The Old Fox

Through its marriage alliances with House Redwyne of the Arbor and House Hightower of Oldtown, House Tyrell was indeed riding high.

But it was not invulnerable.

Its foundations were simply too weak. Ever since the Targaryens conquered Westeros, the Tyrells had never taken part in any major events. This low-profile approach had, in fact, been entirely correct: it had allowed them to hold on until House Hightower withdrew into its shell.

Now that things were going so well, however, they might grow complacent, unable to bear being left out or resist their craving for the center of power, and willingly throw themselves into the "tides of the age."

If they could hold steady, all would be well. But one setback, and the lords of the Reach, suppressed for so many years, would likely descend on them together and carve House Tyrell up.

Titus did not know what the others would do, but he, at least, intended to bite off the fattest, juiciest piece of meat.

He also knew of another hidden danger facing House Tyrell: House Rowan of Goldengrove.

Their house descended from another daughter of Garth Greenhand, Rowan Gold-Tree, and their lands lay due north of Highgarden, east of Red Lake.

Their holdings encompassed nearly the entire northern Reach. North of the Mander River, apart from the Tyrell lands and those of a few houses along the western coast, most of the land belonged to them.

If asked which house in the Reach besides the Tyrells and Hightowers could muster ten thousand soldiers, Titus would certainly cast his vote for them.

House Rowan had originally been one of the Reach's foremost houses, but the alliance of those three houses had now all but pushed it into the second rank.

The Reach was a special case, however. Its so-called second-rank houses could rival any house below the ruling dukes in other regions.

In Titus's eyes, only the Merryweathers of Longtable, the Cuys of Cider Hall, the Florents of Brightwater Keep, and the Tarlys of Horn Hill qualified as second-rank houses by the Reach's standards.

House Fossoway of Tumbleton had once been formidable too, but since being scorched by dragonfire, it had become a shadow of its former self.

The next day.

Having timed his arrival at Highgarden carefully, Titus discovered that he had indeed arrived just in time. Nearly all the major houses of the Reach were present.

In the hall from the previous evening.

Purple grapes, a soaring tower, a golden tree on white, a white sun and chevron, a red-and-gold fox, green and red apples, green oak leaves, a golden crane on blue, a triple lightning bolt, a sharp-horned skull, a two-headed pelican, a web-weaving spider, a green-and-gold lion, interlinked chains...

Noble heraldry of every kind could be seen everywhere, as the worthies of the Reach gathered in force.

Titus looked across the hall, where everyone was exchanging toasts, passing cups, and chatting merrily over wine.

Some were even showing signs of abandoning all restraint in broad daylight... These people had been born Celestial Dragons.

The mood in the hall was buoyant and extraordinarily lively.

Duke Mace Tyrell also formally introduced his heir, Willas Tyrell, to the Reach nobles preparing to participate in the tourney.

The brat, not yet ten, seemed unusually mature, answering smoothly and speaking readily throughout, quite unlike his father.

Naturally, everyone showered him with praise, marveling that Highgarden had a worthy successor... At least on the surface.

During the feast, a Tyrell fool called Butterbumps also sang several songs for the guests.

To Titus's ears, he was nowhere near Seven-String Tom's standard.

"A bear! A bear!

I called for a knight, but you're a bear!

A bear! A bear!

All black and brown and covered in hair!

The maiden kicked and wailed in fright,

But he licked the honey from her hair,

Her hair! Her hair!

"The Bear and the Maiden Fair" still echoed through the hall, a vulgar traditional song of Westeros.

In a humorous tone, the song told the story of a hairy bear who took three boys and a goat to rescue a beautiful maiden expecting a knight.

Yes, it fully expressed the author's longing for home.

Given House Peake's limited popularity, Titus left the feast early.

He had not merely watched coldly from the sidelines the whole time. He had deliberately approached Earl Mathis Rowan of Goldengrove, and their conversation had gone quite well at first. Earl Mathis had been very warm, too, until he vaguely brought up his daughter.

Having no interest in that, Titus offered a few noncommittal remarks, turned away to get another cup of wine, then sought out the Earl of Cider Hall for a brief chat.

That would do for now. There would be plenty of opportunities along the road to the Riverlands.

With little to show for his efforts, Titus was about to return to his guest room when a voice came from behind him:

"My lord, please wait."

With his back to the newcomer, Titus gave a faint, cold smile, then turned around with a beaming expression, wanting to see which Shen Gongbao had come calling.

The man who had stopped him was a tall, thin elder.

Already well advanced in years, he had silver-gray hair and a beard trimmed long and pointed around his elongated face. He wore a luxurious celestine-blue robe, with a dazzling red-gold brooch pinned to his left breast, shaped like the outline of a fox.

Oh, not a leopard, but an old fox.

Titus greeted him warmly. "Ah, Earl Alester Florent. How may I be of service?"

The elderly, wealthy Earl Alester had the prominent ears characteristic of House Florent. A man attentive to etiquette, he first inclined his head slightly to Titus, then nodded in greeting to Parker beside him before speaking:

"You are too kind, my lord. There is a small matter I would like to discuss with Earl Titus. Shall we go somewhere else?"

Something to discuss? Then why didn't you approach me earlier, instead of waiting until I left the feast to seek me out in private?

Titus did not agree at once.

House Florent's seat was Brightwater Keep, situated at the headwaters of the Honeywine. Its arms were a red-and-gold fox encircled by a wreath of sky-blue flowers.

This house was deeply entrenched in the western Reach. In influence, it stood second only to the Hightowers of Oldtown, who were effectively the "kings of the southwestern Reach."

They were also among the old noble houses of the Reach that frequently complained and questioned House Tyrell's position as overlords of the south.

Among those nobles who claimed their blood was closer to House Gardener's than that of their Tyrell liege lords, House Florent was undoubtedly one of the most radical and representative. They had repeatedly declared:

House Florent had a stronger claim to the succession than the Tyrells, who had originally been mere stewards to House Gardener. After the members of House Gardener and their Knights of the Green Hand had all perished at the Field of Fire, the Florents had the better right to inherit Highgarden and the position of Warden of the South.

Unfortunately, Aegon I simply wouldn't let you take over...

His smile undiminished, Titus finally nodded and, with Parker in tow, followed Earl Alester through a series of turns into a small garden.

It was secluded, with no one coming or going.

Realizing that Alester had even chosen the location beforehand, Titus raised his guard a notch.

Strictly speaking, the Florents of Brightwater Keep, the Peakes of Starpike, and the Balls of Redfort, these three houses of the Reach, had quite a history together.

They all shared a common ancestor-Florys the Fox.

To earn such a nickname, Florys had naturally been very charming. She had kept three husbands at once, none of whom ever met, making her a Westerosi model of a woman who ate at one man's table and slept in another's bed.

She had children by each of her three husbands, founding three houses with long histories. In some versions of unofficial tales, even Lann the Clever, ancestor of the Lannisters of the Westerlands, was her bastard son.

Lann the Clever was described in some accounts as a handsome man and in others as a dwarf... His original model was somewhat uncertain.

In any case, whether Lann was or not, House Peake was certainly related to House Florent, albeit very distantly.

And during the first Blackfyre Rebellion, Ser Quentyn Ball, known as "Fireball," and the Earl Gormon Peake of that time had both served as Daemon Blackfyre's "right- and left-hand men"...

Clearly, the "friendship" between these houses ran quite deep.

"The Bear and the Maiden Fair":