Loki: Winds of Winter

Chapter 45 - The Short Rebellion, 321 AC

Bucky was curious about what Dagmar called 'the Short Rebellion'. He gauged from Loki's reaction, it was not a pleasant conversation and so, he went to alternative source. He plied his source with liquor. "Oi! The Short Rebellion?" Bronn asked as he wiped a little Crown Royal from his lips. Bucky nodded as he refilled his glass. "Of course I know it! I was part of the group sent to deal with it. Under the command of High Princess Ragna of House Frostborn," he answered. 

"What was it about?" Bucky asked as he took a sip straight from the bottle (not that it would affect him anyway).

"The Twins was a castle that once belonged to a family called House Frey. Pompous bastards, the lot of 'em," Bronn explained. "They were 'friends' with House Stark during the War of Five Kings. They tried to betray them, but the Hand found 'em out, and basically killed the leader of House Frey and all his henchmen. Butchered 'em at an event called 'the Red Wedding'. An overlord was installed in their place and they was at peace for years. However, out of the goodness of her heart, Daenerys spared a few of his sons and let them and their families remain in the Twins under surveillance. It took 'em years, but they organized 'emselves and staged a revolt. They tried to draw others to 'em, but their numbers were few. They did succeed in taking over the castle and attempted to use it to strangle trade between the North and the South."

"It didn't last, did it?" Bucky asked. Bronn shook his head.

"High Princess Ragna was sixteen at the time. She asked the Hand the queen for permission to take a select group of her men to deal with the issue. Daenerys was skeptical, but the Hand was willing to try it. She took fifty men (myself included) and went to the Midlands. She offered the Freys one chance to save their family name and their children and surrender. They laughed at her. Said the Hand was getting soft in his dotage; sending his female child to deal with 'em."

"I'm assuming she took offense to that?"

"She didn't say anything. She told them at dawn it would all be over." Bronn got silent after that, nursing the beverage. Bucky waited for him to continue. Bronn heaved a sigh. "She had us hit 'em that night. We slipped in through the sewer system. We took out the guards, and those few armed peasants who had joined with them. Ragna and her closest men: Clegane, me, Obara Sand, Arya Stark, we gathered the Freys and their families in the main hall. Where the Red Wedding happened. Ragna said she had given them their chance, and now she was giving them a choice. She gave them knives, rope, and a tub of water." 

Bronn stood back and watched as weeping women held their children and the husbands tried to be defiant in the face of defeat. Clegane stood behind Ragna on her right side, while her aunt, Arya Stark stood on her left. The other chosen finished the circle. "What do you mean for us to do with these?" one of the younger Frey men asked.

"I mean for you to choose how your children die," Ragna stated. Arya glanced at her niece with wide eyes that quickly narrowed. Clegane shifted slightly. Obara remained stone faced. 

"You monster!" one of the women shrieked.

"How am I the monster?" Ragna asked as she started to circle them. "You will kill your children, not me. I cannot let them live after all this. Revenge is like a weed that only thrives in the worse possible environments. The Mockingbird was allowed to live, and my brother almost died because he was spared. Children are the best vessels of vengeance. They would swear all the wrath of the Seven Hells on my family, and I will not risk that. You have nobody to blame but yourselves. If you hadn't attempted rebellion and accepted my initial offer of surrender, this moment wouldn't have come." Ragna walked over to the first wife and looked at the little girl in her arms. Ragna's eyes misted over briefly before she turned away. "You choose how your children perish." Ragna kept her back to them, and listened as they died. 

Bucky felt a kind of numbness set in. "She authorized the execution of children?" he asked in an unbelieving voice.

"It was either that or imprison them in a place where they would never have seen the sun or felt the wind again. Ragna was right. It was all over by dawn. She had the men's bodies burned and their ashes scattered over the river. That way they would never find peace either in the Seven Heavens, Seven Hells, or the Veil In Between. The women were buried in unmarked graves. Their souls would find the Veil In Between. The children were placed in coffins and they were entombed in the Weir Wood. Their souls reached the Seven Heavens. Ever since, Ragna has always made sure the dead children involved in any of her conflicts are buried on holy ground."

"That's just to settle a guilty conscience. She still ordered their deaths," Bucky said bitterly.  "She's no better than the monsters I fought against in World War II," Bucky stated. Bronn suddenly stood up and bowed slightly. Bucky glanced over his shoulder and saw Ragna looking down at him. The expression on her face was unreadable. He figured that she was furious with what he had said, but had decided against showing it. Until he felt the flaming sting of pain on his cheek and realized she had slapped him. 

"Ya ne budu sudit' tebya, Soldat Uinder. Vashi prestupleniya protiv chelovechestva ne tak legko zabyt' ili prostit'. Vasha bukhgalterskaya kniga kapayet. Eto krasnovato, i vy dumayete, chto sudit' kogo-to meneye dobrodetel'nogo, chem vy budete delat' chto-nibud'? Eto kak rebenok na molitve, zhalko! (I will not be judged by you, Winter Soldier. Your crimes against humanity are not so easily forgotten or forgiven. Your ledger is dripping. It's gushing red and you thinking judging someone less virtuous than you will change anything? This is like a child at prayer, pathetic!)" she hissed in Russian. Bucky stood up, towering over her by a good half a foot. 

"You wouldn't be talking like that if you didn't have rank backing you," Bucky insulted.

"You want to put that theory to the test? One of these days, you and I can find that out on the mat. Not today. I have a meeting with a few important people of my choosing, and you are going to attend. Bring your manners with you," Ragna said, jabbing him in the chest with a petite, but strong finger. Bucky growled something and followed behind her. Bronn chuckled the moment they were out of earshot.

"I wonder how long they'll let the sexual tension build? It's about to kill me," he mumbled as he poured himself another glass.