"Child, why choose to be a wildling?" Maester Luwin asked.
Lancelot, standing nearby, thought Maester Luwin must be going senile to ask a wildling why he was a wildling.
The wildling youth, Agoda, retorted, "Stupid question. Do you ask the sun why it is the sun?"
Hearing this, Lancelot laughed inwardly: This kid is a bit arrogant! But interesting.
Maester Luwin, undeterred and seemingly oblivious, continued his questioning.
"Why come to Winterfell to save Mance Rayder? He isn't one of your kind, is he? After all, he used to be a man of the Night's Watch."
"Old man, you really are senile! Mance Rayder is the only one who can save the fate of the Free Folk. He is the only one who can unite our scattered tribes into a single rope!" Agoda declared.
Maester Luwin wanted to ask more, but Agoda refused to speak further, closing his eyes and lying down on the straw mat.
"Lancelot, I leave it to you! I can't seem to get anything out of him."
Lancelot nodded. He skipped Agoda and went straight to the cell of the wildling woman who had shot him.
"Ygritte!" Lancelot called out through the iron bars.
Inside was a red-haired wildling woman. She had delicate features, though unadorned by makeup, and her teeth were noticeably crooked. Among wildlings, she was considered quite attractive.
"Lion Knight Lancelot. I'm curious why my arrow didn't kill you. I once killed a giant with the same shot."
"We are different from you. A standard knight wears full armor. Even if it doesn't look like armor on the outside, there's chainmail or padding underneath protecting the body," Lancelot explained.
"So that's it!" Ygritte nodded, understanding how Lancelot survived what should have been a fatal shot.
"Why have you come to me?" she asked.
"To get more information about the lands beyond the Wall from you. You might as well make yourselves useful before you die," Lancelot said bluntly.
No one knew when the trial of seven would actually begin. Several wildlings were injured, and highborn Westerosi knights would consider it a disgrace to kill wounded opponents.
Jaime, Robert, and the others didn't mind waiting a few more days, or even weeks.
Perhaps the only one with complaints was Eddard Stark. Not only did he have to feed the wildlings well, but he also had to provide medical treatment and medicine.
"Are you so sure it will be us who die, and not you? We wildlings didn't grow up in greenhouses. We grew up in ice and snow. Our strength and speed far exceed Southerners of the same age," Ygritte said confidently.
"Perhaps what you say is true, but you don't know the kind of opponents you're facing."
Lancelot sighed and began to introduce the seven knights to Ygritte.
Lancelot himself was a skinchanger and a mage. Although he couldn't use magic in the trial, his strength and speed had reached 17, only slightly lower than Jaime's.
Jaime Lannister was the Kingslayer, the youngest member ever to join the Kingsguard. His swordsmanship was superb. His strength was unquestionable.
Robert needed no introduction. In his youth, he killed Rhaegar, the Last Dragon, at the Trident. Although he was fat now, weight was power. In Westeros, where situps and dumbbells weren't common, even Jaime didn't have a six-pack, and neither did the Mountain. Most knights had a bit of a belly under their armor. So while Robert looked fat and out of shape, his strength hadn't diminished. Crushing a man with his warhammer was still effortless for him.
Benjen Stark was a Ranger of the Night's Watch, intimately familiar with wildling tactics.
Ser Rodrik Cassel was Winterfell's Master-at-Arms. He had trained both Robb and Jon. Though old, his skills were no less than a young man's.
Jory Cassel, Captain of Eddard Stark's household guard, was no ordinary man either. He had fought in the Siege of Pyke alongside Jaime, the Hound, Thoros, and Jorah Mormont.
And the last one, Eddard Stark. Although his personal combat prowess was debatable—not even the White Walkers believed he soloed the Sword of the Morning—he wielded Ice, a Valyrian steel greatsword! If he brought Ice to the fight, any wildling facing him could only pray for luck.
After hearing Lancelot describe the strength, identity, and background of the seven knights, Ygritte knew they were likely doomed. They could die, but Mance Rayder couldn't. If Mance died, the Free Folk would fracture again.
"He cannot die. He must return alive to the lands beyond the Wall! Ser Lancelot, I beg you, show us a way out!" Tears welled up in Ygritte's eyes.
"A trial by combat cannot be interrupted."
"However, if something else happens, perhaps there is a sliver of a chance," Lancelot said.
"Tell me!"
"You have red hair, correct?" Lancelot asked.
Ygritte nodded, confused about why Lancelot was emphasizing her hair color.
"Lady Stark, Catelyn Tully, also has red hair. If you could get her to accept you as a foster daughter, perhaps she could find a way to stop this trial! At the very least, she could save you," Lancelot suggested.
"I am just a wildling. Would she accept me as a foster daughter?" Ygritte asked skeptically.
"Generally, no. But she is very wary of Jon Snow threatening her son Robb Stark's position as the future Lord of Winterfell."
"If you can help her—specifically, by sleeping with Jon Snow and carrying his child—Jon Snow's reputation will be ruined (though he doesn't have much to begin with), and Robb Stark will have no rival for the lordship."
"If you can achieve this, Catelyn Tully would be very willing to take you in," Lancelot explained.
Lancelot's scheme gave Jon Snow a wife, gave Catelyn Tully peace of mind, and secured Robb Stark's inheritance. It was truly killing three birds with one arrow!
"But how can I meet Lady Catelyn? As a highborn lady, she wouldn't deign to visit me in a dungeon, would she?" Ygritte asked.
"I can ask the Queen to help," Lancelot said.
---
Lancelot left the dungeon and went to see Cersei. He first paid his respects and chatted about trivialities.
Then, Lancelot steered the conversation toward Ygritte.
"Auntie, there's a female wildling in the dungeon. In the spirit of the Mother's mercy, perhaps you and Lady Catelyn could go visit her? It would show your motherly benevolence to the realm," Lancelot suggested.
Cersei was stunned. It took her a moment to process that Lancelot was asking her to visit a wildling woman in a dungeon.
"Lancelot, what is your relationship with that wildling woman? Watch your status. You are the future Lord of Casterly Rock! Not some wild child!" Cersei said sternly.
She was afraid. If Lancelot got involved with a wildling woman, it would be a scandal for House Lannister.
"It's not me, it's Jon Snow! He's involved with that wildling woman! Perhaps this is an opportunity—a chance to make the Starks look foolish. We could do this..." Lancelot laid out his plan.
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