The monster has tied us a thorny knot,  the old knight told Maester Luwin. Like it or no, Lady Hornwood was his wife. He made her say the vows before both septon and heart tree, and bedded her that very night before witnesses. She signed a will naming him as heir and fixed her seal to it.

Vows made at sword point are not valid,  the maester argued.

Roose Bolton may not agree. Not with land at issue.  Ser Rodrik looked unhappy. Would that I could take this serving mans head off as well, hes as bad as his master. But I fear I must keep him alive until Robb returns from his wars. He is the only witness to the worst of the Bastards crimes. Perhaps when Lord Bolton hears his tale, he will abandon his claim, but meantime we have Manderly knights and Dreadfort men killing one another in Hornwood forests, and I lack the strength to stop them.  The old knight turned in his seat and gave Bran a stern look. And what have you been about while Ive been away, my lord prince? Commanding our guardsmen not to wash? Do you want them smelling like this Reek, is that it?

The sea is coming here,  Bran said. Jojen saw it in a green dream. Alebelly is going to drown.

Maester Luwin tugged at his chain collar. The Reed boy believes he sees the future in his dreams, Ser Rodrik. Ive spoken to Bran about the uncertainty of such prophecies, but if truth be told, there is trouble along the Stony Shore. Raiders in longships, plundering fishing villages. Raping and burning. Leobald Tallhart has sent his nephew Benfred to deal with them, but I expect theyll take to their ships and flee at the first sight of armed men.

Aye, and strike somewhere else. The Others take all such cowards. They would never dare, no more than the Bastard of Bolton, if our main strength were not a thousand leagues south.  Ser Rodrik looked at Bran. What else did the lad tell you?

He said the water would flow over our walls. He saw Alebelly drowned, and Mikken and Septon Chayle too.

Ser Rodrik frowned. Well, should it happen that I need to ride against these raiders myself, I shant take Alebelly, then. He didnt see me drowned, did he? No? Good.

It heartened Bran to hear that. Maybe they wont drown, then, he thought. If they stay away from the sea.

Meera thought so too, later that night when she and Joien met Bran in his room to play a three-sided game of tiles, but her brother shook his head. The things I see in green dreams cant be changed.

That made his sister angry. Why would the gods send a warning if we cant heed it and change whats to come?

I dont know,  Joien said sadly.

If you were Alebelly, youd probably jump into the well to have done with it! He should fight, and Bran should too.

Me? Bran felt suddenly afraid. What should I fight? Am I going to drown too?

Meera looked at him guiltily. I shouldnt have said . . .

He could tell that she was hiding something. Did you see me in a green dream? he asked Jojen nervously. Was I drowned?

Not drowned.  Jojen spoke as if every word pained him. I dreamed of the man who came today, the one they call Reek. You and your brother lay dead at his feet, and he was skinning off your faces with a long red blade.

Meera rose to her feet. If I went to the dungeon, I could drive a spear right through his heart. How could he murder Bran if he was dead?

The gaolers will stop you,  Joien said. The guards. And if you tell them why you want him dead, theyll never believe.

I have guards too,  Bran reminded them. Alebelly and Poxy Tym and Hayhead and the rest.

Jojens mossy eyes were full of pity. They wont be able to stop him, Bran. I couldnt see why, but I saw the end of it. I saw you and Rickon in your crypts, down in the dark with all the dead kings and their stone wolves.

No, Bran thought. No. If I went away . . . To Greywater, or to the crow, someplace far where they couldnt find me . . .

It will not matter. The dream was green, Bran, and the green dreams do not lie.

Chapter Thirty-six

TYRION

Vrys stood over the brazier, warming his soft hands. "It would appear Renly was murdered most fearfully in the very midst of his army. His throat was opened from ear to ear by a blade that passed through steel and bone as if they were soft cheese."

"Murdered by whose hand?" Cersei demanded.

"Have you ever considered that too many answers are the same as no answer at all? My informers are not always as highly placed as we might like. When a king dies, fancies sprout like mushrooms in the dark. A groom says that Renly was slain by a knight of his own Rainbow Guard. A washerwoman claims Stannis stole through the heart of his brother's army with his magic sword. Several men-at-arms believe a woman did the fell deed, but cannot agree on which woman. A maid that Renly had spurned, claims one. A camp follower brought in to serve his pleasure on the eve of battle, says a second. The third ventures that it might have been the Lady Catelyn Stark."

The queen was not pleased. "Must you waste our time with every rumor the fools care to tell?"

"You pay me well for these rumors, my gracious queen."

"We pay you for the truth, Lord Varys. Remember that, or this small council may grow smaller still."

Varys tittered nervously. "You and your noble brother will leave His Grace with no council at all if you continue."

"I daresay, the realm could survive a few less councillors," said Littlefinger with a smile.

"Dear dear Petyr," said Varys, "are you not concerned that yours might be the next name on the Hand's little list?"

"Before you, Varys? I should never dream of it."

"Mayhaps we will be brothers on the Wall together, you and I." Varys giggled again.

"Sooner than you'd like, if the next words out of your mouth are not something useful, eunuch." From the look of her eyes, Cersei was prepared to castrate Varys all over again.

"Might this be some ruse?" asked Littlefinger.

"If so, it is a ruse of surpassing cleverness," said Varys. "It has certainly hoodwinked me."

Tyrion had heard enough. "Joff will be so disappointed," he said. "He was saving such a nice spike for Renly's head. But whoever did the deed, we must assume Stannis was behind it. The gain is clearly his." He did not like this news; he had counted on the brothers Baratheon decimating each other in bloody battle. He could feel his elbow throbbing where the morningstar had laid it open. It did that sometimes in the damp. He squeezed it uselessly in his hand and asked, "What of Renly's host?"

"The greater part of his foot remains at Bitterbridge." Varys abandoned the brazier to take his seat at the table. "Most of the lords who rode with Lord Renly to Storm's End have gone over banner-and-blade to Stannis, with all their chivalry."

"Led by the Florents, I'd wager," said Littlefinger.

Varys gave him a simpering smile. "You would win, my lord. Lord Alester was indeed the first to bend the knee. Many others followed."

"Many," Tyrion said pointedly, "but not all?"

"Not all," agreed the eunuch. "Not Loras Tyrell, nor Randyll Tarly, nor Mathis Rowan. And Storm's End itself has not yielded. Ser Cortnay Penrose holds the castle in Renly's name, and will not believe his liege is dead. He demands to see the mortal remains before he opens his gates, but it seems that Renly's corpse has unaccountably vanished. Carried away, most likely. A fifth of Renly's knights departed with Ser Loras rather than bend the knee to Stannis. It's said the Knight of Flowers went mad when he saw his king's body, and slew three of Renly's guards in his wrath, among them Emmon Cuy and Robar Royce."

A pity he stopped at three, thought Tyrion.

"Ser Loras is likely making for Bitterbridge," Varys went on. "His sister is there, Renly's queen, as well as a great many soldiers who suddenly find themselves kingless. Which side will they take now? A ticklish question. Many serve the lords who remained at Storm's End, and those lords now belong to Stannis."

Tyrion leaned forward. "There is a chance here, it seems to me. Win Loras Tyrell to our cause and Lord Mace Tyrell and his bannermen might join us as well. They may have sworn their swords to Stannis for the moment, yet they cannot love the man, or they would have been his from the start."

"Is their love for us any greater?" asked Cersei.

"Scarcely," said Tyrion. "They loved Renly, clearly, but Renly is slain. Perhaps we can give them good and sufficient reasons to prefer Joffrey to Stannis . . . if we move quickly."

"What sort of reasons do you mean to give them?"

"Gold reasons," Littlefinger suggested at once.

Varys made a tsking sound. "Sweet Petyr, surely you do not mean to suggest that these puissant lords and noble knights could be bought like so many chickens in the market."

"Have you been to our markets of late, Lord Varys?" asked Littlefinger. "You'd find it easier to buy a lord than a chicken, I daresay. Of course, lords cluck prouder than chickens, and take it ill if you offer them coin like a tradesman, but they are seldom adverse to taking gifts . . . honors, lands, castles . . . "

"Bribes might sway some of the lesser lords," Tyrion said, "but never Highgarden."

"True," Littlefinger admitted. "The Knight of Flowers is the key there. Mace Tyrell has two older sons, but Loras has always been his favorite. Win him, and Highgarden will be yours."

Yes, Tyrion thought. "It seems to me we should take a lesson from the late Lord Renly. We can win the Tyrell alliance as he did. With a marriage."

Varys understood the quickest. "You think to wed King Joffrey to Margaery Tyrell."

"I do." Renly's young queen was no more than fifteen, sixteen, he seemed to recall . . . older than Joffrey, but a few years were nothing, it was so neat and sweet he could taste it.

"Joffrey is betrothed to Sansa Stark," Cersei objected.

"Marriage contracts can be broken. What advantage is there in wedding the king to the daughter of a dead traitor?"

Littlefinger spoke up. "You might point out to His Grace that the Tyrells are much wealthier than the Starks, and that Margaery is said to be lovely . . . and beddable besides."

"Yes," said Tyrion, "Joff ought to like that well enough."

"My son is too young to care about such things."

"You think so?" asked Tyrion. "He's thirteen, Cersei. The same age at which I married."

"You shamed us all with that sorry episode. Joffrey is made of finer stuff."

"So fine that he had Ser Boros rip off Sansa's gown."

"He was angry with the girl."

"He was angry with that cook's boy who spilled the soup last night as well, but he didn't strip him naked."

"This was not a matter of some spilled soup - "

No, it was a matter of some pretty teats. After that business in the yard, Tyrion had spoken with Varys about how they might arrange for Joffrey to visit Chataya's. A taste of honey might sweeten the boy, he hoped. He might even be grateful, gods forbid, and Tyrion could do with a shade more gratitude from his sovereign. It would need to be done secretly, of course. The tricky bit would be parting him from the Hound. "The dog is never far from his master's heels," he'd observed to Varys, "but all men sleep. And some gamble and whore and visit winesinks as well."