Edmure Tully
He forced the garrison to lower the drawbridge, entered Riverrun, and ordered them to lay down their arms. That evening and night he remained under guard, right up until the next morning, when—before thousands of lords and knights gathered in the courtyard of his own castle—he knelt before King Joffrey, acknowledged his authority as lawful, and accepted all the obligations of a vassal. The words came hard to him, yet the knowledge that he was far from the first man to stand in such a place helped him swallow the bitterness. One unwelcome thought followed close behind: it would be a poor thing indeed if people began to call him Edmure the Kneeler.
On the first day, toward evening, after he had received reports from all the bannermen and vassals who had remained loyal and now held Riverrun, Karyl Vance came to see him—the lord of Wayfarer's Rest. The man might have been called handsome, were it not for the large birthmark that ran from his neck up to his chin.
"Forgive me, Ed," Karyl said, dropping to one knee. His face was usually thoughtful, even melancholy, but now there was genuine sorrow and remorse in his eyes. "The Freys had me by the throat. They took my family! I had no choice but to go over to their side."
Once, Edmure might not have forgiven him. But the past months had changed him. Had he not walked a similar road himself? Had he not bent the knee to Joffrey?
Moreover, kneeling before him was a friend from childhood—a companion in countless feasts, tournaments, and shared jests. And as for the girls they'd sampled together across Westeros, well, you couldn't even begin to count them.
"I forgive you, Kar," Edmure said, lifting him to his feet and embracing him tightly.
Without delay, the very next day he sent a raven to the Twins, demanding the release of Ser Marq Piper, another friend from his youth.
A few days later, the Lannisters departed Riverrun. They took his wife with them—four months heavy with child. Lady Roslin had arrived from the Twins only the day before, and the king granted them a single night together… There were words and kisses, embraces and a woman's tears, the joy of reunion and passion that lasted until dawn.
Along with Roslin and her retinue, the king also took a dozen boys and girls—the children of the most powerful bannermen and vassals. They were to serve as guarantees of the river lords' loyalty.
Edmure then set out to assess the state of his lands. The war had shown no mercy to the once-prosperous Riverlands. Now Lord Tully counted the dead and the burned-out keeps and villages with mounting horror.
Several influential houses had been wiped from the world entirely, their ancestral seats lying in ruins. King Joffrey left him a detailed list of what had been taken from his people and delivered to the Crown.
The more Edmure grasped the scale of the devastation, the stronger his indignation grew. And, to his own surprise, he did not place all the blame upon the Lannisters alone. Robb Stark and Catelyn, who had dragged him into this war against his will, bore their share of guilt as well.
It took Edmure Tully nearly a month to gather a million gold dragons. The lords parted with their blood money grudgingly, and more than once conflicts flared. Many vassals, like Edmure himself, were forced to borrow from kin or acquaintances in those regions of Westeros that the war had spared. One way or another, the sum was raised, the Freys released Marq Piper, order was restored to his lands, and trusted men were left in charge.
The time had come to ride for King's Landing. As much as Edmure didn't want to go there, duty would not be denied. Besides, his wife awaited him there—and, to his own astonishment, he found himself thinking of her more and more often. Sansa Lannister was there as well, and King Joffrey had promised him a conversation about Arya.
Yet what was there to discuss? Ravens fly swiftly in Westeros. Over the past month he had learned that his niece had been married to Ramsay Bolton and now lived at the Dreadfort.
They entered King's Landing through the massive, well-guarded Dragon Gate, bristling with guards and defenses. The capital greeted him as it always did—with its unique atmosphere, where wealth and squalor, fragrance and filth, restless bustle and utter indifference mingled together.
Several hundred Riverlands knights, with their squires and servants, rode through the streets, looking about with open curiosity.
"Is it just me," Edmure said to Marq and Karyl, who followed half a horse-length behind, "or has something truly changed here?"
"Everything's the same, Ed," Marq Piper replied with a grin. Tall and broad-shouldered, his blond hair falling like a mane, he always wore the same reckless, slightly mischievous smile. "Petrified shit doesn't change with the years. And an old whore won't grow herself a new, firm pair of tits."
"I feel a change," Karyl shook his head, studying the houses and the people with care. He had always been the sharpest-eyed of them, noticing what his friends overlooked. "Something's in the air. The city looks the same, but something new has crept in…"
"Well, well," Marq snorted. Such words did nothing to shake his confidence. "Let's see the court and the king. They say he's not as stupid as he used to be."
Edmure grimaced despite himself. He had sworn an oath to the king, and whoever that king might be, by mocking the liege lord, Marq was also mocking his own lord as well.
Then Edmure was reunited with his wife. And with his niece.
And the first news he heard was that Sansa was with child—just like Queen Margaery.
(End of Chapter)
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