Catelyn's tent was as hot as midsummer.
The already cramped space held three braziers blazing with roaring fire.
The moment Galon stepped inside, a layer of sweat formed across his forehead.
At that moment—
Catelyn sat on the bed, her eyes red from weeping, gently stroking Arya's hair as the girl cried quietly against her chest.
Joy and sorrow mingled on her weary face.
When Galon entered, Catelyn paused for a moment before realizing he must have something important to discuss.
She lowered her head and softly comforted her daughter.
"Enough, Arya."
"Don't cry anymore... Your father and your brothers wouldn't want you to grieve for them forever."
Arya sniffled and finally managed to stop crying.
Only then did Catelyn look up at Galon.
"Galon, has the meeting ended?"
"Yes."
Galon nodded. Seeing how exhausted she looked, he stepped forward and moved one of the braziers closer to the bed.
"My lady, you need to take care of yourself. Arya has returned safely. And Sansa is still waiting for you at Winterfell."
Arya's heart tightened.
Only now did she notice the strange arrangement inside the tent.
She hurriedly looked toward her mother.
"Mother... what's wrong with you?"
Catelyn shook her head casually.
"It's nothing... I was injured in the Vale. I just need some time to recover."
She could not bring herself to tell her daughter that she did not have much time left.
Hearing that, Arya visibly relaxed.
Galon remained silent, making no attempt to expose the truth.
Instead, he turned toward Arya.
"Arya, there are a few things I'd like to ask you."
She stood up from beside her mother and wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
"What is it, Galon? Do you want to know how I escaped King's Landing?"
Galon nodded.
"What exactly happened in King's Landing?
And how did you end up traveling with... Gendry? Where have you been all this time?
Robb searched for you.
Why did you only appear now?"
Not only Galon, but Catelyn also watched Arya with concern. She wanted to know what her daughter had endured.
Arya thought for a moment before beginning her story.
"It was Father's plan that got me out of King's Landing..."
Starting with Ned Stark's arrangements, she quietly recounted everything she had experienced.
"Father told me to travel north with the Night's Watch recruits.
But the Lannisters began searching everywhere... In the end, Yoren was killed...
Gendry and I had no choice but to flee toward the Gods Eye.
Eventually... The Green Men took us in."
When Arya mentioned the Green Men of the Isle of Faces, Galon and Catelyn exchanged astonished looks.
The Isle of Faces had always remained politically neutral.
It had never involved itself in struggles over crowns or kingdoms. Yet this time, it had unexpectedly intervened.
'Could this be the influence of the Old Gods...'
Galon silently wondered.
He chose not to dwell on it. Instead, he casually changed the subject. "And Gendry? What kind of person is he?"
"Him?" Arya blinked before answering without hesitation. "He's a stubborn idiot. Just like a bull."
"But... He's not a bad person. He helped me at the Gods Eye."
There was no romance in her words.
Only the straightforward opinion of a companion.
Catelyn, however, seemed to sense something. She looked directly at Galon.
"Galon..."
"What exactly are you getting at?"
Galon sighed, deliberately putting on a troubled expression.
"My lady.
Ser Barristan brought Gendry here.
He claims that King Robert's dying wish was for Gendry to inherit the Iron Throne.
Now Ser Barristan expects us to swear loyalty to Gendry... And even intends for him to interfere with command of the army."
"What?!"
Catelyn's expression changed instantly.
Arya, startled by her mother's reaction, quickly spoke up in Gendry's defense.
"But Gendry really was Father's chosen heir. He was Father's adopted son too..."
"Arya!"
Before she could finish, Catelyn sharply interrupted her.
Galon calmly explained.
"Arya.
Robb entrusted this army to me with his life.
I cannot hand the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers to someone who knows nothing about war...
Simply because of a written testament.
Especially now... On the eve of our decisive battle with the Lannisters."
Catelyn nodded in complete agreement.
"But... Gendry really is Father's legitimate heir."
Arya still wanted to defend her friend.
"If we refuse to recognize him... Wouldn't that dishonor Father's memory?"
Galon nodded.
"You're right. Lord Stark's honor cannot be stained. That's exactly why... We must make him one of our own."
Arya looked utterly confused.
"One of our own?"
Catelyn froze.
A heartbeat later, realization struck.
Her breathing quickened.
Even her pale face flushed with an unhealthy color. She immediately understood Galon's meaning.
A marriage alliance.
She glanced at Arya, who remained completely bewildered, before looking back at Galon.
Her voice came out hoarse.
"Galon... Do you mean... That Arya should marry Gendry?"
Galon nodded seriously.
"Yes, my lady."
Arya stood frozen.
She pointed at herself, then looked back and forth between the two of them.
"Me..."
"...marry that bull?"
Before either of them could answer, she shook her head so vigorously it looked ready to fall off.
"No!
Mother! I don't like him at all! He's just my friend.
If I were going to admire anyone... it would be someone like Galon. A real hero."
Arya had always spoken whatever came into her mind.
"Gendry's a good man. But he's nowhere near as impressive as Galon."
Catelyn pressed a hand against her forehead. She shot her daughter a fierce glare.
"Enough, Arya. Galon is your sister's betrothed.
Not yours.
And you are a daughter of House Stark. Your marriage has always been meant to serve the family."
Arya immediately fell silent, clearly unhappy.
Galon sighed helplessly.
"Ordinarily...
...I never would have suggested this myself.
But, my lady, you know the current alliance exists because everyone believes we're fighting to avenge Lord Stark and Robb.
When I was in the Vale... I proposed a Trial of Seven..."
"A Trial of Seven?"
Arya cried out excitedly, interrupting him.
"Galon! You fought the Vale knights in a Trial of Seven?"
"Arya!"
Catelyn's face darkened.
The burst of emotion triggered another fit of coughing.
Galon immediately poured her a cup of warm water and handed it over before turning to Arya.
"Arya.
Please stop interrupting.
Your mother is still recovering. She can't handle too much excitement.
When we've finished discussing this... come with me. I'll tell you everything you want to know."
Arya quickly walked over to her mother.
"I'm sorry, Mother. I won't interrupt again."
Catelyn accepted the bowl of water, drank a mouthful, and slowly calmed herself.
She looked helplessly at her youngest daughter.
There had never been any easy way to deal with the child who had inherited the wolf blood so completely.
"You may continue, Galon."
Galon nodded.
"I stabilized the Vale by promising to support one of King Robert's bastards.
But now... An actual legitimized bastard has appeared.
I'm worried they'll begin having ideas of their own, just as the Riverlands already have.
If morale begins to fracture now... We'll be finished."
He paused before continuing.
"But if Arya and Gendry become engaged... Everything changes.
The North's cause remains legitimate. The Riverlands and the Vale will continue standing beside us.
And after the war...
House Stark and House Baratheon will once again become as close as Lord Stark and King Robert once were."
That was what he said aloud.
Inside, however, his calculations were very different.
'Arya is still young. They couldn't marry for several years.'
'But the wildlings beyond the Wall... the White Walkers ... and Daenerys across the Narrow Sea won't wait.'
'In a year at most... the final war of ice and fire will begin.'
'When that happens... one unexpected accident could easily send Gendry to the gods.'
'And without a king...'
'...If I defeat both the White Walkers and Daenerys...'
'...The prestige of saving the Seven Kingdoms will be enough to place the crown upon my own head.'
Ambition flickered deep within his eyes.
The White Walkers would soon descend upon the North.
Galon had already prepared.
He intended to use their invasion as an opportunity to absorb both the Free Folk beyond the Wall and the people of Skagos.
That would raise House Glover's direct military strength to over seventy thousand men.
Combined with the North and the Iron Islands, while drawing the Riverlands and the Vale firmly to his side—
Even if every remaining kingdom refused to submit...
He was completely confident he could crush them all.
'A king is made through military strength.'
Suppressing his ambition, Galon looked toward Catelyn once more.
"My lady. What do you think?"
"I agree."
Catelyn answered without the slightest hesitation.
To her...
To all of House Stark...
This proposal was nothing less than a blessing from the gods.
She took hold of Arya's hand.
"Arya.
For our family... For your father... For your brother.
You must agree."
Arya's lips trembled.
She looked at her mother. Then she remembered Gendry's stubborn face.
Become engaged to that bull?
The very thought seemed ridiculous.
The man she admired was someone like Galon— Handsome. Charismatic.
A living legend.
She wanted to argue.
But when she met her mother's pleading eyes... The words never came.
In the end...
She silently accepted.
Seeing both mother and daughter persuaded, Galon finally felt a tremendous weight lift from his shoulders.
"I'll speak with Gendry tomorrow.
I'm sure... If he truly wants to become king... He won't refuse."
Weariness spread across Catelyn's face.
Still forcing herself to remain awake, she said, "Galon... I'll leave everything in your hands."
Galon smiled.
"Of course, my lady. You should get some rest."
After Catelyn nodded, he quietly left the tent.
Arya watched him go. Her emotions were a tangled mess.
'Why... Why does Sansa get to be with someone she truly likes...'
'...While I have to marry for politics?'
'Gods... That's so unfair.'
Her heart ached.
Unable to bear it any longer, she rushed out of Catelyn's tent.
Catelyn watched her youngest daughter disappear into the night. Then, unbidden, memories of herself and Lysa surfaced in her mind.
"Great Seven..."
"Please protect Sansa and Arya."
"Don't let them repeat the mistakes that Lysa and I made."
Meanwhile, Galon knew nothing of Arya's turmoil.
As he walked through the camp, he carefully considered how he would speak with Gendry the following day.
Only after making his rounds and confirming that everything was in order did he return to his own tent to rest.
The night passed without incident.
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