Vicki’s
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(group member since Jul 17, 2015)
Vicki’s
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from the A Song of Ice and Fire - A Chapter a day group.
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Your point 2, wow, I hadn't thought of Pyat Pree having something to do with the Qartheen's attitude toward her! Good suggestion! Your point 9, that's a good point, I don't know how long it takes to travel around in this world either. I'm thinking he doesn't know Renly is dead and that Balon Greyjoy is calling himself a king too. These people have to know that a lot can happen in several months of travel.
Your point 10, I thought it was pretty badass too! I wonder what happens to the ships in later books?
1. I like that Dany goes back to wearing Dothraki clothing, seeing as Qarth offered her no help whatsoever. Why should she suck up to them any more than she already has? I especially like that Jhiqui puts a bell in her hair and says she killed the maegi in their house of dust, which is a victory in of itself. But Dany feels that was Drogon’s victory, not her own. (A thought occurred to me. What if Dany is also a warg but doesn’t know it? Perhaps a part of her is unknowingly controlling Drogon. I don’t know if you have to have the blood of the first men to be a warg or not. But if she is one, that would mean it really was her victory after all.)
2. They head to the waterfront via through a poorer district of Qarth. No one here looks at her and loves her. Why? What did she do, besides destroy a creepy warlock building? She is heading to the waterfront to escape Pyat Pree and his warlocks who want to do her harm.
3. Xaro says something I find very intriguing, but I know very little about: “It is said that the glass candles are burning in the house of Urrathon Night-walker, that have not burned in a hundred years.” *SPOILER FOR A FEAST FOR CROWS* (view spoiler) He says a lot of crazy shit is happening because of warlocks and calls it strange times. Even Xaro thinks she should leave, but even now he begs her to marry him and have his babies, lol, wtf. When she says she won’t his face goes cold and he tells her to go. Yeah, all he wants is her dragons.
4. I guess the Qartheens didn’t like that she destroyed the House of the Undying, and suddenly remembered that dragons are dangerous, ha! Even hatchlings. :) The Tourmaline Brotherhood and Ancient Guild of Spicers want her dead and it’s all Xaro can do to keep the Thirteen from joining them. Wtf people. I thought no one liked the warlocks. You’d think they’d be thanking her. Or maybe it’s only Xaro who thinks so lowly of them. I don’t know.
5. I forgot that even now Dany toys with the idea of going back to Vaes Tolorro. Something about that place seems important, to me. I want to know who lived there and why it was abandoned! But apparently going there feels wrong to Dany. Hmm...
6. Later, she asks for a ship from Xaro but he has gone sarcastic and businesslike. He says they need to trade from here on out. Of course he asks for a dragon, and in exchange he’d give her ten of the finest ships in his fleet. When Dany asks if a mother would sell her children I am shocked he so easily says yes because she can always make more. How heartless! You know he is a man when he can say something like that. I think he’s talking about slaves, anyway. I like how she asks how many ships are in all of Essos, because that’s about how much one living dragon out of three in the world is worth. Right! “It seems to me that one-third of all the ships in the world would be fair.” :) He basically calls her crazy after that. He kicks her out of his palace and demands she return his gifts. Um, that’s not how gift-giving works... She is all the more glad she didn’t marry him. Ha!
7. I like that Dany remembers all the prophesies she heard in the House of the Undying and the number three was prevalent. That’s true, it was! She talks about it with Ser Jorah, who says the Targaryen sigil is a three-headed-dragon and it represents Aegon and his sisters. He asks what a mummer’s dragon is. *SPOILER FOR A DANCE WITH DRAGONS* (view spoiler) Dany explains it is a cloth dragon mummers wave around to give the heroes something to fight. I forgot all about this conversation. They also talk of Rhaegar and what he said in her visions: “His is the song of ice and fire,” the title of the whole series! So it’s GOT to be important! She asks what that is but Jorah has never heard of that song before. What a mystery!
8. The air around the waterfront smells of...sperm? What is wrong with Dany’s senses?
9. I am proud of Aggo and Jhogo for buying food from vendors instead of stealing. :)
10. They pass the quays that belong to the Thirteen, Tourmaline Brotherhood, and Ancient Guild of Spicers, knowing she’ll get no help from any of them. Off to the far end are the ships belonging to the Summer Islands, Westeros, and the Nine Free Cities. She is happy to hear people speaking Valyrian and the Common Tongue once more. What do the people of Qarth speak?
11. It turns out none of these captains take her seriously either. :( Halfway along, Ser Jorah says they’re being followed. He shows them to her through the reflection off a piece of brass, which I thought was clever. There is a fat brown man and an old man with a staff. She wonders who they are and if they mean her harm.
12. All of a sudden a Qartheen shoves a jeweled box in her face and says it’s a gift for her. She opens it and a green scarab is inside. Just before the bug attacks her, the man apologizes: it’s a Sorrowful Man! It is chaos as everyone tries to either get out of the way or help her. The old man with the staff smacks the box out of her hand and squishes the manticore before it can poison her. He apologizes for frightening and/or hurting her, calling her “Your Grace.” :)
13. The old man introduces himself as Arstan, aka Whitebeard, and the fat man is Strong Belwas. He used to fight in the Fighting Pits in Meereen. So he was a slave, then. He boasts how he would let each man he fought cut him before he killed them. “Count the cuts and you will know how many Strong Belwas has slain.” He says he was bought by Illyrio, who sent him back with Arstan to serve him. *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler) Arstan says he grew up on the Dornish Marches and squired for a knight of Lord Swann (I wonder if Dany recognizes the name) and now he squires for Strong Belwas, lol. Arstan claims to know Ser Jorah but Jorah doesn’t remember him, though he looks familiar. Dany thinks Arstan has a great air of dignity to him and likes it.
14. There is a short discord between Belwas and her bloodriders but Dany tells them to behave and for Belwas to respect her bloodriders, or Belwas will find himself out of her service. I love how he seems confused; he’s not used to being threatened, least of all by a girl.
15. Belwas says Magister Illyrio wants her to return to Pentos with the dragons. Of course he would; he wants these dragons like everybody else, lol. Arstan says the Seven Kingdoms needs her; there are four kings in Westeros and the country bleeds. This certainly pleases Daenerys to know she is needed. :) They also say they have three ships ready to take her back to Pentos, enough for all of her little khalasar. What luck! And that number three again...
16. Dany changes the ships’ names to Vhagar, Meraxes, and Balerion. :) She wants everyone who sees their ships to know that dragons have returned. The end of this chapter makes me so happy. :) It sounds like she is finally going home! But lets not get ahead of ourselves.
1. Ser Lancel delivers the news that they’ve lost the battle. Lol, he looks like hell and scares the guests. He tells Cersei they saw Tyrion on the bridge of ships but it broke apart and he is likely dead. She doesn’t seem to care. I just love how Lancel yells at her about bringing Joffrey back in; it has all the gold cloaks dropping their weapons and running. Even he sees the folly of that. 2. Osney Kettleblack butts in and informs them there’s fighting on both sides of the river now. They don’t know who is attacking Stannis from the south but it doesn’t matter because the mob is now attacking the Red Keep. He also says it was stupid to bring Joffrey in. I like that a lot. That woman needs to know it’s her fault they are losing now.
3. Poor Sansa is sure she’s going to lose her head. She can’t see Ser Ilyn but she knows he’s close.
4. Cersei wants Joff in Maegor’s Holdfast with them. Right now he’s on the walls of the Red Keep, shooting at the mob with his crossbowmen. Lancel yells at her again to leave him be. You go, Lancel! But it’s not enough. The Kettleblacks are going to get Joffrey like the boy he is so he can hide behind his mother’s skirts. Lancel begs her to reconsider but Cersei actually slams her hand into his open wound and runs out of the room. This causes all the hens to freak out, thinking they’re doomed if the queen is running, lol.
5. I really like Sansa here when she calms the hens down with her calm voice of authority. It leads me to wonder if she really will become queen one day. She has Moon Boy distracting them again and she helps Lancel, despite calling herself a fool for helping one of them. She is a good person. :) I had forgotten how compassionate she is.
6. Cersei never returns and Ser Dontos quietly tells her to lock herself in her room; he’ll come for her when the battle’s over. Sansa is afraid Ser Ilyn will get to her first.
7. Lol, one of the guards is stealing from the castle. I don’t know why but I thought it was funny how she doesn’t try to stop him and he hurries on with his loot.
8. It’s so sad how she cries for Lady in her bedchambers. She wonders if she’ll see her again when she’s dead.
9. Suddenly the Hound is in her room. He is drunk and bleeding. When I first read this I thought he’d rape her for sure. I mean, the man has nothing else to lose, and he’s been waiting for her in her bedroom for probably several hours. He tells her he’s leaving King’s Landing. She asks why he’s still here then, and he says she promised him a song. So weird. I don’t know why he cares so much about a damn song. I forgot he said he could protect her, indicating she could escape with him when he leaves. I wish she had. :( Things might have been different.
10. In the end she sings him the hymn for the Mother. Afterwards she finds the courage to touch his cheek and feels tears, awe. He calls her “Little bird” one last time and exits the room. He’d left his Kingsguard cloak in her room and she huddles in it; it’d gotten cold.
11. Later she hears bells ringing in the city and gets up to go to the window. Dawn finally arrived and everyone is excited down below. Ser Dontos enters her room and tells her the great news that they’ve won the battle! He keeps saying Lord Renly and his host came in from Stannis’s rear and slaughtered them. They came up from the Roseroad, the rest of Renly’s army that refused to join Stannis: the Tyrells, Marbrands, Rowans, Tarlys, Redwynes, and Oakhearts. And the Lannisters, too. Seems Tywin Lannister decided to come to King’s Landing after all!
12. We know Renly is dead, but someone was wearing Renly’s armor and that person led the vanguard that did the most damage to Stannis’s men. *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler). Seems Littlefinger came through for them after all!
Your point 6, when I first read the book I thought the people fighting Stannis from behind were the mountain men. 1. It’s interesting how everything about Ser Mandon Moore is black except for his Kingsguard outfit. The man is described as having passionless dead eyes. Creepy.
2. Podrick Payne is so brave to come with Tyrion, insisting he’s his squire so of course he is coming too. :)
3. I really, really like how Tyrion shouts for “King’s Landing!,” instead of Casterly Rock, like he said he would. I think he feels this place is more his home than his actual hometown. Maybe it’s an omen that one day he’ll be king?
4. Men are cheering for them on the walls. :) If this doesn’t get Tyrion kudos points with the people of King’s Landing I don’t know what will. The enemy drops their ram and retreat. They follow them back to the Blackwater. There’s more men all along the riverfront and they head toward the Mud Gate, which is directly south of the capital. Lol, people are cheering for the Halfman. Tyrion wonders who taught them that. :)
5. Over here there’s still a lot of fire and Tyrion can see why the Hound was afraid to go on. He loses his wedge and it’s every man for himself now. Tyrion thinks he should have gone back but he continues on anyway. A few are still behind him.
6. Those poor men in the water... I respect Tyrion even more for giving quicker cleaner deaths to the ones who made it on land. At this point they’re mercy kills. That wildfire sounds right evil stuff. Men seem to run from him, men twice his size! Tyrion has the battle fever. It sounds like an adrenalin rush.
7. More men climb out of a broken galley and charge at them. There are 20 more galleys like this one still in the water, coming at them, though they are all tangled together. It’s more like a bridge than anything. An easy way for Stannis’s men to cross the river. Well that sucks!
8. Ser Balon Swann and Ser Mandon Moore help him dispatch these men before they can step foot on the north shore. The enemy tries to retreat but the bridge is unsteady and many fall into the water, including Tyrion. His horse breaks its leg so Tyrion kills it to end its suffering. :) They climb further out to kill as many men as they can. Sounds so dangerous!
9. The bridge is breaking apart and Tyrion is spun around, dizzy and confused. Stannis’s side looks to be fighting some enemy but they haven’t crossed the river yet. He has an arrow stuck in his shoulder and is getting weak. Soon the bridge will break apart completely and he’ll float into the wildfire mess.
10. Ser Mandon Moore reaches out for Tyrion but with his left hand, which is odd. I’m surprised at how quick Tyrion is able to catch the ruse, because it basically saves his life as he dodges the Kingsguard’s slash at him. The sword hits under his eyes though and Tyrion falls into the water, in a lot of pain. Traitor! Tyrion somehow manages to climb back into the boat to keep from drowning. It’s interesting Ser Mandon is described as “...a white steal shadow...” This man just doesn’t seem human. Clearly Cersei wants Tyrion dead, to make it look like the enemy did it.
11. Ser Mandon is about to stab him in the throat when someone attacks him instead. Tyrion thinks it’s Jaime to the rescue, because who else would do something like that for him? Awe... Instead, the voice sounds like Pod, his good and faithful squire! I’ll bet Tyrion’s glad he brought him along now! I really like that kid. :)
1. The queen is drinking a lot but it only makes her more beautiful, and her eyes remind Sansa of wildfire. Symbolically, that woman is the epitome of wildfire, I swear. I keep thinking about her when I read about it. 2. Everyone is doing their best not to be afraid of what’s going on outside but some of the guests start crying anyway. Cersei says a woman’s weapon is her tears, a man’s weapon is his sword, and that tells you all you need to know. Hmm.
3. Omg, Cersei tells Sansa that Jaime only feels alive in battle and in bed (that would be the testosterone); her inhibitions are definitely down! She admits she’d rather be out there, facing swords, than having to deal with these hens. She also accuses Sansa of wanting the castle to fall. :( Cersei tells Sansa soldiers always seem to prefer flesh to coin, and if the enemy wins they’re all in for a bit of rape, maybe some torture, but for the most part they’ll be spared the worst because they’re worth a lot of ransom, being highborn. Can’t say the same for the common women down in Flea Bottom. :(
4. I laughed when Cersei says she has a better chance of seducing Stannis’s horse than him. Yes, because your cunt is your greatest weapon. What a horrible woman to tell Sansa, a twelve-year-old girl, to start learning how to use it. Cersei truly is a slut.
5. Sansa wonders why she’s never heard of these Kettleblacks before they came into service with the queen. She hears nothing but good things about them now. They keep the queen updated as to what’s going on outside, frequently coming in and out.
6. Cersei tells Sansa the best way to earn your subjects’ loyalty is by making them fear you more than they fear the enemy. How horrible. I smiled when Sansa tells herself if she is ever queen she’ll make her people love her. :) I don’t think that is being naive. I think that’s wise. People tend to avoid things they’re afraid of.
7. Lol at all the food...everyone outside the walls are starving but look how much food is being wasted in here. Most of these hens are too afraid to have an appetite anyways.
8. OMG... Cersei wants the rich merchants who were not invited to go back to their houses or get shot. She even says she’d kill them all herself if she could. What a hateful woman. I just can’t stand her, lol. These people are frightened for their lives and she offers no hope whatsoever. I’m sure there is room somewhere in the castle for them. It’s not like they’re the poor, filthy people with sticky fingers, lol.
9. Drunk Cersei tells us she always hated being treated like a girl, being jealous that Jaime got a sword and she didn’t and stuff. Jaime was the heir of Casterly Rock and she was “sold” off to be ridden whenever her “owner” liked, ugh. I’m sure that’s how she honestly sees it, but I still don’t agree with her. Life is what you make it. And I truly believe that if Cersei was kinder to Robert he wouldn’t have treated her so terribly. She brought her misfortunes upon herself. Sansa points out that she got to be the fucking queen, though. With this woman she is never satisfied with anything; she always needs more. After all, she was born into the richest House in Westeros. She plays the victim a lot and blames others for any problem that befalls her. She feels entitled to everything. I’m surprised how immature she is being. I mean, I know she’s drunk, but still.
10. Cersei has no respect for Tyrion whatsoever. She calls him wretched and mocks him. What the fuck more do you want from him??? He’s trying to save your ass, you fucking moron! She is just impossible. I really hope she gets it, lol.
11. Ugh, and now Cersei is going to ruin everything by demanding Joffrey’s retreat back into the castle...
12. A great amount of the guests decide it’s better to go to the sept to pray than stay here. Yeah, they probably can feel the vibes from the queen that not all is well.
13. Next Cersei tells Sansa she knows all about her treasons in the godswood, uh oh! Sansa hopes she doesn’t know about Ser Dontos and forces herself not to look at him now. She asks what she means and is relieved to find out Cersei’s idea of “treason” is that Sansa’s praying to her father’s gods for their defeat. That woman...
14. I really don’t know why Sansa insists on continuing her terrible lie that she loves Joffrey. I don’t think a single soul believes that anymore.
15. Now Cersei tells Sansa the real reason Ser Ilyn is here. If they lose the battle, he’s going to execute them so Stannis can’t take them alive. She tells Sansa she had best pray again and for a different outcome. “The Starks will have no joy from the fall of House Lannister, I promise you.” :(
Your point 6 made me laugh. I have no idea how that conversation went, but I wouldn't be surprised. Joffrey treats it like a game. He is just a boy, after all. 1. Tyrion sees the wildfire’s work from the mainland, along with everyone else. He can’t deny it looks beautiful, a terrible beauty, like dragonfire. Not sure how he’d know what that looks like if he’s never seen a real, living dragon before. Though they destroyed Stannis’s fleet, it is only half a victory. They still have to deal with Stannis’s army on the south shore. I like that Tyrion knows Stannis is watching this too, from the other side. Stannis is more cautious like Tywin; they both prefer to command from the rear, unlike Robert, who loved to fight in the front lines.
2. I just love how Joffrey’s freaking out about his ships and doesn’t see the point of sacrificing them to trick and destroy the enemy. Tyrion says their fleet was doomed anyways; it can’t be helped.
3. Apparently not all the ships were destroyed. Eight were able to land under the city walls unscathed. Others landed on the south shore, which would be enough to transport Stannis’s men across the river once they regain their courage.
4. The ones who’d landed on the north are coming up from the charred remains of the riverfront. They’re going to have to deal with these guys quickly before their own men lose courage. Tyrion wants the Whores to take them down but Joffrey says his mother said he could command them. Gods, he wants to fling the Antler Men at Stannis, lol. Tyrion caves in and says fine, but be quick about it.
5. More men have landed on the tourney grounds and they have a ram with them. They’re heading up to the King’s Gate. The map in the back of the book shows that’s the southwest entrance. By the time Tyrion and his men reach King’s Gate they already hear the ram trying to break it down.
6. Tyrion tells the men standing guard to go out and deal with them but Sandor Clegane defies him. He’d been burned on his way back from fighting men all along the waterfront, poor Hound. One of his ears is burnt off. Half his men are killed or injured. The wildfire apparently hit some of them too. Tyrion realizes Sandor’s afraid. The only thing that man is afraid of is fire and Tyrion is making him run out in it again. He just can’t do it. I like that Tyrion tries to explain why he needs him to do this. But it’s no good; he still won’t budge. And because Sandor’s afraid, now everyone else is scared too. That is not good.
7. I forgot Jaime said Ser Mandon Moore is a dangerous man. Tyrion would have him lead the sortie but he’s not the sort of man people would follow.
8. He needs to find someone to lead them and quick; the gate is about to crash. In the end he volunteers himself. Woot! So brave! Lol, only twenty men back him up. They all look terrified, awe. More follow when Tyrion tells them he’s only half a man, “What does that make you?” He knows if he fights and they don’t they’ll be shamed; they’ll be seen as less than dwarfs. That is sad logic, but it works. Now he has twice the number behind him.
9. I really like how Tyrion tells them they won’t hear him shout for Joffrey or Casterly Rock. He’s going to kill these sons of bitches who are attacking their city! :) He heads for the gate and hopes they’re still right behind him, lol.
Your point 6, I think you're right, the three biggest ships went to protect Myrcella! I had forgotten that.Your point 11, I don't think it was a secret that Aerys Targaryen played around with wildfire a lot. Perhaps he figured there was still some sitting around from when Aerys was king?
1. Now we see Stannis’s side of the battle through Davos’s eyes. I think it’s fascinating how I can look at two opposing sides of the same battle and want both sides to win, lol. However, if I had to chose, I’d of course root for Tyrion and Sansa.
2. I like that Davos prides himself by how well his two oldest sons can keep in formation with their ships. :)
3. So Stannis is with the bulk of his army, entrusting his ship, Fury, in command of Ser Imry, his wife’s brother. Oh yes, that should go very well, when in-laws get involved. Wow...Fury holds scorpions and catapults on it...that does sound huge! On another ship called Swordfish holds the largest ram in the fleet, and Davos does not feel confident with her captain. I can’t recall why, but I’m sure Davos knows every single ship in this fleet like the back of his hand. He also has a great deal of common sense so I trust Davos knows what he’s doing. :) He’s mostly a smuggler, not naval commander material, hence why he’s not in charge of the fleet. He’s also not really looking forward to this battle, but his sons are excited. Of course they are; they’re young.
4. I forgot Davos had suggested to Ser Imry they send the swiftest ships ahead first to scout out the area but was politely turned down, probably because he’s just a lowborn ex-smuggler. What would he know about naval battle tactics? Thing is...if they had done as Davos suggested they probably would have spotted the trap!Apparently Ser Imry decided 4 to 1 was good odds of success so they could afford to smash in all at once. They even captured some fishermen who said Tyrion was building some sort of boom at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush. I wonder why Ser Imry didn’t bother to send scouts to see if it was true? He seems ineffective, just like all of Selyse’s family, it seems.
5. Once again Davos expresses common sense by not bedecking himself with full plate armor while on open water; his fellow captains and soldiers are all wearing armor. This does not sound good...
6. Also, they are going against the strong current. Everything about this battle tactic is wrong, according to Davos, causing an ominous mood throughout the chapter.
7. Ser Imry put Salladhor Saan in the rearguard, to which the Lyseni is not pleased. They apparently don’t trust him. Davos feels he is wasted in the rear. He’s a fearless pirate that would be great in the front line.
8. As they move inside the river Davos notices two new towers recently erected at the mouth and wonders why. Ser Imry might not think twice about it but to Davos it’s queer, since he’s lived in Flea Bottom most of his life. He sees shining metal under the water and can tell it’s a chain boom, but it’s not raised. He doesn’t know why.
9. Davos sees the enemy's fleet but doesn’t see the more famous ones like Lionstar, Lady Lyanna, or King Robert’s Hammer. Those should be out to repel the enemy from entering the harbor. Now he senses a trap but can’t tell what, when, or where it is.
10. Now the battle is begun. Joffrey’s trebuchets throw out burning pitch and hit a few galleys. Arrows are falling, too. Davos is not looking forward to being in range soon.
11. I like how Davos thinks back on Melisandre’s shadow-baby that took Storm’s End and rejoices in the fact that she’s not here now, and at least they’re doing their fighting in the light, with weapons, like honest men. :) Stannis had shipped her off to Dragonstone with Edric Storm. Ha! Finally, someone says it aloud: ...Lord Bryce Caron said, “Your Grace, if the sorceress is with us, afterward men will say it was her victory, not yours. They will say you owe your crown to her spells.” Exactly. The man needs to show he can do some things without her help. Otherwise, she can unmake you just as easily as she made you.
12. Ser Imry tries to disembark archers on land but Joffrey’s mounted soldiers cut them down too easily. The Hound is with them. Davos can see all along the waterfront everything has been burned and along the shallow waters are broken pieces of ships so they can’t land anywhere here. He sees the three great trebuchets, too.
13. Now Joffrey’s naval fleet have joined in. Davos’s archers kill one of their captains before the ship could do damage to their own ships. He can’t even remember the man’s name. I wouldn’t expect him to. Now Davos rams into one of Joffrey’s galleys that are harassing their front line ships and his sons ram into it too, nice.
14. And this is where things get fired up. Davos sees one of their ships catch fire, wildfire. Ser Imry had warned them ahead of time they mighth ave some wildfire but assured his captains they’d soon run out...just you wait, ser. It sounds terrible just to be caught on normal fire, but wildfire? That must really suck that not even water can quench it.
15. Davos’s men board and take over an enemy ship called the White Hart. Seems whatever Davos does is successful so far, lol.
16. And then it happens...Davos sees a floating mass of broken ship leaking out green stuff they know to be wildfire coming right at them. :( Swordfish rams right into it, excited to be finally using that huge ram of theirs, and all hell breaks loose along the river. Black Betha, White Hart, and all ships in their way catch fire and explode, including Fury. Even the Lannister ships catch fire.
17. It’s a good thing Ser Imry told Salladhor Saan’s ships to stand off...all the ships and men on fire are heading back toward the bay when that chain boom is raised, collecting them all together so no one can escape. It was actually pretty ingenious of Tyrion to do that. But I still felt bad for Davos. The end of this chapter makes it sound like he’s going to die in that clusterfuck.
Your point 2, I'll bet he named it Hearteater. I personally thought it was a stupid name, either way. 1. It is difficult for Sansa to comprehend how two gods can be one, in particular the Mother and Warrior, who do seem to be at complete opposite ends of the spectrum. If someone wants mercy and another wants war, how can both prayers be answered? That does sound like a valid conundrum.
2. I smiled at what Sansa thinks of Joff’s armor: bright, shining, and empty. :)
3. Ha! Tyrion reads between the lines so well. He knows Sansa’s not going to pray for Joff’s victory. I would imagine if Stannis captured King’s Landing he’d treat Sansa better than Cersei and Joff had!
4. Omg Joff is calling Sansa like one calls a dog. And his arrogance. Obviously this boy has never seen real war before. Ha! Sansa would kiss any number of swords before she’d kiss Joffrey. I can’t imagine this was his idea, having her do this thing for him. Someone probably whispered it in his ear. Oddly enough he seems to enjoy this gesture. More like he’s imagining himself skewering her with Hearteater.
5. Tyrion apparently ordered Joffrey to command the Three Whores instead of going straight into battle. That’s a good idea, if you don’t want your inexperienced, asshole of a king getting killed.
6. Heh, Sansa probably didn’t consciously mean it, but she basically insults Joffrey for not being a man grown like her brother Robb and for not going into the thick of battle, indicating he’s a coward. Of course he would frown and boast how he’s going to kill Robb later. If there is going to be a later for him. At least that’s all he has to say to her this time. I half expected him to have Ser Meryn beat her again.
7. Sansa visits the Great Sept and sees so many people already there, praying. Some even pray to the Stranger. Sansa figures Stannis is the Stranger and they’re praying for his mercy, should he win. I like that she lights a candle for all seven gods. The Mother’s prayer is beautiful, I think :) I like that she sings with all manner of people around her. When it comes to religion it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, everyone comes to pray. I also like that she includes Jon Snow in her prayers, though she still refers to him as her bastard brother. She seems to pray for everyone she knows, which I think proves she is a kind and caring girl, not the bitch some people make her out to be. I admit I didn’t care for her as much my first reading but my second reading I like her by far better. And I like her a lot in this scene. Hell, I don’t usually pray but when I do it’s usually for myself, lol. I don’t usually think to include others like she does. She seems to be like her mom in that they’re highly considerate women. I smiled when she includes Tyrion and the Hound. :) It’s just priceless how Sansa counters the High Septon’s prayers for Joff in her head. “Let his sword break and his shield shatter, Sansa thought coldly as she shoved out through the doors, let his courage fail him and every man desert him.” Gods, that’s too funny.
8. How stressful to be able to hear the sounds of war in the distance! I like how Sansa describes it as another sort of song, a terrible one, compared to the ones in the Sept.
9. I keep forgetting Lady Tanda has two daughters. Lady Falyse came in just yesterday with a small troop of soldiers from castle Stokeworth.
10. Poor Lollys is petrified of going anywhere, and LOL at her maid looking like she wants nothing more than to shove Lollys off the drawbridge into the dry moat. Yup, that’s Shae! I especially like how Sansa actually has a knack for gently convincing Lollys to go on with them. She seems good with children and the mentally challenged. :) I’m surprised Falyse is just as harsh with her as Shae is. The sisters must not get along well, and it’s weird how so many people are calling Lollys’s pregnancy a sickness. Maybe they do it for Lollys’s sake, to not scare her so much?
11. Doesn’t seem quite so safe knowing sellswords are guarding them instead of real knights. What happens if they lose? The swellswords would quickly become their enemy. Not safe at all. That, and the fact that somebody approved of them wearing Lannister cloaks gives a false sense of security.
12. Having singers and fiddlers there kind of reminds me of the sinking of the Titanic, lol.
13. I forgot there were a few old men and young boys there with the queen in Maegor’s Holdfast. All the nobles are sardined inside this little room. It’s really quite pitiful. They have draperies to shield them from the outside, and gods...lots of food. If they’re going to die at least it’ll be in the lap of luxury.
14. It greatly unnerves Sansa to know Ser Ilyn Payne is also there, with Ice, of course. Ugh...
15. So Ser Osfryd Kettleblack now captains Cersei’s red cloaks, since the others were all killed in Riverrun trying to free Jaime.
16. Omg...Cersei’s wearing white for once! Now she matches the Kingsguard, lol. Somehow I find that amusing. Sansa thinks white makes her look strangely innocent, because we all know how innocent Cersei is...
17. It’s really weird how Cersei wants to know if Sansa’s still in her period. Like, why the fuck do you care? She says it’s apt she is bleeding in here when there are men bleeding out there. How morbid.
18. I like that Sansa would rather the Hound guard them than Ser Ilyn. And Cersei says what I was thinking earlier. Those sellswords are fickle, and if they lose they’ll be totally useless to defend them. Actually, she hints that during a sacking there is rape and pillaging involved. I don’t like how Cersei so easily mocks Sansa about true knights. I’m sure they are out there, they’re just rare these days. She doesn’t have to be so condescending about it. Let the poor girl have a shred of hope.
I think you're right about Jaime's chapters. I'm racking my brain trying to recall what he supposedly did that was kind but is a lie. That's true, Cat's losing family members left and right. Losing her father too would be bad timing... but it's inevitable. He won't make it much longer.
I think so many of us hate Jaime for pushing Bran out the window because we have a close connection to the Starks and as of now still have little insight into what he's thinking. I'm so glad George Martin shows us Jaime's POV in later books! He is such a dynamic character!
Your point 4, *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A CLASH OF KINGS* (view spoiler) Your point 7, I didn't see where Reek killed Theon's men who went with them to the mill. Perhaps I missed it somewhere.
Your point 8, *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)
1. Theon is having a Rodion Raskolnikov moment from Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, suffering for killing innocent lives. He wakes from a nightmare and sees Reek in his bedchambers, lol, and rudely demands to know why he is here. Reek politely informs Theon his sister has finally arrived in Winterfell, like he told him to do should she arrive.
2. The word mercy is waved around a lot in the first few pages to this chapter. Interesting all his dreams are cold. Makes sense, you’re in Winterfell, the heart of the North, land of the cold! One of his dreams he is back at the mill again, dressing the boys’ corpses. I remember the first time I read this I wondered what they are doing but now it comes to me clearly. The scene is very grim. The poor boys! Interesting how in another dream he dreams the miller’s wife chews out his throat and manhood *SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler) In real life they killed her too, who cried out to Theon for mercy. :(
3. I laughed when Theon dresses all prettily only to remember his sister takes more stock in blades than beauty and he takes it all off, cursing. Theon is overly concerned about looking regal. :)
4. The crown sounds very familiar, a ring of iron with black diamonds and gold nuggets...but I can’t quite place it. It can’t be the original Stark crown, because that had bronze in it. It is described as misshapen and ugly. He wears this crown because Mikken, their blacksmith, is dead so he obviously can’t fashion him a new crown. I wonder where this one came from?
5. So the inhabitants at Winterfell killed Gelmarr for killing their princes, and Aggar and Rednose, too. Theon has every right to feel paranoid. They all want him dead.
6. In the book it is Farlen the kennelmaster who is beheaded by Theon, reminding him that Lord Eddard Stark did his own killings, so Theon had to do it or else look weak. He makes a botch of it, needing to hack at him four times, so gruesome! He and Farlen had been somewhat friends, too, always talking about hounds and hunting. So sad. :(
7. Even Theon’s guards quietly urge him to leave this place. They cannot hope to hold Winterfell with so many hateful subjects walking the castle halls with them.
8. It’s pretty pathetic how Theon blames Asha for his problems. He thinks she delayed coming on purpose, hoping he’ll die first so she can take Winterfell for herself. Psh... It also doesn’t help that he finds her sitting in the Direwolf seat of House Stark at the Great Hall.
9. Asha only brought 20 men with her, not her whole army. This isn’t what Theon commanded of her. She mocks him, calling him a great ruler and leader, asking which one gave him the better fight, the cripple or the babe, heh. Theon is humiliated.
10. Poor Maester Luwin was the only one who dared come close to the two dead bodies hanging over the castle. He wanted to take the bodies down to the crypts so they can be with the rest of their family but Theon refused. He burned the bodies but kept the heads on the wall. Theon took Bran’s half-melted silver brooch afterwards. He still has it to this day. I wonder why? Is it to punish himself for what he’s done?
11. Asha says she’s only giving Theon ten men of the 20 she brought if he stays. Apparently Dagmar Cleftjaw lost the battle at Torrhen’s Square. I’m pretty sure Theon wasn’t originally expecting him to win, but here he seems disappointed. Ser Rodrik defeated him when he came to help the Tallharts. Dagmar and a few others escaped and are heading to the Stony Shore. Theon hates not knowing as much as she knows. He is angry and says the north gathers an army to overthrow him and she only brings him ten men. He’d commanded her to give him more than that and I like how Asha says he should have thought of that before he took Winterfell. Right! She says if he had razed the castle and took the little lords back to Pyke as hostages they might have won the war, but he made a botch of it. Deepwood Motte is close to the sea but Winterfell is very far away from any major body of water; Krakens are at their strongest with their longbows, not horses. And now he’s gone and made enemies all around him when he killed the boys. Seems Asha is the voice of reason and Theon is being stubborn because he’s so arrogant to take advise from anybody.
12. I hadn’t thought of Bran and Rickon’s deaths as payment for Ned Stark killing their brothers. Theon knows his father would approve of that blood payment, at least.
13. Asha begs Theon to come back to Deepwood Motte with her, for the sake of their mother. I suspect a small part of her cares for her little brother, too. Of course he refuses. At least she tried.
14. As he watches her leave with her ten men as promised, Theon only now wonders why he didn’t take her on her offer, psh. Because he knows he doomed himself! Is your pride really bigger than your common sense? I guess so.
15. Ha! Reek has an annoying way of showing up out of nowhere. Theon wishes he had killed Reek as well for knowing what he’d done. And he can read and write, which is bad if he ever wanted to write someone a letter about it. At first reading I wondered why it mattered, because everyone knows Bran and Rickon are dead, but now I know why. Reek offers to gather an army of at least 200 to help guard Winterfell for him. Reek wants Palla, Farlen’s daughter who’d been raped by two of Theon’s men, as a reward and Theon agrees to it, ugh... That poor girl... Reek requires some silver for this endeavor and exits that same day. Theon must be getting desperate to trust a man he barely trusted a moment ago!
16. That night Theon has another nightmare. This one’s about the feast Ned Stark held for King Robert in Winterfell. Everyone was dead. Some were still moving, though, shit that sounds like a premonition to the Others at Winterfell! He also dreams of the Starks who died before, like Lyanna, Brandon, and Lord Rickard Stark. It’s really creepy with the shadows along the walls and how Robb Stark and Grey Wind enter with half a hundred savage wounds on both of their bodies. Really seems like a premonition!
17. Theon wakes screaming and Maester Luwin gives him a drink to help him sleep. I like how Theon tells him it was just a dream, it meant nothing, and Luwin solemnly replies, “Nothing.” The poor old man must be thinking of Bran and Jojen’s dreams now. Theon gets rid of the wine, thinking the maester wants him dead. Possibly, but I doubt it somehow. Luwin must be feeling like shit but I just don’t think he would ever poison anyone to death.
18. That night he ravages Kyra so badly he gives her bruises and she’s sobbing, damn! And then he kicks her out. What an asshole! That still doesn’t calm him.
19. I like the imagery of the morning, how Theon can see the top of the godswood, the red weirwood leaves in contrast to all the greenery around it. Sounds beautiful! Theon reminds himself it’s Stark’s tree and Stark’s castle. Everything here belongs to the Starks, and nothing can ever change that. He is a Greyjoy and realizes he should have gone with Asha. It’s not too late! He could run now and maybe catch up. I don’t understand why he doesn’t go if he thinks he should have. Maybe he thinks it’s too late. More likely his pride holds him back still.
20. The last paragraph to this chapter finally reveals the truth; they killed the miller’s boys, who were of the same ages of Bran and Rickon. They dressed, flayed, and tarred them so they would look like the Stark boys. This means they never found Bran and Rickon, yay! I remember feeling so happy when I read this the first time, a bitter happiness because it’s still sad how two innocent boys were killed in their stead. I wonder where Theon thinks the real lords are now? Wouldn’t it fuck up his scheme if they suddenly showed up with the enemy? Clearly he didn’t think this one through, he never does.
Oh it's true she makes a pretty good evil character, and I like her for that (more like I like George Martin for making me hate a character so much). And I think you're right; Robert probably wouldn't humiliate her so much if she was kinder to him. The door swings both ways. They had a toxic relationship. :)
Catelyn’s last chapter for A Clash of Kings!Your point 8, I don't remember how Glover survived either. You'd think Aerys would never allow anyone to survive that incident. Or maybe he wanted one survivor to go home and tell the north what happened?
Your point 10, the only person I can think of who loves him is Cersei, but I still don't understand what kindness she thinks he did that he didn't do. A mystery!
1. Everyone in Riverrun celebrates Robb and Edmure’s victories except for Catelyn and Brienne. Gods, she now has to mourn the loss of her two youngest sons. That’s got to be rough! I like how Brienne is described as eating so methodically like it’s another one of her chores. Seems she’s still mourning Renly. Misery loves company, they say. At least Cat realizes she’s becoming a sour puss.
2. Oh, Cat hasn’t told anyone yet. No wonder no one else seems upset. Cat tells Brienne what the letter from Ser Rodrik said. Theon Greyjoy, her ward, killed her two boys. Brienne is horrified. She tells Cat at least they’re with the gods now but Cat seems to doubt the wisdom of the gods, for why would they take those innocent boys away from her? Cat pauses when she talks about the direwolves, though. It’s weird they fought so fiercely for them before...so why not now? She figures Greyjoy must’ve killed them too, the only logical explanation. She was so sure they’d be safe with those wolves of theirs.
3. Brienne doesn’t seem to know Cat has two daughters as well. She goes into detail describing them which made me smile. Then Cat says she thinks Arya must be dead too, there’s no word from the capital about her. Brienne says the queen might take pity on Cat for the news of her boys’ death, but that’s a fat chance. I like that Cat tells her she has a sweet innocence about her. :) Robb will avenge his brothers, and so now he will have to fight both Lannisters AND Greyjoys...
4. Cat tells Brienne she sent Jaime wine, meaning they’re going to have a little talk with him tonight. This should be fun.
5. Cat hears men outside cheering for the young lord Tully and is angry because Hoster Tully is still their lord, not Edmure, and he’s not dead yet! She goes to visit her dad who is sleeping again. She already lost her husband and two sons, now she will soon be losing her father. I think that’s different, not to sound unsympathetic, but Hoster is old; he lived a long life. For her to mourn her father over her husband and now sons seems a bit odd to me. You’d think she had enough time to accept his pending death. His time is coming soon. Or maybe she just really needs one last conversation with her father. She tells him she wants her girls back and for Robb to stop fighting and start a family. She wants Bran and Rickon back...so sad.
6. Brienne and Catelyn go down to the dungeons but the gaoler stops them, saying Lord Edmure will not permit anyon to see Jaime without his written permission. Cat asks is Hoster Tully dead and no one told her? The gaoler lets her in after that, ha.
7. Jaime didn’t even touch the wine. Yeah, he’s not that stupid. He hasn’t seen light in a long time and her lantern hurts his eyes. He’s grown a beard because he isn’t allowed a razor. Makes sense. Even though he looks like shit he’s still beautiful. Ha! He seems to think the wine was poisoned, being so sudden and all. That’s Jaime Lanniser, as sarcastic as ever. I still hate him a lot at this point in the series, but I can’t deny he has his funny moments.
8. Jaime actually tells her to slip out of her clothes and he’ll take her if she wants, omg, lol. I’m sure he’s only joking. He’d sooner kill her before he does that. He also doesn’t sound like a god-fearing man. Jaime just doesn’t really care about anything.
9. When she goes to leave, defeated, he tells her he’ll answer her questions truthfully if she’ll answer his questions the same. Seems fair. The first question she asks is if he’s Joffrey’s true father. He admits it, and the other two as well. She tells him his family still lives. She asks how Bran fell and he yet again is honest. He really has nothing to lose. But when she accuses him of sending an assassin to finish Bran off he denies it on his honor as a Lannister. She kicks his poop bucket at him, saying that’s what a Lannister’s honor is worth. The poor guy doesn’t want to soak in his own shit so he scoots as far away from it as his chains will allow. He admits his honor is shit but he swears he would not have hired someone else to do his killing for him, and neither are Cersei or Tyrion guilty. Well that clears that part of the mystery up. He asks about the dagger. She explains Tyrion won it from Petyr. Jaime says the same as Tyrion at the Vale, and they had no way of contacting each other so it must be true. He asks if Robert’s brothers are fighting and she says yes. Stannis killed Renly through some black magic she doesn’t understand and marches on King’s Landing. Jaime had liked Renly and wants to know which side the Tyrells took. Cat doesn’t know.
10. So Robb is 16 now. Jon should be turning 16 soon. That is the age boys become men in this medieval fantasy world. Children grow up fast!
11. Other things they discuss is that Robb has won every battle he’s fought but still has yet to fight Tywin. Robb will never hand Jaime over for anything. Lord Rickard Karstark in particular wants to see him dead for killing two of his sons. Jaime says he was aiming for Robb but the two Karstarks bravely defended her son, so it was an honorable death.
12. I really like the part where Jaime says there’s so many vows to keep track of that it starts to become impossible to honor them all without breaking one. A very valid point. He talks about King Aerys, who made him part of his Kingsguard. Seems proud of killing him. Cat is disgusted. Killing your king is a serious offense.
13. Jaime then explains how Aerys killed Ned’s father and older brother. It is very sick and twisted. They had gone to plead for getting Lyanna back and challenge Rhaegar to a duel. It was actually Brandon’s hot-headed, arrogant idea. I forgot there were others who rode with them and also died without a trial. I also forgot it was pyromancers who roasted Lord Rickard Stark; I just thought it was a really big bonfire. Somehow that makes it worse. Brandon strangled himself to death trying to free himself from some Tyrioshi contraption to help his father out. All this while young Jaime watched and tried to go to his happy place. Afterward the White Bull himself told Jaime he is expected to guard the king, not judge him, and he goes down in history as the brave, loyal knight. Jaime never claims he killed Aerys to avenge the Starks, but to end Aerys’s tyranny, yet everyone hates him for it, true! To me, he seems a sort of anti-hero. All his good deeds are seen as evil but he still does what is morally right. Even pushing Bran out the window was his way of trying to protect the one he loves, however misplaced it may be.
14. This is where Jaime pushes the envelop, bringing up Ned’s honor. He says he thinks Ned loved Robert more than his own father and brother, and even more than Cat, because he never betrayed Robert. Jaime calls Cat a slut, more or less, and says he’s always been faithful to his Cersei. But even the honorable Ned Stark can’t say the same thing. Ouch! I both respect and hate Jaime for the cold hard honest truth. He did warn her she won’t like the truth.
15. I find it ironic how Jaime talks about Jon Snow and the Kingsguard in the same sentence. I wonder if it’s an omen? “Snow, that was the one. Such a white name...like the pretty cloaks they give us in the Kingsguard when we swear our pretty oaths.” I don’t know why but I like it.
16. Cat calls for Brienne and her tone is deadly as she calls for her sword. It really makes you think she’s going to kill the Kingslayer after all, seeing as getting him drunk seems to have backfired on her. It made him out to sound even more repulsive. What a cliffhanger!
Your point 1, I agree, I think everything happens for a reason, and for Bran this had to happen. Your point 9, I think it's also that Cersei doesn't want Jaime to hate her, because despite what she said about love being poison she really does love Jaime.
Your point 12, I'm pretty sure he expected people to follow him into Chataya's establishment, but no one would follow him into the turret, lol. That's why he uses that hidden door in the wardrobe to get to Shae. This is so his stalkers would assume he's been inside the turret the whole time with Alayaya and not in the manse with Shae. I thought it was smart, and very brave of Alayaya to go along with it even after being beaten up.
1. Interesting Tyrion doesn’t want to upset Cersei any more than he already has for being Hand of the King. I would think he wouldn’t care.
2. Varys shows Tyrion a letter from the north, explaining the two younger Stark boys are dead. Tyrion and Varys are sad to hear of it. I’m surprised Tyrion doesn’t think more on the matter of the Starks getting truly shit on than he does in this chapter. I really like how Tyrion wants badly to see Cersei’s response to this letter, though! I’ll bet she’ll be relieved and try to hide it.
3. Lol, Cersei’s wearing green...again! Is that all she owns in her wardrobe?
4. Cersei doesn’t seem very pleased, especially not when Tyrion says Catelyn might think she had something to do with it. Cersei fears for Jaime’s life over this, which makes sense. But they still have Sansa, and Tyrion reminds her to take good care of her.
5. Lol, Tyrion is careful only to eat what she eats, just in case she means to poison him. It’s not like he’s never done the same thing to her, after all. Apparently the news about the Stark boys has soured her mood. I’m surprised. You’d think she’d be happy, unless she really is scared Robb will blame her for it and kill Jaime in retribution.
6. Lol, Cersei honestly doesn’t know what the Lannisters ever did to these Antler Men. Well you started these wars when you killed their king! She doesn’t seem to trust anyone. Perhaps she’s smart not to, but it’s hard when you’ve also dirtied your hands up a bit and can’t be trustworthy material yourself. Interesting Cersei says for years she trusted Varys when she was at court in the beginning. Varys has talent for making people like him. Hell, I like him! Though perhaps I shouldn’t so much.
7. One good thing Joffrey is smart about (more likely he’s blood thirsty and stupid) is he wants to be in the thick of battle. His people need to see their king sharing their peril rather than one who hides behind his mother’s skirts. This upsets Cersei. It makes sense, she’s a mother who doesn’t want her baby getting hurt. It’s true, though; he’s only 13. But he acts like a five-year-old.
8. Wtf? Cersei thinks Varys is dangerous because he doesn’t have a cock?! I would never have come to that conclusion, only Cersei, lol. But I guess she does have a point. It’s disgusting, the part where she thrusts her breasts in Tyrion’s face. I mean, wtf...
9. Why does it always seem something bad happens when two people are enjoying a nice dinner together in private? Cersei says she has his whore. My hat is off to Tyrion, who plays it off like it’s no big deal when really he’s frightened for Shae.
10. Gods, Cersei is paranoid as shit. She thinks Tyrion is out to destroy her family. The only reason she doesn’t kill him outright is because Jaime would never forgive her. So instead she plans to keep his whore her hostage. If he does one thing to hurt her children she’ll torture the poor girl to death. Even Tyrion is shocked Cersei believes he’d want to kill her children.
11. For proof Cersei didn’t already kill the girl, she shows her to Tyrion, who is relieved it’s not Shae but Alayaya instead, beaten and bound by the Kettleblack brothers. They assumed Alayaya is his whore, from Chataya’s turret. Tyrion wants to laugh at his sister and make her feel like an idiot but that will give the game away. Cersei plans to give her back to him when he gives Tommen back after the battle. Like he wasn’t going to do that anyway... I just can’t with her.
12. I am impressed Tyrion finds the words to say the sword swings both ways. If the whore gets mistreated in any way, so will Tommen. She already believes he’s a monster, may as well play the part. It’s sad, but I understand his reasoning. Threats is the language Cersei understands best. Apparently Cersei hadn’t expected that, though, ha!
13. I forgot Cersei tries to hit him but he catches her instead, twisting her arm till it hurts, and reminds her how he said she’d never hit him again. Good for him.
14. He unbinds Alayaya and they pretend they are lovers. It’s sad how she leaves a bloody kiss on his forehead. :( The poor girl didn’t deserve any of this, this game between Tyrion and his psychotic sister. She is strong for not telling them the truth! I don’t know if that was part of her job description, lol.
15. Even though it’s not Shae, Tyrion is still raving pissed that this innocent girl got hurt and he tells Cersei off, basically. That he never liked her much but because she is his sister he’d never have hurt her. But now this ends all that. Well she deserves it! He promises he will find a way to hurt her for this. And I love what he says here: “A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you’ll know the debt is paid.” You go, Tyrion! It is also pretty dangerous to say that to your queen, though...
16. I like how Cersei started out being the one in control of the situation but Tyrion takes and turns it around on her! She is furious and yells at him to leave. She did this to herself. He was on her side, too! That’s the ironic part. I hope Cersei suffers. *SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler)
17. As soon as Tyrion enters his bedchambers Shae is already there, naked and in a seductive pose, with his Hand necklace wrapped around her breasts, ugh. Tyrion hadn’t expected her to be here. Urgh, Shae calls poor Lollys a great cow. Well you’d be stressed out too if you were gang-raped by half a hundred men and became pregnant because of it! I hate Shae a lot here. The girl says all they did to Lollys was fuck her. Shae doesn’t understand. Fucking and raping are two very different things. That was highly offensive to me. This shows Shae has no empathy for others.
18. So Varys takes her here, hooded, so she can’t see where the tunnels lead. That’s smart of him. They don’t need people off the streets finding their way around in the Red Keep. Tyrion tries to figure out where the hidden door is, but all Shae wants to do is fuck. Dumb ass whore.
19. She tries to get him going but he’s just not in the mood tonight. She is too stupid to realize he’s clearly upset about something. Some things are more important than sex. Poor Tyrion realizes Cersei’s right, he does think with his cock, and it spoils the mood for him.
20. I forgot Tyrion never tells her what happened to Alayaya. Not in this chapter, anyway. That would explain her naivety, then. She didn’t know how close she came to being the one who was beaten bloody and bound up like a pig. I really wish it was her at this point. Get her to see sense, maybe.
Your point 1, I did think it was interesting how Qhorin seems to believe Mance would take Jon in. But I assumed Qhorin knew Mance well, since they were friends so I didn't question it. Your point 2, wtf? Of course they're humans!
1. Squire Dalbridge is said to have the keenest eyes in the Night’s Watch, and he can use the bow like it’s no one’s business. I don’t remember hearing about him earlier. I wonder if he’s one of the hundred that came from the Shadow Tower.
2. Ghost occasionally perks his ears and looks behind them. Jon thinks Ghost hears shadowcats but it’s probably wildlings. They would attack living men!
3. Interesting Qhorin says shadows are friends to men in black. Based off earlier chapters I have a rotten opinion of shadows now.
4. I like that it is Jon who first speaks to Qhorin about the girl and not Qhorin. I also like that Qhorin reminds him he’s no lord.
5. So Qhorin and some of the others were friends of Mance Rayder. He says Mance loved wildling music, and their women, lol, sounds like he’s a raper or something. Mance supposedly deserted them for a girl. I forgot Mance was wildling born, taken as a child when some raiders were killed. Leaving the Shadow Tower to him was like going home. He says he was their best ranger, and only fools like Thoren Smallwood despise wildlings. I find that interesting for him to say, like he doesn’t hate wildlings himself yet he kills them all the time. Qhorin says wildlings are just as brave as they are, just as strong, quick, and clever, but they have no discipline. *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler) Qhorin says they never learned how to obey. Well you can’t exactly fault them on that. It’s not like they had a chance to learn.
6. Jon admits he let the girl go. Qhorin doesn’t seem surprised. Jon says his father didn’t believe in using headsmen to execute people. He did it himself. But when Jon looked into her eyes he didn’t see any evil there, though he knew she is the enemy. Qhorin says the other two were the same and he killed them, but Jon says that’s different. They were armed and would have blown the horn. But the girl was, and is still, unarmed...for now, anyway!
7. I like how Qhorin corrects Jon, saying he didn’t command Jon to kill her; he told him to do what needed to be done. Now he knows what kind of a man Jon Snow is. :) Qhorin specifically chose his men according to what he needed: Stonesnake to scale a mountain, Squire Dalbridge to shoot an enemy from afar, and Ebben to make a man give up his secrets. I wonder what his practical purpose for Jon is?
8. Instead of spooning again, Ghost runs off to hunt. Jon hopes he’s not going to try to take down a shadowcat; even for a direwolf that’s dangerous. Shadowcats must be pretty vicious then if they can take down a fucking direwolf!
9. Jon dreams of direwolves tonight. He probably gets these dreams every night like Bran does, same as Arya. Robb and Rickon as well. Poor Sansa lost her direwolf. :( Jon sees five when there should be six, and they’re all scattered. Interesting he feels a deep ache of incompleteness. Awe. He misses his pack!
10. I absolutely love the part in his dream where he can hear Bran speaking through to him, through the weirwood. Interesting Jon was looking for Summer and not Bran the boy. The tree is actually growing! The face on the tree is his brother’s. He has three eyes. Interesting through the tree Jon can smell the boy, the wolf, warm earth and stone and death. The death scares him. I think he can smell where Bran is! Bran tells him not to be afraid. He likes it in the dark (stark contrast from Melisandre!), no one can see you in the dark but you can see them, but only if you open your eyes. *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A CLASH OF KINGS* (view spoiler) The tree touches Jon and suddenly he can see exactly where Ghost is. That’s pretty cool, I think! Ghost is looking down into a valley full of wildlings. They’re in the thousands, but it’s not really an army, nor a village. It’s everyone come together. He even sees giants and mammoths for the first time!
11. Suddenly Ghost is attacked by a great winged eagle and Jon wakes, screaming for Ghost, waking the party. Ebben tells him to shut up, does he want the wildlings to hear them? Jon tries to calm down but he still feels the pain and tells himself it was only a dream. But Qhorin and Stonesnake take his dream seriously. Now we know why Qhorin wanted him! It seems Jon’s also a warg, a shape-changer, and I’ll bet he means to use it to his advantage. Ghost found the wildling encampment for them.
12. Jon feels like a fool to talk about his dream but they take it seriously, no one laughs at him. I like this: “Dead men walk and the trees have eyes again. Why should we balk at wargs and giants?” Very true!
13. I laughed when Squire Dalbridge asks if his dreams will come true too and says Jon can keep his mammoths, he wants his women.
14. Jon is frightened of the idea of his dreams coming true. He’s worried for Ghost, remembering the pain, and still he hasn’t returned. They set out again, taking all day. They spot an eagle far off. The men don’t like how the bird can see them but it’s too far away and they’ll never shoot it down from here, so they press on.
15. Finally Jon spots Ghost who was hiding between two boulders, injured, but not dead. They all help heal Ghost, I like that. :) It’s strange how even now the direwolf makes no sound, though he’s not happy with the alcohol on his wounds. He’ll be okay, no real harm done.
16. Qhorin tells them to go back, the eagle spotted them. The others seem confused too but don’t argue. It’s not said, but Qhorin hints the eagle is a warg too. A wildling can see them.
17. They stop where the two dead wildlings landed and Qhorin tells Dalbridge to guard them from as many wildlings as possible. Dalbridge tells them to take care of his horse, indicating he doesn’t intend to come back. That’s brave! In the morning they see the eagle and hear the horn blow and know they’re coming for them. I feel so bad for Jon’s companions! Ygritte said Mance would spare him but not the others. Even if Jon killed Ygritte the eagle would still have spotted them, though. Fucking eagle. *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler)
Your point 1, that is true, I'm not sure if Stannis even knows about them!Your point 10, I laughed when you said Cersei wouldn't be so humiliated if she wasn't such a bitch. That's so true, though!
1. So they’re burning everything outside the city walls like Tyrion commanded and the smoke is everywhere. But Ser Dontos says Stannis wants to smoke out Tyrion’s savages in the kingswood. Dontos says he hears all sorts of things as a fool than when he was a knight. He says Varys pays for information and Dontos says he thinks Moon Boy is one of Varys’s birds. Moon Boy being a fool in the king’s court. Sansa thinks he’s just being drunk again.
2. Poor Sansa wants Baelor’s Sept burned; it reminds her of her father’s murder. Dontos shushes her, saying the gods will hear, but Sansa says the gods have never heard her. :( Dontos counters that by saying they brought him to her. Urg... She’s being impatient. She asks what good he’s done so far? She’s still here.
3. Dontos has a good friend who will hire a swift ship to take them away to safety, but only when the time is right. *SPOILER FOR A STORM OF SWORDS* (view spoiler) She doesn’t understand why they can’t go now but Dontos explains with the battle coming to King’s Landing the city is on lockdown and gates will be even more heavily guarded. Even the river’s closed off. They have to wait.
4. To the south Stannis’s vanguard has already made camp in sight of the city. How stressful to see 5,000 men outside your door! That’s almost as many gold cloaks they have, and that’s not even all of Stannis’s army. Stannis has ten times as many men as Joffrey has.
5. Dontos’s friend is not currently in the city, but when he returns he’ll have their ship and reminds her to be patient.
6. Sansa still has nightmares of what happened the day Myrcella left King’s Landing. :(
7. Apparently when the Lannisters sacked King’s Landing in the last days of Aerys, they looted and raped innocents, omg, and killed people even though they opened their gates. Tywin is such an asshole.
8. I laughed when Sansa says, “If you thanked him for making you a fool, he’d make you a knight again.” Dontos thinks it is funny too and calls her clever, but Sansa says Joff and Cersei call her stupid. I just can’t with that family... However, I suppose it makes sense to let them think she’s stupid. If they thought she was smart she’d be in a lot more danger.
9. I think it’s creepy Dontos wants a kiss now from his Jonquil and Sansa kisses him on the cheek instead of his wet lips. Wtf people... Leave the young girl alone!
10. It’s good that Sansa has more freedom of the castle, because everyone’s too busy preparing for the siege to worry about her. She wanders, not sure where she wants to go, and is overcome with a stabbing pain in her belly and loses balance, but the Hound catches her. That man always seems to come to her rescue out of nowhere!
11. Sandor seems sure he scares her but Sansa says that’s not it -- he just startled her -- even though she has a hard time looking him in the face. She forces herself to look at him now, out of courtesy. In her opinion, it’s not his burned skin that scares her so much as his hateful eyes. She apologizes for not coming to him sooner to thank him for saving her from the mob. She thanks him now and calls him brave. Brave’s not the word he would describe himself, though. He says he’s a dog and loves chasing rats; that’s not bravery. She asks if he likes scaring people and he says no; he likes killing people. He doesn’t like the look on her face so he tells her she can’t deny Lord Eddard Stark ever killed people. Sansa says he did, but he never liked it, which is true, but Sandor doesn’t believe her. He thinks all men enjoy killing; it’s the sweetest thing there is. Suddenly he is very cruel, mocking her father’s death. He wants her to think he’s an ass and it’s working. He bashes down knights as well. Fancy killers, that’s all. He says as long as he has his sword there’s no man he fears. Sansa thinks he fears his brother, not saying it aloud. I like how she describes him: “He is a dog, just as he says. A half-wild, mean-tempered dog that bites any hand that tries to pet him, and yet will savage any man who tries to hurt his masters.”
12. Sandor says only cowards fight with fire. Of course he’d say that. He obviously doesn’t believe in the gods either, asking why they would make creatures like the Imp or Lollys. He says there are no true knights, no more than there are gods. He’s a firm believer in the survival of the fittest. He seems especially brutish with her, saying he’s sick of seeing her, and tells her to go away. I wonder what pissed in his soup today?
13. I like that Sansa still holds onto the belief that the gods are real and there are still true knights out there. “All the stories can’t be lies.” It is good to have faith in something, especially at a time when you really need it.
14. She has hellish nightmares, feeling like the mob keeps stabbing her in the belly, and wakes to find she started her first period. Yeah, I remember feeling all cranky and achy too, not fun. For a girl in our modern era it’s just an annoyance, but I can only imagine how much pressure Sansa must be feeling, knowing now she can be married off to Joffrey if the queen commands it. How horrible and alone she must be feeling! At a time like this a girl needs her mother.
15. How Sansa handles this is over the top and pitiful. She stabs her bed and burns it, lol. Her maids tell on her, though, of course; it’s their job. This part made me sad: “It was as if her own body had betrayed her to Joffrey, unfurling a banner of Lannister crimson for all the world to see.” :(
16. They take her to the queen, of course. This scene is one of the few moments I actually like Cersei. Lol, “Sansa had never felt less flowery.” And why would she think it’d be magical? I laughed when Cersei says, “Wait until you birth a child, Sansa.” Cersei even admits she understands why Sansa is afraid of Joffrey. He has always been difficult. Cersei sheds some light on why Joff is cruel to her: he can’t punish Arya for shaming him at the Trident so he punishes the sister instead. And I like that Cersei says Sansa’s stronger than she seems. I also like what she says here, “You may never love the king, but you’ll love his children.”
17. When Sansa repeats how much she loves Joffrey Cersei sighs and says she’ll need to learn some new lies, and quickly. She’s not fooling anyone.
18. Interesting Joff would cry whenever Robert picked him up. Yeah, because he can sense that’s not his dad, and his mother hates this man! All of his bastards always liked when he held them. :) She says Robert always went where there’s cheers and smiles for him, so he was never around his wife and “trueborn” children. Makes sense. I wonder if Myrcella and Tommen were afraid of Robert. Cersei says Tyrion “has the same disease.” Interesting. He wants to be loved also.
19. The last paragraph to this chapter spoils my fragile opinion of her when Cersei once again calls Sansa stupid and tells her love is poison. I think only selfish people believe that, because love has a way of making you care less for yourself and more for the welfare of others. If you are a selfish person and love comes along, destroying everything you built up for yourself, of course you would think love is poison. Cersei is a selfish bitch. What do you expect; she’s her father’s daughter. That’s harsh, I know. But it irks me when people say love is bad. Sort of reminds me of the musical Moulin Rouge.
I can access them from the links you just sent, thank you. I see them now!!! That was really weird...
Erm, I can't seem to find Chapters 52 and 53 on here. :(
I'm glad it's not just me, about Ygritte. I think they wanted to overplay her character quite a bit in the show. Milk her for all she's got. In the book series, though, her character isn't nearly as snarky, or important, really. All she was good for was getting Jon in with the wildlings so he could learn about them, and so he can learn what it means to know a woman, and what the men in the Night's Watch are giving up. That's all. They weren't really in love with each other. At best, it was a crush.
1. Jon and the others see a fire burning way up high in the mountains. Wildlings are keeping watch in the Skirling Pass, but one of Qhorin’s men says if Mance knew they’d lit a fire he’d flay their hides. Qhorin says fire is life up here, but it can also mean death. They themselves do not light any fires for anything. Sounds miserable. When they cuddle together for warmth at night it reminds Jon of the times he’d sleep with his brothers in Winterfell. Sweet. :)2. Qhorin wants to make sure they do not blow their horn, so they have to advance on them without being seen. The mountains here are very steep so only two men should climb it at a time. They choose their two best climbers: the Stonesnake and Jon Snow. Ghost will stay below; his white fur will be easy to spot at night.
3. They left their mail behind as they climb at night. Too heavy, like to make noise.
4. It’s crazy how good Stonesnake is at climbing and being able to see at night! The Frostfang Mountains are indeed inhospitable. Much of the pass never gets to see the sun, either! But though it’s treacherous climbing, Jon also thinks it’s beautiful.
5. I like that Stonesnake told Jon the mountain is his mother, “Cling to her, press your face up against her teats, and she won’t drop you.” :) I also like how Jon joked, saying he always wondered who his mother was but never thought to find her in the Frostfangs. Cute.
6. When they climb up vertically I’m surprised they would take their gloves off for this. I wonder why? At some point they need to make holes into the stone. Jon worries the wildlings will hear the hammering, but Stonesnake knows what he’s doing. Oh I see, the gloves would slip, so they deal with the burning frost on their skin as they climb. Sounds like a great way to get frostbite. At one point a fingernail breaks and Jon leaves bloody marks wherever he climbs, hoping in the end he still has all ten fingers. Gah, that sounds horrifying!
7. I really like how Jon thinks of Bran at a time like this, how Bran used to love to climb. Jon wishes he had a tenth part of his courage. I think it’s more to do with being young and thinking you’re invincible, though. :)
8. They finally reach the top and crawl on their bellies until they can look down into the depression of where the wildlings are camped. There are actually three, not two, but one’s asleep. I just realized, this will be Jon’s first man kill, and he is nervous. He feels weird picking the man by the fire as the one he’s going to kill and wonders if this was how Robb felt before going into battle.
9. Stonesnake is fast and makes quick dispatch of the one with the horn but Jon bumbles with his man, waking the sleeper. He kills the man by the fire and takes a dirk to the sleeper’s neck but before he can slit his throat he realizes last second the sleeper’s a girl and halts. Stonesnake tells him to finish her. Jon can’t, though; something about this girl reminds him of Arya, though they don’t look at all alike. He asks if she yields, glad she says yes, and says she’s his captive now.
:) He’s real glad he doesn’t have to kill her.
10. Stonesnake argues with him, saying Qhorin didn’t say to take any captives, but Jon says he also never said not to. :) Stonesnake points out she’s a spearwife, a female fighter. Give her the chance and she’d not hesitate to kill him, but Jon says he wouldn’t give her the chance.
11. We find out her name is Ygritte, an important character for Jon as we read on. I really like how she asks his name and he gives it freely and Stonesnake says the captive’s supposed to answer questions, not the other way around. :) I forgot Ygritte originally says Jon has an evil name. He corrects her, saying it’s a bastard name, and he’s a son of Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell, like he wants her to get to know him.
12. Ygritte tells them they should burn the bodies they killed. Stonesnake says they’d need a bigger fire than the one they have and besides, they’re ordered not to light any fires. Jon understands what she means, though, remembering dead Othor, and suggests they do as she says. Instead, Stonesnake strips them of their things and flings their bodies over the cliff. Urg...
13. They ask how many wildlings are on the other side of the mountain range and she says hundreds and thousands, indicating she doesn’t know the exact amount. But when they ask why they’re here and if she knows anything about Benjen Stark she goes silent, of course.
14. Jon hears shadowcats but Ygritte says they’ve only come for the dead. He hears them eating down below and feels uneasy. Hmm... He asks if they were her relatives but she says no more than he is. This confuses him. She asks who his mother is and Jon says some woman, most of them are. This makes her smile but he forgot who told him that. I do! Tyrion Lannister! She asks if she ever sung him the song of the winter rose *SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler) but he never knew his mother and never heard of that song. They have some time to wait for Qhorin and the others to join them so he tells her to tell him the story. She tells about Bael the Bard, a king-beyond-the-Wall, sounds much like Mance Rayder, actually, used to be a raider. Bael stole a Stark lord’s daughter, his only child, and left behind a winter rose on her empty bed. Jon had never heard of this tale. Turns out his daughter was hiding under the crypts with Bael, and she came back up months later with a baby boy. So the Starks have Bael’s blood in them, same as her. Jon doesn’t believe it. The tale turns dark as the young Stark kills Bael later on, because Bael refused to harm his son. The mother killed herself when she saw Bael’s head and their son died soon after, his skin flayed by one of his lords, probably the Boltons. I wonder why Ygritte even bothered telling him this tale. It seems significant, but I can’t put a finger on why.
15. I like that Jon never thought of Winterfell as being part of the south. To Ygritte, everything below the Wall is the south. It all depends on where you’re standing.
16. Qhorin and the others finally arrive with the dawn. There was another path up the mountain that’s horse-friendly and they took that route, but the Watchers would have seen them if Jon and Stonesnake tried that way, so that’s why they took the route they did.
17. Ghost greets Jon by closing his jaws around his wrist and playing tug-o-war. Ygritte’s face is priceless.
18. Qhorin doesn’t seem surprised to see Ygritte with them. Jon feels the need to explain she yielded. Qhorin asks if she knows who he is. Yes she does. He asks if he yielded to her people would they have let him live and she basically says no. Qhorin turns to Jon and says they don’t have enough food with them to feed her, nor enough men to watch her so she won’t escape, indicating they need to kill her.
19. Poor Jon doesn’t want to have to kill her. Qhorin leaves it to him to do it but tells the others to leave them be so Jon doesn’t have to be pressured with an audience. I’m surprised Ygritte doesn’t try to run away. She calls it: he never killed a woman before. I like that she says they die the same as men. She tells him Mance would spare him, she knows he would. Just them two, they could go back. But Jon is resolved. He’s a man of the Night’s Watch. She accepts her fate and gets in the position, but he hesitates. I love how he reminds himself he is Lord Eddard Stark’s son...isn’t he? When she looks up he tells her to go before his wits return, and she runs off. :) In my opinion, it’s not because he’s a coward; it’s because of his morals. I don’t think Ned would have killed her, either.
20. Can I just say that I love this introduction to Ygritte much better than what they had in the show? She isn’t quite so annoying in the books, not as big of a flirt, not so gabby, so mocking. At least, not that I remember.
I know how that goes. Hope you feel better soon!1. Gods, Theon irks me. He fucks a common wench in Ned Stark’s own bed. Well it is Theon’s bedchambers now, but still. He enjoyed the kinkiness of it.
2. Seems Theon is having trouble sleeping. He feels unsettled but it’s dark and quiet and all’s well. Then he realizes the direwolves aren’t howling; he’d gotten so used to their noise he didn’t notice it before. He commands a guard to check on them. Theon’s afraid of them getting loose, remembering what they did to the wildlings in the wolfswood.
3. Theon’s in trouble. The direwolves and the Stark boys are gone!
4. That’s good Theon had two of his own men whipped for raping a kennel girl, though raping is part of the Old Way.
5. He had Septon Chayle given up to the Drowned God, so he did drown after all. He was thrown into a well. How horrible.
6. It appears the boys escaped the castle. The two guards at the Hunter’s Gate were found dead; one was stabbed and one was torn apart by direwolves.
7. Look up merlon: A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement or crenellated parapet in medieval architecture or fortifications Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures or slits designed for observation and fire. The space between two merlons is called a crenel, and a succession of merlons and crenels is a crenellation. Crenels designed in later eras, for use by cannons, were called embrasures.
8. Theon regrets not killing the direwolves when he took the castle. Now they’ll have to go hunt them down, but not at night. That’s suicide. They’ll wait till the morning.
9. Reek has gotten a bath! He tells Theon six people are missing: both Stark boys, the Reed children, Hodor, and Osha. Ha! Theon sorely regrets letting Osha into his service. “She’s as unnatural as Asha. Even their names sound alike.”
10. Theon’s glad at least that they’re on foot. They can’t have gotten far and will be easy to come upon.
11. Theon questions the other occupants and realizes they hate him. No one’s going to betray their little princes to a traitor.
12. Reek encourages Theon to flay the subjects alive. He says Lord Bolton used to say a naked man has few secrets, but a flayed man has none. Ugh, at least Theon refuses to do that. We learn that only a thousand years ago the Starks made the Boltons bend the knee and stop flaying people. But he’s aware how old ways die hard. He wants to tell his subjects he’s all that stops the Boltons from flaying them but doesn’t because I’m sure that’ll piss off the Boltons should they get wind of this.
13. Theon gathers as many in his hunting party as he can, including Maester Luwin. He wants that man where he can see him.
14. The treachery! Little Walder, I’m pretty sure, wants to go hunting too, for that wolfskin cloak Theon promised. Big Walder says he’s gone on hunts before but never actually participated. Theon lets Little Walder join too but tells him to keep up or they’ll leave him behind. I’m glad Big Walder doesn’t go along with them. One is bad enough.
15. They’re on the hunt. The scent trail leads northwest, into the heart of the wolfswood. Theon doesn’t like this one bit. All he needs is for them to deliver themselves into Asha’s hands in Deepwood Motte. He’d kill them before he’d let them get captured. “It is better to be seen as cruel than foolish.”
16. After a while Luwin tells Theon so far hunting seems a lot like riding. Theon says the difference is there’s blood at the end of a hunt, then says only Robb was brotherly to him. Still, the boys are worth more to him alive than dead. Luwin says the same of the Reed children. He gives Theon wise council, saying dead and Howland will attack Moat Cailin with all his force, but alive and Howland must stay his hand. Ugh, Theon had stared at Meera, wondering if she’s still a maiden. Pervert. Luwin thanks him for his mercy. Ew, and Theon thought Sansa was a pretty little thing and wanted to marry her to lay better claim on Winterfell. Thankfully she is far away from him.
17. They find a young elk carcass, wolf work. But humans did not butcher the meat. Theon second guesses if they’re on the right trail but Farlon the kennelmaster assures they are.
18. Hours later the dogs lose the scent at a muddy brook. It had rained recently, too. Wex conveys there are wolfprints here but no footprints. It makes no sense. The direwolves would never part the Stark boys for very long, so they can’t be too far.
19. Theon wastes the rest of the day searching up and down the stream but can’t pick back up the trail. He feels increasing anxiety over losing them, especially since he’s supposed to be a good hunter. Reek says wolves wouldn’t stay in a cold stream for miles, but a man would...if he was running from something. Theon feels unsettled. These are no ordinary wolves, though.
20. Walder Frey insists they’ll never find the Stark boys, not with the bogmen running with them. He seems to know quite a bit about them. Maester Luwin backs him up, saying crannogmen know a lot of secrets the children of the forest knew. Theon believes him now that Luwin says it, because maesters are smarter than nine-year-old boys. The woods feel more ominous now.
21. Now Reek suggests they never came this way. Maybe they went east, toward the Umbers. He says there’s a mill not far off. Lol, Theon knew the miller’s wife because he tumbled her a time or two. *SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE* (view spoiler) Theon asks why they would go there when there are a dozen other places just as close by and Reek gives an amusing smile. Hey, look at that: his eyes are pale! The first time I read this I didn’t understand what he was implying but now I do. Theon doesn’t understand either until Reek secretly gives him a wolfs-head brooch. Why the hell did he have that on his person? Was he stealing shit? Theon tells his men to go back to Winterfell; he knows where the boys are. :(
22. Before they leave, poor Luwin reminds Theon of his promise of mercy but Theon says that was before they made him angry. “It is better to be feared than laughed at.” *SPOILER FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS IN A CLASH OF KINGS* (view spoiler)
