A Shadow and a Wolf

Tyrion XX

"There is only one solution to a quick victory. We must attack at once. From both sides."

"I will not send thousands of men to death, Ser Brynden. We will need them in the North."

They were three in the tent. Ser Brynden had come to discuss, or rather to yell, in the pavilion Tyrion shared with Sansa. "It's been two days now that Walder Frey has hidden inside his walls like the craven he is."

"Strange that you call him this way since you did the same not long ago," Tyrion quipped.

He regretted it almost immediately. The Blackfish drew his sword and brought the point on Tyrion's throat. "Dare to repeat that, Imp."

"Stop that! Both of you!" Sansa stood up eyeing her granduncle darkly. Reluctantly, he lowered his sword but kept it unsheathed. "You look like two squabbling children. Have you forgotten why we're here? To get the hostages back and to save Arya."

Sansa was shooting angry glares at the Blackfish, but also at Tyrion. "Forgive me, my lady," he apologized.

"Please accept my apologies, Sansa," the Blackfish said.

Ser Brynden sheathed his sword, but Tyrion knew he wasn't sorry. He could see it every time the Blackfish looked at him. He didn't trust him, even after he gave back Riverrun to his family. Tyrion doubted that the knight liked to see him married to Sansa. Sometimes he had the impression the Blackfish was there to remind him what Sansa's mother would think of their marriage.

"So, what do we do?" The old knight asked. "If we're not to storm the castle? Walder Frey won't kindly open the gates for us."

"He won't open them kindly for sure, but he may open them all the same if he faces the annihilation of his house," explained Tyrion.

"The old man doesn't care about his brood. Our hostages are useless. Ser Perwyn was right. We should just kill them and be done with it."

"Some of them have nothing to see with the Red Wedding. Ser Perwyn was very helpful, and there are several women and children inside these two towers. You want to kill them as well?"

That seemed to give something to think about to the Blackfish. "So we stay here and starve them? That is your plan? We will need months to have them surrender this way. I thought you wanted to save Arya Stark."

"That is my plan. But we must also get back the many hostages the Freys are keeping inside their damn castle. If we storm it, you can be sure the last order Walder Frey will give before he dies will be to kill all the hostages, including Lady Tully and the heir to Riverrun. Especially them in fact. Do I have to remember you there are several of your bannermen who have sons, brothers, nephews, even fathers imprisoned there? What do you think they'll do when they will die? Do you think they will follow us in the North?"

The Blackfish didn't show any defeat or surrender. "Then what do you propose?"

"Give me three days, including this one. If at the end of the third, Walder Frey has not yet surrendered, we will storm the castle. And we will storm it your way."

"Very well, Imp. But I warn you. At the end of the third day, when the sun sets, I attack the Twins, with or without your help. And I will kill Walder Frey, and all his sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, legitimate sons and bastards, who took part to the murder of my niece."

"You have my word."

"The word of a Lannister," the knight scoffed. He bowed to Sansa and left, probably going to ram through the strong currents of the Green Fork and go back to his camp on the west bank.