"What did you think you were doing?" asked Tywin with his voice raised just slightly above his normal calm demeanor. There were only the two of them in the tent, which made Tyrion feel oppressed by the absolute silence after his father's question.
"Father, I don't understand. It's not like I was wasting any precious resources. Stone is literally everywhere. I was aiming to test how strong this… this… sorcery was. I believe that with enough time, our catapults can bring it down."
"Do you, now? Very well… and what if it doesn't? Or what if it takes you days of launching boulders on that invisible wall to make it crack? Do you realise that you'll be spending something much more important than just stone and our time on this?"
"What could be more important than our time now, father? We are pressed exactly on this. We need to take the castle before Ned Stark arrives."
"The morale of our troops is paramount!" Tywin glared at him "It's vital for our survival that the men believe in our victory. Let's say you keep your attack and you don't manage to break the magic or take too long of a time doing so… How many castles do you know could handle the barrage of stones you'd be hurling there while standing unscathed? None!"
Tyrion winced at the emphasis placed on the last word, evidencing his father's discontent on his performance. Unbothered by his son's expressions, the Lord of Casterly Rock continued with his scolding.
"With one spell those sorceresses have made some of our most powerful weaponry completely useless. How long until our men start to think the enemy is too powerful and that we are the losing side? They are already under the impression that we are at a disadvantage after they saw your stones doing nothing to the walls. How long until we have deserters? How long until our name no longer commands fear over our own vassals and they start to defect?"
Tyrion finally understood what he meant. By using his catapults on the magic wall he was demonstrating the enemy's strength with each volley of boulders it resisted. If too many volleys gave no result, their soldiers could believe the enemy was invincible.
"What should we do now? Retreat back to Hornvale?" he said, finally allowing himself to take a seat.
"Not yet. We need to know the full capabilities of this magic wall. It's clear stones won't pierce through. We will test a volley of arrows, perhaps the larger quantity of projectiles may bring some breaches in the barrier. If that also fails, we will try sending a small group of men through under cover of night. Of course, the large attack planned for tonight has been canceled, just in case."
"And for how long will we stay here?"
"I intend to wait here for a week to see how long the barrier will stay up. After that, if we don't manage to pierce through, we will retreat and fortify our position in Hornvale while we wait for the Targaryens. In the meanwhile, no more catapults firing, but keep them loaded. If the barrier falls at any moment, I want you to open up on the castle immediately. Do you understand?"
"I do, father. I will redouble my efforts."
"I sure hope so," he said, dismissing his son with a gesture.
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Arabella sat on the longtable alongside Arya and the Lords responsible for the defense of Pinkmaiden as they shared a small dinner banquet to celebrate the efficacy of her magic wall. Nymeria was laying down next to Arya, likely asleep.
She was quite proud of what they had achieved. Four volleys of stones and two volleys of arrows didn't even put a dent on the spells. She knew, of course, that it wouldn't last forever, but any amount of days they could give the garrison without suffering any casualties, the better.
The nobles spent most of their time making small talk amongst each other. Every so often one would come for a quick conversation with either Arya or Arabella, but they'd never stay for long, afraid of displeasing the Witches by imposing their presence. Arabella wondered if any of them would eventually come and ask her for a dance, but it seemed the brave men gathered there didn't possess the courage to address her with such an invitation.
"Lady Slytherin, might I have a moment of your time?" asked a man in a grey robe and a large chain around his neck.
"Maester Desmond, of course, though I don't think you came here to ask me for a dance, did you?" said Arabella with an almost sincere smile. She remembered Maester Vyman's warning about other members of his order and she recognized the iron link is his chain as a symbol of his studies of magic nullification. For her, the chances of him being aligned with the group that seeked to oppose her was almost 100%.
"Unfortunately not, My Lady. I'm afraid I'm no dancer and neither would I wish to offend Your Ladyship with such a request. I was merely wondering if you could answer a few of my burning questions about your magic."
The Witch's left eyebrow raised in mock surprise.
"Questions about magic, huh? Sure, go ahead. I'm no stranger to curiosity and the seeking of knowledge myself"
The Maester's questions were elaborate and her explanations were as short as she could make them, but all required lengthy expositions anyways. She found herself wishing this conversation could end as soon as possible. Not long after, the head of house Piper acted in her rescue.
"A toast to Lady Arabella and Lady Arya" said Lord Piper, raising his glass "The Witches of Westeros will certainly bring us victory!"
"Hear hear!" echoed the other Lords and Knights.
This was the perfect moment, or so the Maester thought. He quickly plucked a vial from his sleeve, opened its content and doused it into Arabella's drink while she was focused on Lord Piper's toast. He smirked with his success. Now it was only needed to wait and watch as the Witch died.
The only thing he didn't consider, not that he could have, was that the poison he had chosen was odorless, sure, but only for human senses. There was no way for him to know that Direwolves would be able to smell it.
As he opened the vial and poured it in Arabella's drink while she was distracted, with her back turned to him, Nymeria's head perked up searching for the new smell and looked in his direction. Arya, startled by the Direworlf's sudden movement, followed her gaze to see him finishing his murder attempt. Before Arabella could drink it, Arya shouted.
"Arabella, stop! It's poisoned! The Maester is trying to kill you!"
With his plot discovered, Maester Desmond pulled a dagger from his other sleeve in a desperate attempt to kill her himself. The guests gasped in shock and swords were drawn, but none were close enough to intervene. Arya picked up her wand but she too was not fast enough.
As the Maester's arm raised up to send the dagger down into Arabella's chest, Nymeria jumped upwards. Her jaws clenched around the man's hand and she bit it ferociously, yanking it off and landing on the table as cutlery and food all crashed into the floor.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" The Maester screeched in pure pain as blood oozed from the place where his hand used to be.
"What is the meaning of this?" shouted Lord Piper "Maester Desmond you dare dishonor my House by violating Guest Rights? Against the very woman whose powers are aiding us! Have you gone mad?"
"Magic… is… blasphemy" were the last words of the Maester before he fainted from shock and blood loss.
Arabella was startled for a moment but she quickly recomposed herself. She left the table with Arya in tow and walked towards the fallen Maester. Lord Piper, assuming she wanted to leave and hoping to mend the delicate situation they were in, approached them.
"Lady Slytherin, I beg your forgiveness! I must say House Piper had nothing to do with the attempt on your life, I swear on the Seven!"
"Many of the servants of the Seven seem to be at odds with me, Lord Piper, much like the Maesters. I don't want to disrespect your faith, in fact, I have nothing against it, but I think swearing on them wouldn't bring me any reassurances at this moment."
"Then I swear on my honor and my life!"
Lord Clement Piper understood full well what she meant. He too had heard some of the sermons in Riverrun before Lord Holster shut the septons up. Arabella's presence and allegiance brought many benefits, yes, but it also harbored a possible risk. The faith could use her to brand them as heretics and start swaying the scale of power with the common-folk back to their side and away from the nobles.
Not that he really cared. The faith could try all it wanted, as far as he was concerned, they had no more military power since the reign of Jaehaerys I Targaryen. Even if they managed to assemble a force of peasants, these were no match for the equipped and trained armies of the noble lords, even if the faith had much larger numbers.
All in all, the benefits of being friends with the Witches were far larger than this risk. Not to mention that not all of the clerics of the Faith of the Seven openly opposed them. The High Septon in the Great Sept of Baelor had been silent on this matter and many followed his inactive leadership.
"Thank you, Lord Piper. I feel much more reassured now." she said while arriving next to the Maester and using her wand to close his wound with Vulnera Sanentur. He would never have his hand back, but now that his wound was closed and he was losing no more blood, he'd survive.
"You're very merciful, Lady Slytherin" said Ser Lewyn Piper.
"Indeed, My Lady, I'd have left him to bleed out" added his father.
Arabella stored her wand away on her sleeve and turned back to address the Lords with a serious expression which was uncharacteristic of the girl they had met in Riverrun.
"I appreciate the compliments, My Lords, but they are misplaced. I am not merciful. I wasn't with Amory Lorch and I won't be with this rat. I only intend to keep him alive so I can extract information from him once he wakes up. When I have what I need, I will execute him myself."
Even Arya shuddered at her words. She had never seen Arabella with such murderous intent. The Lords all eyed her with caution and a healthy dose of fear. She, however, didn't want to give them time to question her.
"My Lord" she said addressing Lord Clement "may I trust that the Maester will be taken under your custody and that I'll be warned when he wakes up? I unfortunately lost my appetite and, with your leave, I'd like to go inspect to the walls to access the integrity of the spells keeping us from being crushed by catapults"
Despite her politeness and use of etiquette her tone made things rather clear for the gathered nobles. It was not a request, it was an order.
"Of… of course, Lady Slytherin. He'll be at the dungeons and we will inform you of any developments. Once again, my deepest apologies for what happened. If House Piper can do anything to make this right, you need but ask."
"Don't worry, Lord Piper" she smiled "just keep him secure for me and we can all forget this unfortunate incident"
With no more words she left the hall with Arya and Nymeria with blood still dripping from her maw.
Once they were outside, they walked towards the walls. As soon as she understood they were mostly alone, Arabella stopped and turned to Arya and Nymeria with a big smile.
"I want to thank you, both of you, for saving my life! Were it not for your warning or Nymerya's quick thinking, I'd be dead by now, either by poisoning or blade." she said, hugging Arya and giving Nymeria long pats in the head, which made the Direwold rather happy. Apart from Arya, Arabella was the only person Nymeria allowed to touch her.
"I was just doing what I could. It was Nymeria who really saved the day. I only noticed the poison because she looked at that Maester first" she said before thinking and continuing "do you think this will happen again?"
"Yes, I think they will try again." she sighed "from now on, don't accept anything that comes from a Maester that doesn't have at least one Valyrian Steel link in their chains and, even with those, exert utmost caution, alright?"
"Alright, I'll be cautious. But if another Maester tries to harm us, I'll kill him myself." she said with a fierce tone and an angry look on her face.
Arabella looked at the girl and couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. She wasn't doing a good job at protecting her from the worse parts of the world. Twice already she had seen death and extreme violence. Things that a child shouldn't see, at least in Arabella's opinion. She also understood that her words back in the hall had also influenced Arya into thinking more aggressively about this situation.
"Arya, I need you to listen well to what I will say now. What I've said back there. It was more for intimidation, to keep the Lords in line, than to actually propagate vengeance. Taking a life is not a simple matter. It has lasting consequences both to our souls and to our relationships with the people who surround us whether we all want it or not. I know you're angry about what happened, but you can't let this anger fuel your actions. Do you understand?"
"But, he attacked you, he deserves to die!"
"It's not a matter of whether or not he deserves Arya. I'm not going to kill him because of my anger. If I do indeed take his life, it will be only to keep us safe. It's for our protection, not for my vengeance. Do you understand now?"
The girl nodded, showing she would let the matter drop for now, but Arabella had her doubts.
"I need you to promise me you will never take a life out of anger. Only for protection."
"I promise." she said, looking towards the floor.
"Look at me," said Arabella in a firm, yet gentle tone. When Arya complied, she added "swear it on your father and on the honor of House Stark you will not shame their name by killing except of when protecting yourself or others"
"I swear! On my father and the honor of House Stark!"
"Good, I believe you!" she said straightening up "Needless to say, however, you won't be present in the Maester's interrogation if you're thinking about it. It's not something children should see"
Arya was about to dispute Arabella's order when their attention was taken by a man in armor coming their way at a fast pace. At first, they believed it could be another attempt on their lives by a fanatic, but he stopped at a respectable distance and bowed with heavy breaths.
"My Ladies, some Lannisters just tried to go through the barrier" he said wide eyed " they… they… they…"
"They what?" asked Arabella, despite already knowing what happened.
"They disappeared!"
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Hey, everyone, Agandor here!
I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and that it brought a nice flavour to the story!
Also, I'd like to thank you all for reading it, commenting, leaving reviews and adding it to your libraries! We've hit more than 100k views and more than 300 collections on Monday. Honestly, it's an insane number to think of in my opinion, especially considering this fan-fic started 20 something days ago, and I didn't expect to reach it even within a year, so thank you! =)
New chapter coming on Friday, as always! Have a great week!