"That doesn't give them the right to occupy the castle," Robert said.
"Yes, that is true, my Grace. But they will be paying twice the amount of taxes than the Thornes had been paying for the castle. It will be good for our treasury," Ned said, and this brought murmurs in the whole hall. They hadn't expected that the new family was even ready to pay twice the amount.
The Lannisters and the Thornes hadn't expected that kind of counterattack. Ned, in order to show sincerity, showed him the agreement. Robert was annoyed and just eyeballed the whole agreement and understood that there was a very strict agreement with the Uchihas.
They were required to pay double, and if it was not paid, they would have to pay them back with imprisonment or more fine. Robert, after seeing the agreement, looked at Alaric and said, "The Uchihas would pay more tribute to the kingdom, and if they are not able to do so in the next 6 months, required action would be taken upon them. In addition to this, the Uchihas wouldn't be recognized as a House for the next 3 years."
Robert said. For the first time, Ned saw his friend playing the diplomat and trying to play 'cool' as his daughter now puts it, but little did Robert know that the Uchihas had never been penned down as a House in the registry kept by the Grand Maester of the Red Keep.
"That would be their honor, my Grace," Ned spoke, acknowledging the whole fact. Alaric was furious. Not only was he unsuccessful in ousting the Northerners from the land, but he also got reassurance that they would be able to stay here with a little bit of extra pay. Alaric looked at the representative of the Lannisters, and he could see that his face had also turned ugly.
"It will be my honor to serve you, Your Grace, and also we will make sure that the Uchihas would do justice to the agreement done by the Hand of the King," Alaric said.
"I will see to that, Ser Alaric," Ned said. He didn't need to be as diplomatic here as he didn't like the Thornes. He had heard about them from his son, so he didn't have a good impression of them.
Alaric didn't stay for much time and left after that while Robert attended to other people of the court. After the session ended, Ned went back to his office, only to be welcomed by Arya.
"ARYA!!... You need to knock sometimes," Ned said.
"Oh, I am sorry father. I didn't have that luxury when I was in the wild," Arya replied.
"I am sorry. It will never happen again," Ned said as he could understand that his daughter was still in a bit of trauma, and that was the reason she clung to him a bit after what had gone down.
"What did the Thornes say?" Arya asked. She didn't spy on them as she felt it was not necessary.
"They were not happy but I was able to get the Uchihas 6 months to prove themselves." Ned said.
"Knowing the Lannisters, I am sure that they wouldn't let the upcoming time pass by peacefully."
This statement made both Arya and Ned smile. They would love that Lannisters to try that and get their ass handed over to them. After the complaint didn't bear any fruit, the Thornes didn't seem to bother them anymore and even the surrounding Houses had treated them like they didn't exist.
Of course, it didn't mean that there was no trade and one of the first things the Uchihas started to trade was fabric. After coming here they realized that the people wear very bad quality clothes and thus needed a better makeover.
At first the small town surrounding the castle didn't believe that this new clan of Northerners could have better quality clothes as most of them looked down upon them and saw them as savages but once the fabric was sold, the same people started singing in a different tune.
In just a month or so he fabrics had started to spread to the surrounding Houses and thus it helped the Uchihas get money out of it. Of course, this was just a start and the Uchihas would try to amass more wealth over time using the knowledge and technology they possessed.
Few weeks had gone by since the incident in the King's Landing, and finally there was some movement around Bronzegate. Disguised in rugged cloaks and masks, a band of Lannister soldiers crept through the darkness towards the Uchiha estate, their footsteps muffled by the whisper of the wind.
As they neared the Uchiha compound, the one leading the whole charge signaled for his men to halt, a silent command rippling through their ranks. With a glance, he motioned for them to fan out, encircling the perimeter of the town like silent sentinels poised to strike.
"Keep your blades at the ready," The leader murmured, his voice a low growl in the stillness of the night. "Tonight, we rid ourselves of these Northern pests and reclaim what is rightfully ours and should belong to us."
The surroundings of the Bronzegate was kind of barren with sparse trees here and there. Thus there wasn't much cover and could only approach the town. The leader then turned to the side to indicate him to enter the town after climbing the walls, but only to see in horror that someone else was standing on the same side, and his subordinate was lying on the ground.
"What the..." Before he could speak he felt a cold sensation in his neck, followed by a rush of hot liquid flowing down. He started coughing and gurgling in his own blood before he passed out and died.
He wasn't the only one who was facing the predicament. All 85 men who had come to ambush the Uchihas, were either dead or passed out. They were ninjas to begin with, so of course they were the masters of the night.
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