Chapter 6.4 Starks in Barrowton

Ned Stark was not going to go, he did not want to get into trouble, but Catelyn managed to convince him. The Guardian of the North should make his presence felt, to strongly assert his position. Catelyn herself was to accompany him, along with her firstborn, Robb Stark, 10 years old.

The rest of the children would stay at Winterfell, the journey was too heavy for them. The second eldest, Sansa Stark, 6 years old, tried to convince her parents to go to the party, but because of the suddenness of the trip, it would also be very tiring for the young girl. Catelyn herself seriously considered whether or not to take Robb.

Ned Stark's bastard, Jon Snow, was not even considered in the plans, despite being the same age as Robb.

It was already dusk, but the Stark convoy was able to reach Barrowton, and the town was certainly very different from how the wolf remembered it, when he came to return Willam's steed to his wife.

The town was five times as large as he remembered it, if not more, and the cluttered wooden houses were now imposing stone houses. Also, coming from the north, they passed through the area where the gold mines were, and he saw how, even on his lord's onomastic, no one stopped working and mining gold.

The whole place was full of soldiers, all dressed alike. Chain mail armor with the symbol of House Dustin, plus that little change under the crown they had made some years ago; the swastika, steel swords hanging from their waists, a broad shield, also with the symbol of House Dustin, and long metal-tipped spears.

They certainly looked intimidating, standing completely still in certain areas, as their eyes followed the Stark family and the group of 50 men escorting them.

"Remind me of... the Unsullied" Catelyn commented, remembering reading about the lethal warriors from the other side of the world.

"Those slaves of Astapor?" asked Ned.

"Aye, though these are free men."

The group was silent until they reached the castle. Both Eddard and Catelyn were on horseback, though Robb was on the same horse as his father. House Stark, unlike the Manderlys, did not have a carriage for them.

"The town has grown quite a bit" Ned commented dryly.

"Too much" Cat replied, but they had finally arrived in front of the castle.

"Lord and Lady Stark, greetings" said a man in his forties, greeting them with a smile.

"A Maester? What happened to Lyndon?" asked Stark, and Qyburn let out a faint smile.

'This man doesn't know what's going on in his own territory, he's really not an enemy of concern at all. 'The Manderly and the Boltons are the only threats in the North to my lord' thought Qyburn, without changing his expression. "I'm afraid Maester Lyndon passed away some time ago now, I am Maester Qyburn, his replacement."

"Then it is my pleasure" Eddard replied gruffly.

"Allow me to lead you to your chambers."

"Why isn't Lord Dustin here?" asked Cat from the side with venom in her tone.

"Lord Dustin? I'm afraid he has too many things to arrange, but he deeply regrets not being able to receive you."

"More important things than receiving HIS Lordship?"

"Cat, please don't go on," Ned murmured from the side, and Catelyn snorted in annoyance, and they were led to their quarters, a room like room within the castle walls, in a building made especially for guests.

"It's worse than I thought," murmured the beautiful woman.

"What do you mean?"

"To the city Ned, what else am I going to refer to? House Dustin has always been one of the most powerful in the North, on par with House Bolton and House Manderly, and if they haven't been a problem it's because they've always been so loyal to the Starks."

"House Manderly and House Bolton are also loyal houses to the Starks, and the Dustin's still are," Ned said seriously, and Catelyn rolled her eyes.

"For the love of the Seven Ned... House Manderly if very loyal, and the last generations of the Boltons have been as well, but I don't see loyalty when I look into the eyes of the soldiers, I see wariness. These men are not loyal to House Stark."

"It is enough for me that Lord Dustin is."

"The same one who did not even come to greet his lord? House Dustin's loyalty died with Willam Dustin at Dorne. And you heard of the betrothal?"

"The one to the daughter of Wylis?"

"Yes, soon House Dustin will be bound by blood with House Manderly, and the ties of blood are stronger than ties by word. What do you think will happen if House Dustin decides to rebel against us? He would have the support of the Boltons, the Ryswells and the Manderlys. Those four houses are enough to overthrow us."

Eddard's eyes were grim, more than usual, as he heard these words.

"You underestimate the loyalty of the Northmen, especially Wyman Manderly."

"Wyman Manderly is an old man, he has no more than 15 years left in this world, and his roots are more southern than northern" Catelyn replied, and Ned frowned. Did his wife's words really make sense? Eddard Stark did not want to know.

"I..." murmured Ned, but he didn't know what to say. "I'll see if I'll speak to Robert."

"That's what I ask, talk to Robert and make them pay the taxes they owe. With all the gold they sell House Stark would gain quite a bit from those taxes, and we could improve things for our people and prepare for the future."

"All right, but drop the subject for the rest of the time we are here."

"I will Ned, but please remember the words Benjen always says when he comes to see us, and you say a lot too. Winter is coming."

Before Eddard could reply, a knock sounded on the door; one soft and gentle, but with an almost robotic constancy.

Ned approached the door, and opened it cautiously, but who he saw on the other side made his frown turn a tiny bit more somber than it already was, not too big a change either. Catelyn, on the other hand, turned her eyes, equally wary, and watched the person in the doorway, who was looking back at her with a smile.

"Petyr!" the woman exclaimed, and her eyes showed both surprise and a little guilt.

He was a short, slenderly built man with sharp features, a small pointed beard on his chin, and dark hair with gray locks running through it. Petyr has laughing gray-green eyes, and though he smiled at Ned, who stood in front of his face, that smile did not quite reach his eyes.

Petyr's great-grandfather was a Braavosi mercenary in the service of Lord Corbray. When his son became a knight errant, he took as his seal the stone head of the titan of Braavos. Petyr's father, in turn, was the smallest of the small lords of a few rocky acres in the smallest of the Fingers, who befriended Hoster Tully during his service in the War of the Ninepence Kings. This friendship led to Petyr being sent to be taken in as a ward at Riverrun, where he met Catelyn and the girl's siblings; Lysa and Edmure.

As the children grew older, Petyr fell in love with Catelyn, who was several years his senior. She did not reciprocate those feelings, but loved him as a brother. Years later Catelyn would become engaged to Brandon Stark.

In 282 A.D. when Catelyn's wedding date was announced, Petyr, barely fifteen years old, challenged twenty-year-old Brandon Stark to a duel for her hand. He arrived wearing only a helm, breastplate, and chain mail, prompting Brandon to remove most of his own armor. Petyr asked Catelyn for his favor, but she refused and gave it to Brandon.

Catelyn begged Brandon not to kill Petyr, to which he agreed. While Brandon offered Petyr multiple chances to give in, Petyr refused to give in. In the end, Petyr was reeling and bleeding from a dozen wounds, when Brandon ended the battle with a backhanded blow so brutal that Catelyn was convinced it was fatal.

From that moment on, Petyr had no further contact with Catelyn, now surnamed Stark, despite having sent a letter, unanswered, after Brandon Stark's death. Petyr had been sent away from Riverrun by the woman's father after all. 

So, since that fateful day when Petyr lay bloodied on the ground, he had not seen Catelyn again.

"Cat, it's been a while," the man said with sweetness in his voice.

"Aye, it has been a while."

"Lord Stark" greeted Littlefinger, but the man merely nodded.

"What are you doing here?" asked Catelyn in a slightly curt tone. Perhaps she was not yet ready to see Petyr Baelish again.

"Isn't it obvious? I've been invited to Lord Dustin's onomastic."

"But why, what is your relationship with him?" asked Cat again, and Baelish's smile grew wider.

"Is this an interrogation Cat? You're just asking questions" the man replied, but seeing that the woman was still waiting for an answer, Baelish had to resign himself and answer. "The invitation was for Lord Grafton, but unfortunately he couldn't come, so his son, Gyles Grafton, came and brought me with him. I'm the one who handles customs in Gulltown after all, and much of the gold that leaves Dustin House ends up in our town. We have a close relationship, you might say."

Catelyn's face frowned, but then seemed to brighten.

"Petyr, if you control customs, that means you have a record of all the goods coming in, correct?"

"Yes, that's right," Petyr replied, and a strange light flashed through his eyes. "Not all of it, but I have some idea."

"Do you know how much gold comes into Gulltown every month from House Dustin? We need that record" the woman asked, and Baelish was silent, weighing the options before him; trying to choose the most chaotic option.

"I'm afraid not at the moment" the thin man replied, and the beautiful woman's face showed disappointment, while Ned still showed no clear expression. "But perhaps I can find that record, it could definitely be done" added Baelish, to which Catelyn nodded.

"Why did you come?" asked Ned suddenly, who until now had not spoken.

"Oh, I just came to say hello. I haven't seen Cat for a long time. You Lord Stark, I don't remember meeting you before, so it's a pleasure."

"I can't say the same."

"Isn't it a pleasure to meet me?".

"I already knew you. I was in the stands when you challenged my brother," Ned replied, and a grimace crossed Baelish's face, of those grim memories.

"Well, now I know you, my lord" said the man with a small laugh, and withdrew from the place, leaving the couple in an uncomfortable and tense atmosphere.

The smile remained plastered on Baelish's face as he withdrew, walking directly to Wolfgang Dustin's office.