The Stag and The Frog - (GendryxMeera GOT fanfic) Part 3: Apart

12: The Wolf's Den

Castle Hayford didn't look like a place that would be written into the Westerosi history books. It didn't look like a place that would have songs written about it, celebrating the victory of the battle of Hayford.

"Five lords against five hundred of the king's men," the bards would sing. "The poor lords were locked in the wolf's den."

But the wolf had not arrived yet. Only the stag was there, about to walk into the jaws of the beast.

Positioned high on a hilltop, the castle blended into the landscape below. If you didn't know there was a castle up there, you could easily mistake it as part of the greenery. With walls made of timber taken from the forests below and towers adorned with moss roofs, it became one with the surroundings long ago. Being so close to King's Landing, the reigning lords of House Hayford had never had much power. They served whatever house ruled the kingdom, in exchange for their protection, and the castle often functioned as a scouting outpost, alerting the capital of approaching enemy forces.

But these days, there was no Lord Hayford. There was a Lady Hayford, but Lady Ermesande was not yet of age and whisked away far away. At only three, her story was already an unusual one: having been married to a teenage boy before she was old enough to walk, being freed from that marriage before she was out of diapers, and finally becoming a ward to her former husband and his new wife, who in the process also became the wardens of Castle Hayford.

This was the reason Gendry was here: to meet the current warden of Castle Hayford. The lord didn't reside in these parts of the kingdom but had suggested the inconspicuous castle as their meeting spot upon receiving Gendry's letter, asking for his support.

The castle appeared to be manned by not more than a dozen men. The draw bridge creaked like the chains were unaccustomed to being lowered once Gendry had stated his errand to the lone man--or rather boy as he looked no more than twelve--guarding the bridge. House Hayford was not a secure castle but hopefully, that very fact made it safe in this instance. The king would never guess that the leaders of the rebellion against him would meet right under his nose, where the top of the Red Keep could be discerned in the distance. And whatever seer powers the king claimed to possess appeared to be rendered moot by the very rebellion he wanted to stop.

Dust and cobwebs lined Gendry's path toward the Main Hall. The signs of abandonment didn't bother the Stormlord. He was used to sleeping among rats and bugs in the depths of Fleabottom, back when he was no one and had no explanation for the turmoil brewing in his veins. In fact, the damp smell and cold draft made him feel oddly at home. His humble beginnings were still more familiar than his hopefully glorious future.

"Lord Baratheon is here," the guard boy announced into the darkness of the Main Hall. No one had bothered to light the candles on the walls of the abandoned castle.

The warden of the castle rose from his position by one of the long tables. A thumping sound and a light limp revealed a leg injury that would never heal. Blond curls lit up the dim hall. A charming smile welcomed the newcomer. "Gendry," Tyrek Lannister greeted him. "I worried something may have happened to you on the way. The king's men are close, after all."

"Luckily, I'm good at blending in as a commoner," Gendry replied dryly, remembering the soldiers on the road toward Hayford Castle who hadn't even deemed him worthy of attention. It appeared his posture and way of speaking immediately revealed his born position in life. But not all men continued life in the same standing as they were born. "How have you been Lord Lannister?"

He looked down at Tyrek's left leg. The last time he saw the young man, still not even twenty years of age, that leg had been noticeably missing.

"I manage," Tyrek surmised, bending down to knock lightly on the previously missing leg. "A leg of wood isn't the same as one of flesh but it's allowing me to walk. Running is still beyond my grasp though. And I'm afraid I'm not much of a fighter anymore."