7 Chapter 7 - Leaving everything behind

News from the capital were alarming, to say the least. Then again considering what that mad man of a friend I had and his even madder father decided to do to a lord paramount… I don't even know what I should do now.

Rhaegar was my friend, albeit a crazy one it seems, but a friend nevertheless. Yet I wonder if I should go onwards with that mission of his and save Lord Arryn's heir or if I should return to his side …

"Ser? Are you feeling well?"

I was brought back from my thoughts by a young girl, who if my memory serves me right is the daughter of the nursemaid that takes care of the male heir. I smiled at the little girl before asking her if she could help me find a good inn to rest. Of course, I was not going to be there for long, but a new knight to these lands needs to find a place to sleep otherwise it will create suspicion among the locals, especially when a war is being fought.

"Sure, ser. There is a nice inn near the market square. It's called the Moon and Falcon. They have clean rooms and good food. And they don't ask too many questions." She said with a wink.

"Thank you, my lady. You are very kind and helpful. Do you know the way to the inn?" I asked, hoping to get some more information from her. I might be a Lannister but I wasn't my cousin who only loved to fight with a sword, no if the countless days of being taught by Uncle Tywin made me learn something, that was to always know as much as possible while giving back as little as you can.

"Yes, I do. It's not far from here. Just follow me." She said, grabbing my hand and leading me through the streets of the Eyrie. I noticed that she was wearing a pendant with a silver falcon on it. It must be a sign of her loyalty to House Arryn or maybe it a something that all of the people who work directly for the lord paramount get.

As we walked, I tried to make some small talk with her and while at first the little girl was not so keen on answering most of my questions, I did learn that her name was Alayne and that she was ten years old. Then surprisingly enough, she said that she loved Eyrie and that she wanted to be a lady someday, something that was not easy to achieve considering her commoner status. But what almost made me shout out in excitement was her little mistake when she told me how she sneaks inside the castle through a hidden passage to eat some cookies early in the morning and sometimes plays with the little lord, whom she found cute.

Once we reached the inn, Alayne bid me farewell and went on her merry way leaving alone, and for once I was happy. Not only did I manage to learn something that would help me get the little lord out of here alive, but at the same time I also got myself quite an alibi. With the gold dragons that I have on me, I could easily get the whole inn piss drunk and wait for nightfall to get into the castle.

Once I was sure that the girl was far away, I went inside and paid for a room before sitting down and listening to the small folk talking amongst themselves. I ordered a mug of ale and pretended to be interested in their gossip, but I was looking for any clues about the castle's security and layout. After two hours standing there "enjoying" my ale, I learned that surprisingly enough, Lord Arryn left behind more than enough men to defend the Eyrie which makes sense if you think about it. His son and heir were here and with the war going on for almost six months already… the seven knew what could happen and if the worst came true and the dragons won…

Another piece of juice information was that the rebels have managed to march closer to the trident and if I have to guess, that's where Rhaegar will march to face them. Nevertheless, I tried not to show any reaction to these rumors, but at least I could now breathe easily, after with Lord Arryn and the bulk of their forces far away from here I could quickly rescue the boy and get on a boat for the free cities in no time. And by the time someone realizes that the young lord is nowhere to be found we will be long gone. While I do not doubt that that bloody cockless bastard might find us, I know how to protect us from his "little birds".

After paying for my ale, I got up and made my way to my room. I had rented a small chamber on the third floor, overlooking the courtyard. It was a modest and cozy place, with a bed, a table, a chair, and a fireplace. It also had a window, which I could use to escape if things went wrong or to leave the inn without being seen by the patrons downstairs. As soon as I was inside the room, I locked the door behind me, and I checked the room for any signs of trouble, after all living in the King's Landing taught me something that was to never be too careful.

Half an hour later, and with the whole room searched for any tiny holes or hidden doors, I finally sat down on the chair and grabbed a map from my bag, which I had bought from a smuggler in Gulltown. While I would have preferred a more detailed map, this would do for now, mostly because I will go inside through the tunnel that Alayne told me about.

With a plan made, I waited for the night to befall on the Eyrie before I quietly climbed down from my window using a tied rope to the bedpost, before lowering myself to the ground. Even though I was a good fighter only a fool would barge into a guarded castle alone so I was careful not to make any noise, or to attract any attention. Luckily for me, the courtyard was empty and dark, except for a few torches and lanterns. Most of the guards were either asleep or drunk, and because of that, they did not notice me slowly making my way toward the lower part of the castle, where I prayed to the seven to find the tunnel Alayne mentioned.

When I reached the lower part of the castle, I was pleasantly surprised to find a hole not too big but also not too small for a man without plate armor to squeeze through. It was hidden behind a pile of stones near the wall, and it looked like an old drainage pipe that was dark and damp, and it smelled of rot and rats. But it was the only quiet way into the Eyrie, and I had no choice but to enter it.

I moved the stones aside, and I crawled into the hole without a torch fearing that the guards might see the light, so instead of a torch, I only kept a dagger in my mouth as I slowly but surely crawled deeper into the castle. The hole led me to a tunnel, which followed an underground stream that flowed from the mountain. The tunnel was narrow and low, and I had to bend my head and shoulders to avoid hitting the ceiling, but surprisingly enough the space was spacious enough for someone to make a camp here.

After recovering my bearings for a few minutes, I followed the tunnel for what seemed like an eternity but was probably only an hour. Luckily for me, I did not encounter any guards or traps, which considering how easy I managed to sneak into the castle and how big this place was… well I guess even Lord Arryn has hidden parts in his castle that he doesn't know about. It makes one wonder just how many tunnels were under King's Landing.

Steeling my resolve, I continued through the tunnel until I reached the end, where it opened up into a larger chamber. There, I saw a wooden ladder that led up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. This should be the entrance. Truth be told I was expecting at least one guard, then again if a little girl could sneak inside unseen, chances are that even someone like me might be able to do it, albeit not so easily as Alayne.

Grabbing my dagger with one hand, I slowly climbed up the ladder, until I was able to push the trapdoor open. It creaked loudly, but no one seemed to hear it, something that I was glad. Once I climbed, I found myself in a rather dark storeroom that was filled with empty crates and barrels. Not wanting to waste any more time in this room, I slowly and carefully pried the door slightly open only to see an empty hallway. After making sure that there was no one anywhere near, I walked out of the room, but not before leaving my bag as a stop for the door, after all, it would be a pity for the door to close behind and not be able to open it.

The hallway was surprisingly empty then again, there was no Targaryen army anywhere near the Valley of Arryn so maybe the guards didn't patrol the keep as they should. Just as I took a corner, I heard a young boy shouting after someone, as light footsteps came closer to me.

"Konrad! Please don't run from Septa Aura. She wants to teach you about the Seven!"

A boy, no older than two and ten ran after another boy, who was pale with white hair. And if there aren't two identical boys with the same names and appearances then that little boy should be Lord Arryn's heir. The only problem thought… was the older boy. I might be a kingsguard, but by the seven I will not become a childslayer.

The young lord ran right into me, making him fall on his butt. As soon as he raised his head to look at me, I could see his blood-red eyes staring into my soul. Almost as if he realized that the little lord tried to run away, but luckily for me and sadly for him, I grabbed his arm before he could move more than one pace away.

The older boy froze in his steps when he saw me, a tall, blonde man in leather armor. It didn't take a genius to realize that I was a Lannister, but that didn't mean I was part of the family.

"What are you doing here? Let go of Konrad! He's the future Lord of the Eyrie and the Warden of the East! He's also a dragon! He'll burn you alive if you hurt him!"

His words almost made me laugh out loud at him. This little cute boy was a dragon? Then by the seventh, I was the mad king.

"Are you a dragon my lord?"

Konrad tilted his head slightly before acting as if he was spitting fire on me. Seeing that, made me ruffle his hair, which didn't please the little lord at all.

"Who are you… ser?"

"I'm a member of the Kingsguard, lad."

As soon as the older boy heard me, he reached for his wooden sword, knowing very well that it would do nothing against a knight, but then again it was better than nothing.

"Easy there lad, if I was to be part of the loyalist forces I would have been at the front not here, sneaking inside Lord Arryn's home."

"I will ask again ser. Who are you?"

"Tyrek Lannister, a member of the Kingsguard or an ex-one if you so wish to call me."

"What are you doing here sir?"

"Look lad, I know that you are trying to earn some time for someone to notice that the young lord is missing, but believe me when I tell…"

Just as I was about to tell the boy that I came here to rescue him, an arrow flew past my head, missing me by a hair. As soon as I turned around, I saw five men clad in dark leather rushing towards us. They didn't look like guards of the Eyrie, but one thing was sure: they were enemies.

So, these were the men the price saw in his vision… Not wanting to end up gutted like a fish or have the young lord and his friend dead, I took my dagger and pushed the boy behind me, hoping to protect him from harm. The first man reached me and swung his axe at my head, but I managed to easily parry it with my blade and kicked him in the chest, sending him to the ground. The second man tried to stab me in the side, but I dodged his thrust and slashed his throat with a swift motion. The third man was more cautious and circled me and the two no-scared boys, looking for an opening. I feinted a strike at his left arm and then stabbed him in the heart when he lowered his guard.

The fourth man was armed with a crossbow and fired another bolt at me and while I barely managed to deflect it with my dagger, it grazed my shoulder and drew blood, making me curse under my breath as I threw my dagger at him, hitting him in the eye. The last man, the one with a bastard sword looked back and forth between his now dead men and me, contemplating if he should continue with whatever he had to do when his eye stopped on my hands.

Without a sword or a dagger to defend myself we were at his mercy and while I could try to reach out for one, I doubt I could reach it out in time before he and his men slaughtered us. As I surrendered myself to fate, a woman's scream made the two men turn around, giving me more than enough time to grab a sword and kill the closest man to me before charging at the leader.

The leader of the assassins cursed and tried to block my attack, but he was too slow and I sliced his arm off with one swing making him drop his sword and clutched his wound as he screamed out in pain. Not wanting to give him any time to recover, I quickly stab him in the neck before searching the man for anything. And to my surprise, I found a note on him:

You have been paid well to do your job. I expect you to carry it out without fail. Kill the young lord of the Eyrie and his friend, the heir of Runestone. Make it look like an accident or a suicide. Do not leave any traces that could lead back to me. If you succeed, you will receive another bag of gold. If you fail, you will receive a blade in your back.

Your employer,

Littlefinger.

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