The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 435: A Bloody Wedding (1) (Please Subscribe!)

(Bonus chapter for the generous donation from [Songzi A'hong] 2)

*

A bloody wedding!

Mountain looked up at the bright sky, blue with white clouds, clear and boundless. Yet, he knew that in the Riverlands, it was the height of the rainy season, the Trident River swollen to twice its normal size, small rivers overflowing everywhere, and the Trident a raging torrent.

Tragedy is tearing apart beautiful things and showing them to you.

Lord Tywin's famous words: Everything has its price!

Tywin Lannister, the mastermind behind the Red Wedding, offered the Frey and Bolton families a price they couldn't refuse: an exorbitant one. Just as he had done with the Martell family of Dorne.

The upheaval in King's Landing would be delayed in reaching the ears of the Frey family, and with Tywin's cunning, Cersei, Kevan, and Tyrion were already aware of his plan. Ravens would deliver the information he needed to send at the appropriate time.

Mountain knew that the morning after he left King's Landing, Lord Randyll Tarly of the Reach would lead thousands of Westerlands soldiers and 20,000 Reachmen along the Kingsroad, attacking towns and cities in the Riverlands and heading for Harrenhal to help Littlefinger reclaim the lands granted to him.

Although Tywin had left King's Landing a day ago, heading north to the Wall, Mountain knew that the 'conquest plan' proposed by Tyrion still originated from Tywin.

The alliance with Dorne, the 'handsome man scheme' in the Vale of Arryn, the 'Red Wedding' in the North and Riverlands, and the promise to provide ongoing military support to the Frey and Bolton families were all progressing.

*

Riverlands, the Twins, rainy season.

West Keep, main hall.

Under the leaden sky, the rain poured down, the roads were muddy, the fields were flooded, the rivers were swollen, and the fallen leaves were swirling. Even inside the main hall of the West Keep of the Twins, the sound of the heavy rain and the roar of the river were disturbing and irritating.

On the high seat in the hall sat the Lord of the Twins, Lord Walder Frey.

The Lord was born in 208 AC and was 91 years old this year. Time was a stone that could grind everything smooth, wearing away the Lord's hair and teeth, loosening his skin, and filling his face with wrinkles.

He was unable to leave his chair due to gout and needed maids to attend to his movements. Most of the time, he was carried around in his chair by servants. From any angle, Lord Frey looked like a cunning weasel.

He was conceited, sensitive, ambitious, and untrustworthy. Standing beside him was his eighth wife, a daughter from a minor noble family in his territory, named Jysane Enford. They had married last year, and her belly was slightly swollen, indicating she was pregnant. Lady Jysane Enford was seventeen years old.

On the left side of the hall stood more than thirty women from the Frey family, eleven of whom were his daughters, and the other twenty were his granddaughters and great-granddaughters. These girls included some bastard daughters.

The Lord's eight marriages had left him with twenty-three legitimate sons and seven legitimate daughters, as well as an unknown number of bastards.

Among the many nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, the late Lord Hoster Tully considered Walder Frey to be the only man who could raise an army on his own.

Facing the Lord stood Robb Stark, King in the North, surrounded by many Northern knights, generals, and lords: the Umber father and son from Last Hearth, who were a head taller than everyone else: Greatjon and Smalljon.

Both father and son were named Jon, so to distinguish them, the father was called Greatjon and the son was called Smalljon. Smalljon was already taller than his father. Their sigil was a roaring giant with brown hair holding a silver broken chain, and it was said that the Umber family had giant blood.

Slender and graceful, wearing fitted armor, was Robb's personal guard, Dacey Mormont, the heir and eldest daughter of Lady Maege Mormont of Bear Island. She was also the niece of Jeor Mormont, the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. She was a slender woman of 6 feet (1.83 meters). She preferred wearing armor to elegant dresses.

Whether in the Whispering Wood, the Red Fork, the Battle of Oxcross, or the capture of the Crag, Dacey Mormont had always closely followed Robb to protect him. She was tall, agile, and skilled in combat. She had killed many enemies who approached Robb in battle.

Of all the soldiers on Bear Island, only Dacey was here. Her mother, Maege Mormont, led the warriors of Bear Island, following the orders of King Robb, and borrowed two ships from Seagard to search for Greywater Watch in the maze-like rivers of the Neck.

The Neck was a swamp hundreds of miles wide, a bottomless abyss, ruled by Lord Howland Reed, a vassal of the Stark family of the North. They lived in Greywater Watch.

The only stronghold in the Neck, Moat Cailin's three defensive towers, had been occupied by the Ironborn. For thousands of years, no one had been able to break through Moat Cailin's defenses from the south. The only causeway through the Neck was narrow, with only two warriors able to pass side by side. On both sides of the road were bottomless swamps. Except for the natives of the Neck, no one could pass through Moat Cailin through the swamps. It was a bottomless abyss hundreds of miles wide, and no matter how many enemies there were, they would disappear without a trace in the swamps.

Robb arranged for Maege Mormont to sail to the Neck, flying his banner, and move forward in the rivers of the Neck. They could not find Greywater Watch in the swamps, because Greywater Watch itself was constantly changing position with the water and floating land. Robb's strategy was to raise the direwolf banner of House Stark so that the crannogmen would see it, and they would take the initiative to find Maege Mormont.

After the wedding, Robb would lead the Northern army and the Frey army north to retake the North occupied by the Ironborn. Before that, they had to find a way to retake Moat Cailin, which was controlled by the Ironborn.

No one could attack and take Moat Cailin from the south, only from the north. Robb hoped to have an army detour to the north and then attack from both the north and the south. The only prerequisite for doing this was to find the crannogmen to guide them. Maege Mormont was in charge of this task.

Beside Robb, in addition to Dacey Mormont, were three other personal guards: Smalljon Umber, Robin Flint, and Torrhen Karstark. The four of them formed the King's personal guard for the night.

Torrhen Karstark was a vassal of House Tully of the Riverlands. Marq Piper, Lymond Goodbrook, and the young members of House Vance were all good friends of Robb's uncle, Edmure Tully. Edmure Tully and the young knights of the Riverlands were behind Robb.

The great Northern lords, Galbart Glover, Rickard Karstark, and Roose Bolton, were all beside Robb Stark.

Walder Frey said, "Your Majesty, I have not seen Her Grace the Queen Mother arrive, nor have I seen Ser Brynden Tully. Your Majesty's wedding, do Her Grace the Queen Mother and Brynden Tully disdain to come to House Frey? Well, House Frey has been scorned by House Tully for some time now. Seventeen years ago, during the War of the Usurper, the allied forces of Eddard and Robert fought Prince Rhaegar's army at the Trident. I was only a little late, and Lord Hoster has been proclaiming that I am 'Late Lord Frey'. But how is he now? He didn't outlive me!"

"Lord Frey, my mother and Ser Brynden certainly do not mean to slight you. My grandfather passed away, and my mother is grieving and has fallen ill in Riverrun. Ser Brynden Tully stayed to take care of my mother. The other knights of Riverrun have arrived. My uncle, Edmure Tully, has also come. Please forgive them, Lord Frey."

"Well, since Your Majesty has said so, I have no choice but to forgive them. Your Majesty, let's see who will be lucky enough to become your bride." He wiggled his fingers, and the young women filed out and lined up in front of Robb Stark.

Lord Walder introduced them one by one: "This is my daughter Aenys," he began, introducing a fourteen-year-old girl. "This is Shirei, my youngest legitimate daughter. These two, Arwyn and Mariane, are my granddaughters and great-granddaughters. That one is called Cersei, and we call her 'Little Bee'. Her mother is from House Beesbury. Oh, these are all my granddaughters. This one is called Walda, this one… uh, they all have names, surely… I assure Your Majesty, they all have names…"

"My name is Merry, Grandfather," a little girl said.

"Oh, Merry, did I ask you a question? How annoying. This is my daughter Tanya, followed by another Walda." Walder Frey sighed. "My children and grandchildren all want me to die early, and they all want to please me so that I will grant them land, so they name their children Walder for boys and Walda for girls. They all want to please me by taking the same name as me, but they underestimate me."

"Yes, Lord Frey!" Robb replied politely.

*

His army was crossing the river, from west to east, to join up with the 3,500 Northern soldiers led by Roose Bolton on the east bank. Three huge wedding tents had already been set up on the east bank, specifically to accommodate the Northern warriors.

Robb had originally left 7,000 men to Roose Bolton, but two of his generals had suddenly taken their troops to attack Duskendale in the Crownlands. Now the river was flooded, the ravens were exhausted, and news was cut off.

Outside the main keep, on the stone bridge, in the pouring rain, a large number of fully armed cavalry were passing, followed by baggage trains, countless carts loaded with food, fodder, supplies, gifts, and the wounded, followed by herds of sheep, goats, and emaciated cattle, as well as a small group of merchants and camp followers.

A total of 3,500 warriors, 3,500 veterans who had experienced battles such as the Whispering Wood, Riverrun, Oxcross, the Crag, and Castamere, the Northern elite who had plundered the wealthy gold mines of House Lannister in the Westerlands.

Among the nobles of the Riverlands, apart from the younger generation of knights who were close to Edmure, most of the other lords remained in the Riverlands to watch the King recover the North. Lord Jason Mallister of Seagard was the only lord from the Riverlands.

*

Lord Walder continued to introduce: "Your Majesty, this long-haired one is called Alys, Marissa… are you Marissa? I think so. These twins are called Serra and Sarra. Look how identical they are, Your Majesty can marry both of them if you please." He squinted at another little girl, "Hey, are you called Walda too?"

"I am Walda, daughter of Ser Emmon Frey, Great-Grandfather," she curtsied.

"Walda! But don't let her politeness fool you, her father is a blockhead. She is a descendant of bastards, get out of here, I only want Freys standing here, the King in the North has no time to look at such lowly people." Lord Walder looked back at Robb, "You see, they are all here, every one of them a genuine virgin. Choose one of them, Your Majesty. Or two."

"I cannot decide, Lord," Robb replied politely, "They are all lovely."

Lord Walder let out a disdainful laugh: "My eyes are not failing me, in my opinion, only a few are good-looking, as for the others… hey, anyway, they are not all going to marry the King. Well, what do you say? Who do you choose?"

"My dear ladies," the King said with some embarrassment, "Everyone must keep their promises, especially me as a monarch. But today…" Robb paused, "This is not your fault, but my fault, but I want to tell you… perhaps no words can heal the harm caused to you, but I am sincerely standing in front of you, begging for your forgiveness, I cannot marry any of you."

After he finished speaking, the entire hall was silent.

The younger girls fidgeted uneasily, while the older sisters looked stunned.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" Walder Frey said, "Are you going back on your word?"

"Lord, since you have kept something from me, I have no choice but to refuse you," Robb Stark said.

"Alright!" Lord Walder laughed, "Alright, which little rabbit let the cat out of the bag, letting Your Majesty know that I actually have a most beloved and only apple of my eye," he tapped his wrinkled head with a pinkie, "Oh, Ben Frey, bring her out, my sixteen-year-old daughter Roslin, my most adorable little flower, sigh!"

A young knight led a girl who lit up the hall as she walked in. Her skin was extremely fair, as if she had just bathed in milk. Her face was delicate, her chin was small, her nose was exquisite, and her large brown eyes and deep chestnut hair were styled into loose curls that hung down to her waist. Her waist was very slender, as if it could be held in one hand. Under the lace bodice of her light blue dress, her breasts were small and shapely.

"Your Majesty," the girl knelt, "I hope I have not disappointed you."

"You are my pride, Lady," Robb Stark said, "From this day forward, for all eternity."

"Your Majesty…" Roslin said, moved, "I am grateful for Your Majesty's misplaced affection."

"No, you are truly too beautiful." Robb took Roslin's hand, "But… why are you crying?"

"Happiness! These are tears of happiness, Lord."

Roslin had a small gap in the center of her front teeth, which made her smile even more adorable. She was a beauty who would not lose to anyone, refined and elegant, proficient in music, her mother was from House Rosby. The aunt of Lord Rosby was the mother-in-law of Bronn, the knight of the Blackwater.

In a way, Robb Stark and Bronn, the knight beside Tyrion, were also relatives.

*

"Alright," Lord Walder announced, "Save the sweet talk for your wedding night. Benfrey, take your sister back to dress and primp. And you lot of fools, what are you standing around for? Get the wedding preparations underway immediately! Fetch my musicians, bring out the red wine. Your Grace, retire to your chambers, the hearth is lit, and a hot bath awaits. Clean yourself up and put on something handsome, my little flower will be yours tonight."

*

The thud of drums, the wail of flutes, the tremor of long pipes, the screech of violins, and the roar of horns all rose together. The chaotic melody echoed through the hall as the guests ate, drank, and reveled. Walder Frey sat enthroned on a high-backed black oak chair, his face an impassive mask of authority, surveying the scene with a somber gaze amidst the dreadful, cacophonous music.

Outside, the rain continued unabated, but within the hall, the air was stifling and warm. A roaring fire blazed in the hearth, and torches in iron sconces along the walls emitted trails of black smoke. The crowd was so dense that each person bumped into their neighbors with every raised cup.

The first course of the wedding feast was a thin leek soup, followed by salads of green peas, onions, and beets, river fish stewed in almond milk, roast duck, and a mountain of crushed bittercress – which had grown cold before it even reached the table – congealed calves' brains, and beef tendons. It was a truly dreadful wedding feast, the dishes coarse and ill-prepared, many of them forgotten to be seasoned with salt.

Robb and Roslin, the newlywed couple, ate from the same plate, drank from the same cup, and exchanged affectionate kisses. Roslin's expression, however, seemed somewhat forced, as if she were putting on a brave face.

"Are you afraid of the bedding ceremony? There's no need to fear, I'll protect you. You are my wife, and I won't allow any other man to touch you."

The bedding ceremony was indeed a terrifying affair, where the bride would be stripped naked by crude men and subjected to their lewd jokes, while the groom would suffer the same fate at the hands of the women from the bride's family.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Grace," Roslin said softly, tears welling in her eyes.

"There's no need to worry, look, your sisters have started dancing." Robb put his arm around Roslin's slender waist, his lips brushing against her earlobe, his eyes fixed on her exquisite profile. "My lady, if I face hardships in the future, would you be willing to help me, to stand by me, to face all difficulties together? And I, no matter what the future holds, I swear by the name of House Stark and the Old and New Gods, I will never forsake you." Robb glanced at the wall to the left of the hall, lined with sword belts, each bearing the weapon of its respective lord.

For the wedding feast, all the knights, lords, and guards had unbuckled their weapons and hung them on the walls.

"I… am deeply moved, Your Grace!" Roslin's tears streamed down, like glistening pearls.

Slowly, Robb lifted a corner of his silk robe, revealing the black chainmail beneath.

Roslin froze!

Her expression confirmed the warning sent by raven to her father, Eddard Stark, at his grandfather's funeral in Riverrun.

Robb looked at the ashen-faced Roslin. "Why is the music so dreadful from the musicians on the dais? It's because they aren't real musicians, but Frey archers. My lady, you are my lawful wife, and the Queen of the North. Would you be willing to help resolve this slaughter between House Stark and House Frey?"

"…"

"My lady, I need the strength of House Frey, I need the help of our father. Now, my forces number only seven thousand. The North has been occupied by the Ironborn, and there are traitors within the North as well. Are you willing to help me?"

"…"

"Very well, even though we have been anointed with holy oils under the blessing of the septon, even though we are officially and lawfully wed, if you choose not to help me, I will not blame you." Robb raised his goblet. "I'm going to offer a toast to our father. Rest assured, I will not harm him. I solemnly swear to you in the name of House Stark and the Old and New Gods."

Robb stood up, goblet in hand. As soon as he took a step, Roslin Frey rose to her feet. "Your Grace, you are my husband, and I stand with you." Roslin Frey's tears had miraculously vanished.

She raised her goblet and calmly linked her arm with Robb's.

The King's words had touched her heart and given her the courage to stand up. She had fallen in love with the young, valiant King.

She also knew that the King had fallen in love with her, from the very first glance he had given her, she knew the King's heart.

*

ps: Special thanks to [MaxW] for the Grandmaster reward, and [爱露堡] for the Protector reward.

I haven't seen any comments lately, I miss you all!

Ahhh!

Thanks to [MaxW] [当阳光遇上我们的时光] [爱露堡] [s浩然丶] for the reward support, thank you, handshake!