When Gregor and Jeyne appeared together on the grandstand at dawn, everyone felt a subtle stir in their hearts, everyone except Lord Tywin, whose heart was as cold as stone.
Gregor and Jeyne's engagement was a match no one truly believed in.
A union of wolf-like cunning and noble beauty was bound to be a twisted tragedy.
It was an unexpected political gift. Before this, no one in the Westerlands could have imagined Tywin would marry off his talented and beautiful adopted daughter Jeyne to the Mountain.
Yet, the very next morning after their engagement, Gregor and Jeyne sat side by side on the grandstand watching the Lannister cavalry training.
Jeyne's height nearly matched Gregor's, thanks to a stool the Mountain had placed under her feet. Her long skirt draped down, perfectly hiding the stool, making her appear a 'long-legged beauty.'
Cradled gently in her arms was a pure white lynx-like cat, its eyes bright with affection. The cat had clearly sobered from its earlier drunken state.
Boros Blount, the cavalry trainer commanding the morning drills, grimaces when he spotted the cat in Jeyne's arms. That cat had once been his wife's favorite, now turned into a 'sweetener' Gregor used to curry favor with Jeyne.
It left Boros feeling deeply unsettled.
But he could do nothing about it, Gregor was his skilled fencing student.
A man of honor like Boros preferred to let his sword speak rather than confront rudeness with harsh words.
Meanwhile, Ado Serrett was absent from the crowd watching the cavalry training. His personal maester had stayed up all night, troubled by Ado's inability to sleep. His mouth was inflamed from knocked-out teeth, sending heat through half his body. Even poppy milk failed to lull him.
Losing a few teeth wasn't a great physical injury, it was the wounds in his heart that hurt most.
Ever since his seventh brother dragged Julie Clegane up the mountain to be raped, the Serrett family's nightmare had only just begun. Every clash with the Mountain ended in crushing defeat. Ado didn't know how his father, if home, would deal with their feud with Gregor.
Only at dawn, utterly exhausted and miserable, did Ado finally fall asleep.
Back on the training ground, Gregor and Jeyne's subtle, unintentional closeness stirred everyone's attention, they had become the center of the crowd's eyes.
Lord Gawen, too, was stunned.
He knew nothing of what had happened at the lookout tower the previous night.
Nor had he heard of Ado and the boys being 'punished for words.' After all, these were just trivial matters to Gregor.
The only one more wary of Gregor was Lord Kevan Lannister.
He could never have guessed that the Mountain would get this close to Jeyne so quickly. The Mountain was a savage beast, but Jeyne was a refined lady, carefully raised by an ancient noble family. She should never have accepted the Mountain so easily.
It all happened too fast, like love at first sight.
The one with the most conflicted feelings was Lord Gawen himself. Watching his carefully nurtured, talented, and beautiful eldest daughter stand defenseless beside a wild beast, he was deeply worried.
This union of wolf's talent and maiden's beauty was far from the marriage he had hoped for.
An elbow nudged Lord Gawen gently. Turning, he saw Ser Ado, wearing a humble smile.
"Lord Gawen, shall we walk back together today?" Ado asked, his tone conciliatory.
Gawen was slightly surprised by Ado's sudden humility.
"Good idea, since we all live north, it's best to go together." Gawen replied politely.
"Lord Gawen, when you return, I'll send the deeds of your mortgaged lands to your estate. You can redeem them at your leisure." Ado said earnestly, clearly afraid Gawen might refuse.
This was unusual. Even though Tywin had adopted Jeyne, it hadn't made the Westerlands' Westerling family so strong as to intimidate Ser Ado to this degree.
"…Well… alright then…" Gawen, still a little dazed, realized this was a great favor. To redeem the land without paying the mortgage debts, that was more valuable than any wedding gift at the 'adoption' or 'engagement' ceremonies. After all, land was the true foundation of any family's legacy.
Ado heaved a sigh of relief and quickly thanked Gawen before withdrawing with a smile:
"Lord Gawen, please send my regards to Ser Gregor. Heh, my children are still young and sometimes rude, I hope he'll forgive any offense."
"…Uh… sure…" Gawen mumbled, confused but polite.
A moment later, Ser Ado approached.
"Lord Gawen, shall we leave together after breakfast?" he asked cheerfully.
"Sure, since we all live north, it's best to walk together." Gawen responded politely again.
"Lord Gawen, when you return, I'll send someone with the deeds of your mortgaged lands. You don't need to repay the money. Consider it an early congratulations for Jeyne and Ser Gregor's wedding next month." Ado said generously but quietly.
Gawen's heart sank, Ado's earlier gesture had already prepared him.
"That won't do." Gawen said firmly.
"When I return, I'll repay every penny, principal and interest, not a single copper star less."
Ado's smile stiffened, then he begged:
"Lord Gawen, we're old neighbors (though actually quite far apart), so no need to be so formal. I'll return the deeds. But about the lands you sold me before, please speak with Ser Gregor. If he wants them back, I hope he won't let me take too big a loss."
Gawen's emergency funds from mortgaging lands were pitifully small. Poor men have short ambitions; Ado had profited greatly.
Hearing this, Gawen felt another pang in his chest. His gaze shifted toward Gregor, who watched the cavalry training with his daughter. A strange surge of courage welled up inside him, replacing his usual timidity:
"Ser Ado, I will definitely pass your words to Ser Gregor. When I sold those lands, I clearly took a huge loss. Now that my family is slightly better off thanks to my son, I will reclaim those lands, it's our ancestral foundation. That's also Ser Gregor's wish. We are all vassals of Lord Tywin. If there's an issue, we'll negotiate peacefully and avoid conflict."
His words struck like a warning, a barely veiled threat. 'Avoid conflict' clearly meant 'or else we'll have trouble.'
Ado quickly dropped his bravado:
"Yes, yes, Lord Gawen, you're right. We're all Lord Tywin's vassals. We'll talk things through and avoid conflict."
Soon after Ado left, Ser Boros approached:
"Lord Gawen, shall we leave together after breakfast?"
"Oh, I'm afraid not. I have some things to deal with and can't leave with you. Ser Gregor has some matters to discuss with me, and I don't know when I'll finish. Sorry, sorry."
Gawen politely cut off Boros before he could speak again:
"I have something to report to Ser Gregor. Excuse me, I need to head to the other side of the training ground."
He slipped away, leaving Boros with a mouthful of words unsaid.
Gregor's 'alarm bell,' sounded by Raff, Dunsen, and Polliver, echoed back faster than expected.
Gregor severely underestimated his own 'celebrity effect', after all, an ex-university science dog doesn't make a real celebrity.
Looking up at the 'wolf' and 'beauty' opposite him, Lord Gawen felt Gregor had not only become more tolerable but strangely endearing.
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