WARS TO COME, game of thrones

𝐈𝐕. tower

Anrir accompanied Robert and Ned on the hunt and it almost felt like old times between them. Only, as always, some of Robert's entourage followed them and most of the work was done by Robert's hunters. They drove the animals to them and Rob killed them lazily.

"We used to move, remember?" he sighed quietly, but more to himself and was not noticed by Robert and Ned, who were talking about the size of a dead doe.

Finally, he pushed his feet into the sides of his horse and joined the hunters. They killed a boar and Anrir enjoyed moving, being able to use a weapon.

When he returned to Rob and Ned, his hair was disheveled and his boots splattered with mud. "Anrir knows how to live well... No wife, no brats...", Robert laughed and for once Anrir had to laugh too. "Robert, you are married to the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms and you both have lovely children," he finally said calmly and ran his fingers through his hair, "I'm lonely in Riverfall."

"Come to Kings Landing and find yourself some pretty women, take them back to your damp castle and bring a little joy into your life," Robert mocked and Anrir pursed his lips. "I'm not like that," he said, meaning it in more than one way.

"You both give up the good things in life for your honor. If I were unmarried, I'd live like there was no tomorrow,"Robert mused. Anrir shook his head at his king.

Ned remained silent and when Anrir said nothing more, Rob cursed them gruffly. "Oh you noble, noble men," he sneered, "when you're old, you will regret not having lived like me. Ned you will be surrounded by a hundred children eager for your inheritance and Anrir, you will have kept your sad little house alive for another generation before it dies with you. But I will die in the arms of a whore, with wine in my blood and a smile on my lips."

Anrir stared at Robert, his eyebrows drawn together. Then he pulled on the reins of his horse and it sped off, leaving Robert and Ned behind. How could Robert say such a thing? He was no upstart, his house, his name was not small and pathetic. He had rebuilt Riverfall and not just for one generation. What he did had a meaning and a purpose. The doubt that germinated within him was countered by a burning rage. Beast suddenly seemed to weigh tons.

But maybe he was. An upstart. Without his father, he wouldn't even have a single village under his command, not a soldier from the Eyrie in his castle. Because in the end, it didn't matter what he had done for the rebellion, that the rebels had worn armor and weapons from his stock. In the end, he was an orphan who was nothing next to the King of the Seven Kingdoms, the Warden of the North. And while their bloodlines would live on with them for a thousand years, Anrir would be the last of his kind, for all eternity.

Perhaps stories would continue to be told of his battle against Selmy on the Trident, but the 'Beast of the Vale' would never inspire fear or respect in anyone. It was a stupid nickname, given to a fool.

He handed the reins of his horse to a stable boy and swung off its back as soon as he reached Winterfell.

Lark held the door to his chambers open for him and eventually followed him, apparently alerted by Anrir's loud breathing and his hand on his neck. His fingertips rested on the scar across his throat.

"My lord..."

"I am an impostor... Why am I here at all? Because Robert wants me as a reminder of his lost youth?! Was I a fool to ever think I was anything else?"

"You are Lord of Riverfall. You are a knight. That is more than I am. Everyone in Riverfall is loyal to you, and not without reason. You are popular in The Vale....",Lark's voice was calm and soothing.

"But I am no longer my father's heir. Lysa Arryn now rules the Vale and you know what that means. Your village, too, will soon be under the Arryns rule again."

Lark fell silent and looked at him for a long moment. "You have my allegiance. But you are the lord. There are things that only you can do, that no one can give you. You have loyalty in the Vale. But it doesn't come from nothing, not from just pitying yourself after Lord Arryn's death. Then you are not someone who deserves that loyalty. Value is not something you are born with. You make it for yourself, no matter what your noble friends want you to believe. And you have already done something, but not everything. Maybe it's more than the king ever had to do, but you can do it. You must if you want to be more than what you are now." The knight bowed his head. "You should rest now. I will keep watch."

With that, Ser Lark left him alone and Anrir watched him out of dull eyes.

________

Bran, Ned's youngest son, named after Ned's older brother, had fallen and Anrir had slept through it. Now he had expressed his sympathy to Catelyn and watched as the court prepared to leave. Despite everything, Eddard would travel to Kings Landing and become Robert's Hand. Jon would join the Night's Watch, Anrir had learned, and so now he found himself in the position of watching House Stark disperse.

He sat on the back of his horse, Lark near him. They had not exchanged another word and Anrir did not feel able to say anything anyway. The knight's words seemed to echo endlessly in his head.

"Will we continue to accompany the king?" Lark raised his voice and Anrir realized that this could be a fundamental decision. He looked across the courtyard, to Robert among his entourage, to the Lannisters and to Ned, who said goodbye to Jon and then mounted his already saddled horse. The wolf looked lost among the creatures of the capital. Ned might be the dominant predator in the north, but Anrir knew too well what the south was like from his father's stories and from his own experience. Which players were involved in the eternal game for the iron throne. Even a sparrow was dangerous there and Anrir would not allow himself to lose another loved one to this place.

"We'll travel to Kings Landing," he decided and straightened his shoulders.

The decision had been made. The die was cast.

And now it begins.