Anya Bracken had been pleasantly surprised with the speed that the young Lord Tully had quickly taken to get the affairs of his realm in order. Lord Goodbrook sent south to negotiate with Lord Darklyn with a sizeable host of men to make the run of the negotiations smoother. He might have tried to be quiet with the dispatch, but anybody would have been a fool to suddenly not account the thousands of men missing from the camp.
And prior to their departure, their intents might not at all have been as subtle as they wished.
Lord Goodbrook wasn't the only other noticeable absence. Of course, other lords had slowly been taking their levies and knights back to their lands, but from those who stayed, Lord Mooton had been noticeable in his absence, despite that the host he had come with from Maidenpool was still very much camped outside the walls of Harrenhal.
Unlike Lord Goodbrook though, among the assembled high born, his location was unknown to all but save the young king.
A king that she was currently to see now.
She found the young king atop a small hill that looked in the direction of Harrenhal. He wasn't alone. Apart from the two House Tully knights that served as his sworn shields, there was also Ser Franklin Frey was also with him and the two seemed to be in some sort of discussion.
The Lady Anya hanged back to allow the two to talk amongst themselves. She would admit that she would love to overhear what they were discussing, but the wind was against her and their voices were carried away.
Eventually, Ser Franklin noticed her. "My lady." He called out in greeting.
The Freys were a young House. Some would say nothing more than up-jumped merchants. Others would say they were up-starts because of their wealth. Whatever her own thoughts were on the Freys, she thought it wise to not make an enemy out of a House as wealthy as the Freys.
She curtsied in greeting to the Frey lordling and her new king. "Your grace. Ser Franklin."
Ser Franklin turned to the king. "I think we will continue our discussion at a later date, your grace."
The king nodded. "Very well."
Ser Franklin left them not long after, sharing a nod of acknowledgement with the knight as he passed her on his way.
Thoughts of curiosity as to the subject were pushed out of her mind, instead, she focused on what mattered. Securing her family and that of the newfound kingdom that she now bore allegiance to.
"Lady Anya," the king began, casting a smile. "How can I be of service?"
"It's more of how I can be of service to you, your grace."
"You have been more than of service to me, my lady. Do not be worried, you shall receive in rewards to the amount of support you gave me."
A wry smile threatened to play on her lips. "I doubt a few hundred men, green boys and old men, can at all be worth much in the greater scheme of things."
The king agreed with her then. "Perhaps, but at the end of the day, the support of House Bracken is not just limited to the amount of men that you gave to me, my lady. House Bracken standing side by side by House Tully has done more than you would think."
That she could agree with. Before the foolishness with the Blackwoods, her own House along with the Tullys and Blackwoods had been amongst the most powerful Houses in the Riverlands. Her support for his kingship, even as weakened as House Bracken was now, meant a lot to the right people.
He ran a hand through his hair then. "Although truth be told, my head is heavy with the crown that I'm not even wearing yet. I think I must have aged several years already since the proclamation."
"You will grow into it." She said, trying to be comfortable with him. A young man such as him needed good advisers and counsel. "You won't be taken the burden of kingship alone. There are many riverlords that would give you good counsel if you so wish."
King Edmyn made a sound then, before pointing in the physical manifestation of Harren's hubris and asked. "What would you suggest I do with that?"
Anya looked away from the young king towards the castle. She thought for a moment. "Harrenhal is a strong castle. Perhaps the strongest castle in all of Westeros. The walls are taller than any siege tower or ladder can reach. They happen to be as strong as well. No trebuchet would be able to batter those walls down, well, not in any time before help arrives. The towers themselves are miniature fortresses by themselves."
The young king nodded with each point she made. "So I take it?" He asked.
"That's one option." She said after a moment of thinking. "Another is to simply destroy Harrenhal and use it for whatever purposes that you can think off. I'm sure the stone and timber used to build it is worth a few castles."
King Edmyn chuckled to himself then. "I'm of the mind of the latter, especially considering the bloodbath we came upon." He finished, his chuckling all but stopped and a sneer came across his face.
The Bloody Court.
That was the name they had given to the court yard around one of Harrenhal's towers filled with the blood and limbs of the dead. King Edmyn had led a procession to lay the poor folk in peace, summoning several septons to lead the service.
What was strange was him having the septons bless the court and field that the thralls had been butchered in. Whatever reasons he did such a thing for, he kept the reasons to himself.
Edmyn turned to look towards Harrenhal once more. "Ser Franklin is of the mind that I take Harrenhal. He's given me valid reasons to take it and I think he has the right of it."
That piqued her interest. So him and the Frey knight and heir had been in discussion about the castle? Now that she thought about it, Edmyn had been meeting many of the nobles that were still in attendance. Was he looking to their counsel on this subject?
"Such as?" She needled.
"It's an excellent place to project power to the southern reaches of my new kingdom. I will at least give Harren that, he certainy knew where to build his castle to rule this part of his kingdom. Far better place to rule the kingdom from than Riverrun which is too far west and north." He ran a hand through his hair. "Then again, I find it a little bit too big. I'll need hundreds, perhaps thousands to fortify it sufficiently enough and then let's not forget the staffing..." He shook his head then. "Never mind, I've come to a decision on what to do with it. But my lady, I doubt you came all this way to find me to listen to a young boy ramble on about castles."
She gave him a smile. "There are worse things to do to waste the time."
"True enough."
"Your grace, I have come to ask of you for a favour for House Bracken. A favour that would very much impact it's continued survival."
The young king's face then took on a note of all seriousness. "What would you ask of me, my lady? For House Bracken's support, I would be willing to grant you any boon you ask for."
"As you know, Harren decimated the ranks of House Bracken," Her hands tightened around her skirts then, she worried that she might tear through them and into the palms of her hands. "I have daughters and grand-daughters who are set to inherit, but I am worried that someone might try to-."
King Edmyn held up a hand then to stop her. "Have no fear, my lady. I'll protect the claims of your heir. I won't harm come to befall them or House Bracken lands."
She blinked. Well, this was easier than she had thought. She had expected to give some concessions. Perhaps she can get more than a simple vow of protection? Words were wind after all.
"I have a grand-daughter, the heir to Stone Hedge..." She trailed off for him to understand her implications.
It seemed he understood, but judging from the smile on his face, it wouldn't result in the outcome that she wanted.
When he spoke, he confirmed her thoughts. "And I'm sure she is lovely as you are, my lady." Flattery seemed to come easily to the young king.
"But not enough for a king, no?" She asked, a wry smile on her face.
"Oh no! Nothing like that, my lady." The king replied, his pale skin in contrast to the red that was coming to his cheeks. "It's just well, someone mentioned that who I am to marry is of great importance. I'd rather be given time to think on the subject deeply so I make the right kind of choice. But if you need someone in mind to marry your grand-daughter, Ser Lyam is available. And he isn't half bad." He finished with a chuckle.
The heir to Seagard? That wouldn't make a bad match. In fact, it would be a rather fortuitous match for House Bracken to make. Especially considering the importance that House Mallister would soon come to be in the new kingdom as the good-family to the king.
If she was thinking this, then no doubt some of the more able lords and ladies would be thinking this as well. She would need to act quick.
But first, she was rather curious to see who could she potentially be calling 'queen' in the future.
"If I can be so bold to ask, your grace, any maidens in mind?"
He scratched at the side of his head in thought. "Well, I doubt one of them is a maiden. The other one probably is."
"You already have two in mind?" That surprised her. How long had he been thinking about this? And who could the ladies be?
How many riverlords had suitable enough daughters or sisters that would be suitable for a king? The Mootons? Lord Samwell had several daughters and sisters. The Harroways, Buckwells, Freys...the list could go on and on and on.
As long as it wasn't a Blackwood, then she would be fine with that. A Blackwood queen and Wyl would never let her hear the end of it.
"Both of them more or less secure our borders and give us allies."
That left her confused. What match would secure their borders?
Oh.
Was Edmyn looking beyond the borders of his kingdom? In truth, that was...bold of him. And risky as well. He had to make sure that he didn't come under the influence of his good-family.
The riverlords were quarrelsome enough by themselves. They didn't need to go through all of this and choose a puppet king to rule over them. It would not end well to say the least.
After that, they talked some more about potential matches for her daughters. She wasn't surprised that the matches that Edmyn offered were those to families that were direct vassals to House Tully of Riverrun.
Riverrun.
That was a question he had yet to answer for. It was obvious that he was going to move his seat. His intent was clear enough, but what was to happen to the ancient Tully castle? It was rich in lands and a strong castle.
Well, if she lived long enough, perhaps a great-granddaughter of hers might become the Lady of Riverrun when Edmyn has sons of his own to pass that castle of to. All the while, it wouldn't hurt to make plans and contingencies.