plans and schemes when you don't sleep.

"I asked what was going on there," Robb's voice was cold as his face.

"The Freys came here as kings and started accusing me of absurd things. They even challenged me to a duel. They seem like they can't accept that they lost," I replied quickly and vaguely as possible.

"So, after hiding in your towers, you come and do as you wish?" Robb asked them. "If were you of the North, I would have executed you for this craven behavior. You are lucky that you are not, but I will inform my uncle Ser Edmure of your actions."

"It isn't like this," Ser Ryman tried to defend himself.

"Just dropped it, your Grace. Look at them, trembling like little girls. I don't want to smell their shit and piss in my castle."

Lord Umber's laughter was the loudest, but others laughed quite loudly too. Soon the whole courtyard was filled with laughter. The Freys looked embarrassed and furious. I could see their faces turning from red to purple.

"It was a misunderstanding, your Grace," Again, that old man tried to be sensible. "What are you doing? Put your weapons down."

The Freys looked awkward but seemed to listen to him. As they were about to put down their swords, an arrow flew from their direction and hit me in the shoulder. I dropped to the ground with a scream of pain. The laughter stopped, the men from the North drew their swords, and the fight began.