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The vast green plains met the azure sky, with the restless Mander River flowing not far in the distance. The Queen's carriage and horses were fully prepped, ready to depart at a moment's notice.
The long-awaited grand wedding had finally concluded. Despite a little chaos in the middle, it ended without any real disaster.
Jon had married a wife he was perfectly satisfied with, the Tyrells had gained a son-in-law they approved of, and both sides had secured a steadfast ally.
Even the Crown reaped unexpected benefits. The Tyrells and Jon had made their stance crystal clear, swearing to seek justice for Alerie.
This meant the Iron Throne would soon quell another rebellion without spending a single soldier. Selyse had been so eager that she ordered her men to send this news to Stannis days ago.
Now, she couldn't wait to return to King's Landing to claim credit from her royal husband.
"Farewell, Your Grace."
As the crowd saw her off, Selyse stepped into the royal wheelhouse that once belonged to Cersei.
Cersei had once taken this very carriage with Robert to Winterfell to ask Ned to be Hand of the King.
Sansa had also ridden in it during the journey back to King's Landing, but shortly after she boarded, her direwolf, Lady, was killed under Cersei's coercion.
Sansa used to dream of this magnificent carriage, but now she absolutely loathed it. She only felt a sense of relief when Selyse finally prepared to leave.
Pulled by nearly thirty horses, the massive wheelhouse creaked and groaned into motion, leaving deep, heavy ruts in the green earth.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before the lumbering vehicle hit the Roseroad—built during the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen—allowing it to pick up a little speed.
Seeing Jon with few people around him, Alekyne slipped over and whispered to him.
"My Lord Duke, are you truly that stingy over a rock? Don't forget who gifted you Casterly Rock. The Queen isn't moving fast; you still have plenty of time to catch up and present the dragon egg to her."
Jon gave Alekyne a sidelong glance. The guy's fake "for your own good" act was practically nauseating.
"Could you not be so utterly shameless?"
With that, Jon turned on his heel and walked straight toward Catelyn.
Seeing Jon give him absolutely no face, Alekyne's sharp, thin face twisted like sludge.
"Hmph! So what if he's a Duke? A bastard dares to speak to me like that. I'll be a Duke soon enough too!"
Although the Lord of Brightwater Keep was historically only an Earl, House Florent had put in a lot of effort when Stannis attacked King's Landing.
Despite his reluctance, and even though Alester had offended him, Stannis had been forced to grant House Florent a Dukedom as well.
Of course, the main reason was to keep House Tyrell in check.
This was where Alekyne's boast about "becoming a Duke" came from.
All it really meant was that they no longer paid taxes to Highgarden. They hadn't gained a single inch of land or a single extra soldier. Watching Jon and Margaery walk over to Catelyn, all he could do was glare helplessly.
"Lady Catelyn."
Jon greeted her, and Margaery offered a polite curtsy beside him.
"Jon, Margaery, your union must be the will of the gods. I've never seen a better-matched couple."
Catelyn smiled at Margaery, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind the younger woman's ear.
"Mother, I want to go to Casterly Rock with Jon."
Arya tugged at Catelyn's dress, whining playfully.
Jon saw her acting like this and reached over to ruffle her hair.
"Little sister, the next time we meet, it'll probably be for your wedding."
As Jon spoke, he shot a quick glance at Lymond nearby.
Lymond was staring at Arya with stars in his eyes, looking incredibly shy.
"I'm never getting married! I'm going to go on adventures and travel all over the Free Cities!"
Arya declared with absolute certainty.
Hearing this, Lymond quickly chimed in.
"I... I want to go to the Free Cities too."
"You? In the Free Cities? Yeah, right."
Jon teased him.
"You're the Lord of Darry now. You have a responsibility to look after your people and protect your lands!"
Hearing "big brother Jon's" lecture, Lymond felt a bit deflated. However, Mond beside him shot Jon a look of profound gratitude.
After all, as Lymond grew older, it became harder for a bastard cousin like him to keep the boy in check like he used to.
Even though Stannis had legitimized him—changing his name from Mond Rivers to Mond Darry—that only made things more sensitive. For instance, would people think he was trying to steal his cousin's birthright?
Just then, Oberyn stepped up to stir the pot.
"Lymond, if you want to go to the Free Cities, then go. Honestly, I'll never understand why people spend their whole lives stuck in one place. The outside world is spectacular!"
Having found a supporter, both Lymond and Arya's eyes lit up.
"Exactly! Lymond! We'll go together when the time comes."
"Yeah! Okay!"
Thrilled by Arya's invitation, Lymond nodded frantically. Oberyn looked at Jon with a smug, self-satisfied grin, leaving Catelyn and Mond standing to the side, fighting the urge to roll their eyes.
Jon didn't bother trying to persuade Lymond anymore. Instead, he met Oberyn's gaze.
"My Prince, the reason most people stay in one place their whole lives is because they aren't princes. I've heard that to travel a hundred miles, you need to spend a whole night preparing provisions. To travel a thousand miles, you need three months of prep. And to cross the ocean to places tens of thousands of miles away, you need even more."
Jon delivered the perfect counter-argument to Oberyn before turning back to Lymond.
"Lymond, you're a major lord now. Figuring out how to run your lands better so that people from far away come to see you—that's what a lord is supposed to do."
Listening to Jon's advice, Lymond nodded, though he only half-understood.
Hearing Jon's words, Catelyn was reminded of the Tully house words: Family, Duty, Honor.
To think that Jon actually possessed a few Tully traits gave her a strange sense of pride.
Finally, Jon gifted Catelyn a set of his old armor and clothes before seeing the family off.
Although both Casterly Rock and Winterfell were to the north, unfortunately, their routes didn't align. Jon would travel by sea, while Catelyn needed to take the Kingsroad, heading first to Riverrun, then on to Winterfell.
Lymond, however, was heading the same way as them. Before leaving, he actually pulled Jon aside to ask what kind of boys Arya liked. Jon admitted he had no idea, but guessed it might be the kind with exceptional combat skills.
Lymond immediately resolved to double down on his martial arts training.
Soon, the guests departed wave after wave: Selyse representing the Iron Throne, Catelyn for Winterfell, and Oberyn for Sunspear.
Actually, Oberyn was also heading to King's Landing. Stannis had used a seat on the Small Council to reel in House Martell, so Oberyn wouldn't be returning to Sunspear just yet.
However, Oberyn clearly disliked Selyse, so he opted to take a ship and travel to King's Landing by sea instead.
Once most of the guests had cleared out, it was time for Jon and Margaery to say their goodbyes to the Tyrells.
"You have to write to me constantly once you get to Casterly Rock! It'd be best if you could come back and visit once a month... Actually, forget it, traveling by ship all the time isn't safe. I'll just come see you whenever I have free time! Oh, my precious daughter! Boohoo..."
Everyone expected Alerie to be the most reluctant to let go, but to their surprise, Mace was the one completely losing his composure.
Alerie stepped up to Jon and expressed her gratitude to him once more.
"Thank you, Jon. If it weren't for you, I likely would have been carried off by that monster. I have no doubt that you're more than capable of protecting Margaery."
Alerie spoke with absolute sincerity, leaving her three sons feeling a bit sheepish.
"Don't worry, Mother-in-law. If anyone wants to hurt Margaery, they'll have to step over my dead body first."
It was a little cheesy, but Southerners ate that kind of dramatic flair right up.
It probably wouldn't be long before bards worked the line into their songs.
"Look! Someone fell in the water!"
"Damn it, how is there someone in the water way out here?! Hurry, save them!"
Under the captain's orders, the sailors tossed down ropes and quickly hauled up two drowning victims: a man and a woman.
The man looked gaunt and haggard, wearing an eyepatch over one eye. The woman was drenched, her clothes clinging tightly to her body and leaving absolutely none of her curves to the imagination.
The "beautiful scenery" before them had the sailors practically drooling; life at sea was painfully dull, after all.
But the captain clearly sensed the crew getting riled up, so he turned and snapped at them.
"What are you staring at?! Get back to work! What are you, a bunch of pirates?!"
The captain had a broad face and a brown beard as stiff as a wire brush, giving him a very intimidating presence. Barked at like that, the sailors quickly shoved their inappropriate thoughts aside. They'd be making port soon enough anyway, and once ashore, they could find entertainment in much more decent ways.
"Thank you for the rescue, Captain."
The eyepatch-wearing man expressed his gratitude.
"Hey, it's nothing. But how did you end up in the water?"
"To tell you the truth, our ship was stolen."
"Run into pirates, did you?"
"Something like that."
The man with the eyepatch replied.
"I heard something massive went down in Highgarden. The Duke even ordered all adventurers kicked out of the Reach. You know anything about that?"
As a captain and a businessman, he needed to gather as much information as possible.
"I caught wind of it. Word is the Duchess was nearly involved in some kind of accident."
"The Duchess!"
The captain looked visibly shocked.
"Give me the details."
The man offered an apologetic smile.
"Captain, how could a nobody like me possibly know the specifics?"
"Ah, right, sorry. We're heading to Seagard. Just ride with us, and you can go your own way once we make port."
"Thank you, Captain."
The man bowed again, his manners absolutely impeccable. He even slipped a ring off his finger to offer as a token of gratitude.
Night quickly fell. Dark silhouettes climbed the ropes and boarded the merchant ship one by one. The sailor on watch only felt a sudden chill down his spine as his life drained away before he was tossed overboard.
Accompanied by a series of quiet splashes, the shadowy figures rapidly converged on the captain's quarters.
Soon, the moonlight grew dim, as if veiled in blood. The massive merchant ship had already changed hands.