Chapter 8 - Arriving in Riverrun

Chapter 8 - Arriving in Riverrun

-Middle of 271 A.C-

-10 years old-

My lungs burnt as I leaned against the tree, every breath I took felt like I was being stabbed in the gut. We would soon arrive at Riverrun, at least that's what Brynden had told me, but before we would we had taken another break that I had urgently needed. My wound was making itself known again, and I had nearly fallen off my horse.

"Here, drink." Brynden offered me a bottle and I greedily drank from it, savoring the thinned honey wine inside. When I had drunk enough, I returned to the bottle and Brynden put it away again.

"I'm slowing us down, aren't I?" It was an obvious question, but the journey shouldn't have taken as long as it did. We had been riding for nearly a week now. Brynden just sighed and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, it was to be expected. To be honest, I thought we would take longer. You're tough." Brynden said and smiled slightly, a smile which I returned.

I leaned back against the tree and stared at the stars that were slowly starting to shine in the sky. Brynden had taken a seat next to me and also was staring at the stars, most likely enjoying the sight just like me. After a few minutes of silence, I was the one to break it, though without taking my eyes off the shining celestial bodies above us.

"So, what are my cousins like?" Brynden was silent for a few minutes, but then answered, if a bit slowly and carefully about his words.

"They are...good people. Always follow their father, my brother, and are generally a great company to be around. Though I do have to admit that they can be quite devilish and use their intelligence against those they don't like." Brynden was silent for a few seconds before he continued, though I could hear that his talking got a bit faster as if he was starting to enjoy it.

"You have two cousins right now, two girls to be exact. One of them is called Catelyn and the other is Lysa. Catelyn is clever and cunning, and she's the one you should probably watch out for the most, the girl can have a tongue sharper than any sword. She takes after her mother physically, but she's her father's daughter." Brynden said and chuckled slightly.

"And what about the second one, Lysa?" I asked to keep the conversation going. It might have been only small talk between us, but I began to enjoy it as well.

"Ah, Lysa. She is still very young right now, only four name-days old, but she is going to grow up to be a beautiful woman one day, of that I'm sure. She's also quite shy right now, but which young children aren't, am I right?" Brynden asked, turning his head to look at me.

"You are," I said and nodded, and maintained eye contact.

"Should I tell you anything about my family as well?" I offered and he nodded, a small spark of curiosity playing in his eyes.

"Please do." He said, readjusting his seating for a more comfortable place. I smiled slightly.

"Let's start with my grandfather. He is and always has been a strict man, kind of like you described your brother. My grandfather already made a little bit of glory in the Ninepenny War, where he was one of the few peasants that was present at the battle between Barristan Selmy and Maelys the Monstrous. He will never stop bragging about it." I said the last sentence with a small smile, remembering just how often he had told me the story of how Barristan had managed to slay the would-be king who had led the Golden Company.

"There are also a few of my friends I made at the village, all of them lowborn as well. I have to admit that the times I played with them were extremely happy ones. Especially when we were playing a melee game, I would normally win those." Brynden chuckled but otherwise made no move to interrupt me, so I continued.

"And then there were my times as a squire in Grandview and my years of working in the smithy in town. The smithy in town is headed by a man called Tarrik, someone I came to see as something akin to a close uncle. He is also the one that gave me my hammer." I said, lightly tapping against the piece of metal that hung on my side, right next to the dagger that had saved my life from the stag.

"You already use the hammer as a normal tool?" Brynden asked, looking at it with a surprised look. I nodded.

"I do, though it's kinda hard for me at the moment. But you should see me when I'm back in full health."

"I will, we have good smiths in the Riverrlands, and I'm sure they will accept you as an apprentice," Brynden said, and smiled slightly.

"What about the rest of my tutoring?" I asked, and he seemed to contemplate it for a few moments.

"What were you taught, aside from the usual numbers, poetry, and such?"

"Maester Daltis taught me a few languages, like the Old Tongue, High Valyrian, and Dothraki."

"Dothraki? What would would you do with that?" Brynden asked as he turned to me, one of his eyebrows arched as he did so.

"Well, I thought about traveling the world once, seeing all the sights. Have you ever wondered what Essos looks like? The sandy dunes of Dorne? I read about them, but I never saw them before. Seeing the Wall in the North would also be a great thing to do." I looked at the sky once again as the words left my mouth, and it was true. Once I had made sure that everything was going smoothly, I wasgoing to travel around Westeros, see all of the beautiful sights it had to offer, and perhaps even write a book about it.

'Perhaps I can be this world's Columbus? Would certainly be a blast.'

"A large goal, eh? Perhaps you should change your profession from a blacksmith to a sailor right away, eh?" Brynden asked, though there was a certain amount of humor in his tone.

"I might be bordering a ship in the future, but blacksmithing is something I can do nearly everywhere. It's also something I can get better at, which is something I look forward to." Brynden gave a small grunt of aknowledgement, and then too stared at the stars without saying anything.

"What of your mother, how did she handle it?" I looked at him and sighed. He had to bring it up.

"Raising me all alone? She did great, though I have to admit that Master Tarrik and Grandfather played a large part in my life too. But mother, she's always been there. When I got ill she would sit at my bed, and tell me stories about knights and sometimes even dragons. I will repay her one day, for all the things she did for me." Brynden listened to my words and nodded though I noticed how he had a strange expression on his face. After a few moments he opened his mouth, and his next words were carefully chosen.

"Your mother and I, were young when we had you. Young and foolish." My eyes narrowed, and Brynden seemed to notice.

"I'm not saying that I regret your existence, I don't. I'm just stating that you were the result of my poor decisions." He was silent for a while, but then sighed and continued.

"The war had just started, I could have barely even been called a man, and the war scared me. And that's how I met your mother, at the center of your town." I turned my head to look at Brynden, who was now staring at the fire the guards had made.

"She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life, and it...just happened. I guess it was love at first sight if a foolish one." We fell into silence after his words.

"Donar?" I heard Brynden's voice again and I turned around, turning my head to face my biological father. He had stood up by now and dusted off his surcoat.

"I will make you receive a better education than ever before, trust me."

"Thanks, Ser." Brynden nodded and then pointed to his men who were already sitting around a comfortable-looking campfire.

"Join us at the campfire, it's getting cold."

"Yes, Ser." He cringed slightly and sighed.

"Please, call me Brynden." I looked at him, unsure at first, but then inclined my head.

"Then please, call me Donar." Brynden didn't answer, but I could see how his eyes lit up slightly.

I walked over to the campfire and sat down, finding my place among two burly men who were already eating their rations. Both of them looked at me as I sat down, and wordlessly passed me a piece of their bread and strong smeeling cheese, which I accepted with a small thanks. I took a bite, my teeth digging into the simple food as I savored it. The man on my left chuckled.

"Aye, you've got a proper appetite. How old are you anyway?" I hadn't talked with the guards a lot before this stop, instead opting to rest and recover as much as I could. But now that I was sharing a meal with them, perhaps I could also share a few stories too.

"Ten name-days right now, though I'm going to turn eleven soon enough, at the end of this year." The loud chewing of all the men next to me suddenly stopped, and I felt how their eyes all were trained on me. A small drop of sweat rolled down the back of my head.

"Did I say something wrong?" As soon as the words had left my mouth one of the men leaned forward, his eyes narrowed.

"Boy, did you even learn numbers?" I raised an eyebrow, unsure about what I had done wrong.

"What?"

"You don't look like twelve name-days, much less ten. No one can tell me that a boy can grow to such a large size while only having seen ten name-days." The other men nodded at his words, supporting their colleague's thoughts.

"But it's the truth. I was born at the end of 260 after Ageon's Conquest, Brynden can tell you it's true." All of their head collectively turned to Brynden, who coughed slightly but then answered.

"It's the truth, he's just ten name-days old." The men's heads once again turned to me, and one of them whistled.

"Bastards do grow bigger than the rest." A second guard slapped the back of the speaker's head, making the man groan in pain.

"Watch your fucking gob man, you're still speaking to our leader's son." I raised my hands, drawing their attention to me.

"I don't mind, it was an accident after all, just don't insult my family." The men were silent, but then loud laughter began to grow amongst them, though I noticed how Brynden hand was massaging his forehead, clearly annoyed.

"What did I do this time?" I asked, slightly annoyed as I did. The men recovered from their sudden laughing, and one of them wiped a tear from his eye.

"It's just that you remind us of your father, he seems like one of the toughest, meanest guys around and in truth is a big softie, at least what his nieces are concerned." The laughter picked up again, and Brynden groaned.

"You do know that I'm still the brother of a Lord Paramount, do you?" He said though I could see how the men didn't even flinch the slightest at his threat.

"Sorry Ser, but I doubt that you could find any men in the Seven Kingdoms that are as strong, fast, and dashing as us." One of them said, and all of them laughed again, until one of them took out a large wineskin, and held it into the air.

"Let's dig in, I bought it from a Stormlander! Let's see if their wine's as sour as they are!" The other man cheered at his words, and soon enough cups were taken out and passed around. One of the men even gave me a little cup, though Brynden, who didn't drink much himself, reminded them to not give me too much. We all still did have a lot of fun however, and when I went to sleep that night, I felt as if I had grown closer to all of them, not just Brynden himself.

*****

The next day we left our resting place as soon as possible to finally arrive in Riverrun. Brynden once again led us, though he did sometimes fall back and tell me about Riverrun, the castle the Tullys called their seat of power and influence.

And when we arrived in front of the castle I thought that he had been understating its greatness. While it wasn't the biggest castle in the Seven Kingdoms, its layout was unique. I could see the now try moat that could be flooded with water to turn Riverrun into an island and also make it practically impossible to breach. The red sandstone walls shone in the sun and the battlements that were built into the castle were something to be amazed of.

"Quite the castle, eh?" Brynden, who was next to me, remarked with a smile and I could hear the pride in his words.

"Quite doesn't cover it." Brynden chuckled and then motioned me to follow him to the gates of the castle.

"Just wait until you see the inside." He said and then rode through the giant doors of the castle, the thick redwood mesmerizing me with its strange texture. When we entered the castle, however, my concentration was stolen away by the man who stood just in the courtyard of the castle, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed enough that I thought he possessed eyes like a cat. Brynden seemed to notice him too, and I saw how he took one deep breath before he got off his horse and looked the man into his eyes.

"Brynden." The man said, though it wasn't meant as a greeting, but much more of an accusation.

"Hoster." Brynden's voice was cool and calm, even while talking with his elder brother, the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands. Hoster looked past his little brother and saw me, and for a short moment, I thought that his eyes widened, before he once again stared at Brynden.

"You didn't, did you?"

"I did," Brynden said and walked over and grabbed me by the shoulder, still careful because of my wound.

"This is my son, Donar." Hoster's fist tightened even more and I could practically see the veins on his forehead that were close to bursting from anger. I bowed as deep as my injury allowed, hoping that it would be enough to appease the angry lord.

"It's an honor, my lord." The older man's eyes turned from Brynden to me, and I could see how painfully obvious it was to him that I was indeed his kin.

"How old are you, boy?" He asked, the words coming out of his mouth in short and clipped.

"I am ten name-days old, my lord." He stared at me for a few moments, before he shook his head and grabbed Brynden's shoulder.

"Come, we need to talk." Brynden didn't react at first, but then nodded and walked with Hoster to the inner halls of the castle, but not before he ordered his men to unload my things.

"Will he be alright?" I asked one of the guards, who made a vague gesture.

"He won't be killed, if that's what you mean. But Lord Hoster and Brynden always had a certain air of conflict between each other. Hopefully, they won't take as long as they did last time." His answer didn't calm me down in the slightest, but in the end, I had to relent and follow the men that led me to my room. Yes, my room, something that I didn't have at Grandview where I would have to share the room with two other pages and squires.

However, when I walked back to the guards to get one last remaining thing, however, namely my smithing tools, I saw too young heads, which were adorned with hair similar to mine. I set the tools down and raised one of my hands, unsure what else to do.

"Hello, how are you?" The red locks both of them possessed seemed to shine in the morning sun, and the taller one stepped forward, bowing slightly as she did so. Which did look kind of funny, especially because the child couldn't have been older than six.

"I am quite fine, thank you very much." The young Catelyn Tully said, and I could see how she still had a bit of baby fat remaining, giving her an even younger appearance. Her sister, Lysa Tully, also stepped forward though by far not as maintained.

"It's an honor." The four-year-old Tully said, drawing out the second "o" in honor much longer than she needed to. She also tried to bow but nearly fell to the ground as she did so.

"Well then my dear ladies, I am Donar, a member of your family." Catelyn's eyes narrowed slightly, but Lysa seemed to be amazed, clapping with her little hands as she jumped into the air.

"So you are our big brother? Why didn't father tell us about you?" I chuckled but shook my head.

"I'm not your brother, but your cousin. Brynden Tully, your uncle is the man who sired me." Lysa seemed to be a bit overwhelmed and instead held out her arms.

"You are tall, carry me." Her question caught me off guard, and I had to double-take.

"Excuse me?"

"You are tall, taller than Catelyn. Which means if I can ride on your shoulders I will also be taller than Catelyn." The small Tully said, slowly explaining her "master plan" to me. I chuckled at first and then laughed.

"Alright, but be careful up there, I've got a bit of an injury down here," I said and slowly petted my side where my bandages were. Lysa nodded rapidly and her fingers were opening and closing, most likely anticipating the sights she would be able to get on my shoulders. I got closer, took her beneath her shoulders, and then lifted her on my shoulders, causing the small girl to giggle out loud.

"So high! Catelyn look, I can see the guards on the battlements from up here!" Catelyn, who had been watching the entire thing with a bit of calmness now suddenly too was at my side.

"That can't be true, let me up too!" She said, slightly jumping on the spot as she said it. I chuckled.

Even if she was a smart child, she still was just a child after all.

*****

-A few hours later-

-Hoster Tully-

He watched his brother's child play with his two daughters in the courtyard, and a storm of thoughts assaulted him.

Bryden's boy was large, far larger than his father had ever been at such an age. Heck, if he had to guess, he had never even heard of a child that had been so tall as Donar. Brynden had said the boy had been large and heavy at birth, but there should be a limit to how big a child could get. Not only that, the child's body was more akin to that of teenagers than anything, with muscles already visible on his broad figure and arms, along with facets of small nicks and scars that were normally reserved for men that were thrice the child's age. Not only that, he could hardly tell anymore if the child had truly suffered the great wound that Brynden had described.

No man, much less a child would be able to walk a month after a stag had embedded its antlers into his body. And yet here he was, seeming as if he had taken a trashing in a sparring match rather than a mortal wound. In short, Brynden's child would be a great threat to their house if he was left unwatched.

"Aren't they sweet my lord?" His wife's warm voice freed him from the treacherous thoughts and he once again could concentrate on the scene in front of him.

Brynden's boy was holding each of the girls on one of his shoulders and was running around the courtyard, making both of the children, even the normally more serious Catelyn, laugh out loud with joy.

"If Brynden could have at least chosen a noblewoman. But no, it had to be a commoner." He said, looking at Donar with pity. The child had been blessed by the Seven, or at least it seemed that way, but the fact that he was a bastard certainly didn't help things.

"Hush dear, he is a nice boy, isn't he? And you granted Brynden's plea, after all, you can't take it back now." His wife's voice once again drew him away from the dark thoughts and he kissed her sweet lips.

"You are right, and perhaps he will prove useful to our House too." He wasn't sure of that fact yet, but he had promised his brother to not act prejudiced against the boy and even when he and his brother didn't see eye to eye with most things, they almost immediately agreed on the terms that Donar himself would have no claim to the Seat of a Tully, and thus could only become an heir if someone gave him their blessing to.

"Will you watch over him too?" He asked his wife and he watched Lysa and Catelyn leave Donar's shoulders and say goodbye to him, most likely to finally get some sleep as well. The boy bowed slightly and made his way to the tower on the other end of Riverrun, where his room was located.

"Perhaps a bit, he is family after all." He grunted slightly but then went away from the window, an expansive one at that, he possessed and then went to bed, feeling how the warm covers warmed his bones. His beautiful wife, Minisa smiled at him and kissed him on the forehead.

"Well, look at it this way: Riverrun now has a squire that is going to represent us in a few tourneys, fight for us, and is also being trained by your brother who also has to take all the responsibility that is associated with the boy, like a true father should." He nodded, silently agreeing with his wife. His brother never had as much responsibility on his shoulders as he had, it was time that it would change. He smiled at his wife and kissed her on her cheek before he blew out the flame of the candle next to their bed.

He turned around, now lying on his bed, and stared at the ceiling, but he felt how his eyes slowly were closing.

He just hoped that he wouldn't regret his decision to take the boy in.