CINEMA PARADISO

Un altro capitolo pubblicato da George Martin (3a parte)

     By the time they arrived at the gatehouse, both of them were red-faced and panting. Myranda had lost her cloak somewhere along the way. They were just in time. The portcullis had been raised, and a column of riders twenty strong were passing underneath. At their head rode Anya Waynwood, Lady of Ironoaks, stern and slim, her grey-brown hair bound up in a scarf. Her riding cloak was heavy green wool trimmed with brown fur, and clasped at the throat by a niello brooch in the shape of the broken wheel of her House.

     Myranda Royce stepped forward and sketched a curtsy. “Lady Anya. Welcome to the Gates of the Moon.”

    “Lady Myranda. Lady Alayne.” Anya Waynwood inclined her head to each of them in turn. “It is good of you to greet us. Allow me to present my grandson, Ser Roland Waynwood.”  She nodded at the knight who had spoken.  “And this is my youngest son, Ser Wallace Waynwood.  And of course my ward, Ser Harrold Hardyng.”

     Harry the Heir, Alayne thought. My husband-to-be, if he will have me.  A sudden terror filled her.  She wondered if her face was red. Don’t stare at him, she reminded herself, don’t stare, don’t gape, don’t gawk.  Look away. Her hair must be a frightful mess after all that running.  It took all her will to stop herself from trying to tuck the loose strands back into place. Never mind your stupid hair.  Your hair doesn’t matter.  It’s him that matters.  Him, and the Waynwoods.

     Ser Roland was the oldest of the three, though no more than five-and-twenty. He was taller and more muscular than Ser Wallace, but both were long-faced and lantern-jawed, with stringy brown hair and pinched noses.  Horsefaced and homely, Alayne thought.

     Harry, though…

     My Harry.  My lord, my lover, my betrothed.

     Ser Harrold Hardyng looked every inch a lord-in-waiting; clean-limbed and handsome, straight as a lance, hard with muscle. Men old enough to have known Jon Arryn in his youth said Ser Harrold had his look, she knew. He had a mop of sandy blond hair, pale blue eyes, an aquiline nose. Joffrey was comely too, though, she reminded herself.   A comely monster, that’s what he was.  Little Lord Tyrion was kinder, twisted though he was.

     Harry was staring at her. He knows who I am, she realized, and he does not seem pleased to see me. It was only then that she took note of his heraldry. Though his surcoat and horse trappings were patterned in the red-and-white diamonds of House Hardyng, his shield was quartered. The arms of Hardyng and Waynwood were displayed in the first and third quarters, respectively, but in the second and fourth quarters he bore the moon-and-falcon of House Arryn, sky blue and cream. Sweetrobin will not like that.

     Ser Wallace said, “Are we the l-l-last?”

     “You are, sers,” replied Myranda Royce, taking absolutely no notice of his stammer.

     “Wh-wh-when will the t-t-tilts commence?”

     “Oh, soon, I pray,” said Randa. “Some of the competitors have been here for almost a moon’s turn, partaking of my father’s meat and mead. All good fellows, and very brave… but they do eat rather a lot.”

     The Waynwoods laughed, and even Harry the Heir cracked a thin smile. “It was snowing in the passes, else we would have been here sooner,” said Lady Anya.

     “Had we known such beauty awaited us at the Gates, we would have flown,” Ser Roland said.  Though his words were addressed to Myranda Royce, he smiled at Alayne as he said them.

     “To fly you would need wings,” Randa replied, “and there are some knights here who might have a thing to say concerning that.”

     “I look forward to a spirited discussion.” Ser Roland swung down from his horse, turned to Alayne, and smiled.  “I had heard that Lord Littlefinger’s daughter was fair of face and full of grace, but no one ever told me that she was a thief.”

     “You wrong me, ser. I am no thief!”

     Ser Roland placed his hand over his heart. “Then how do you explain this hole in my chest, from where you stole my heart?”

     “He is only t-teasing you, my lady,” stammered Ser Wallace. “My n-n-nephew never had a h-h-heart.”

     “The Waynwood wheel has a broken spoke, and we have my nuncle here.” Ser Roland gave Wallace a whap behind the ear.  “Squires should be quiet when knights are speaking.”

     Ser Wallace reddened.  “I am no more a s-squire, my lady.  My n-nephew knows full well that I was k-k-kni-k-k-kni –“

     “Dubbed?” Alayne suggested gently.

     “Dubbed,” said Wallace Waynwood, gratefully.

     Robb would be his age, if he were still alive, she could not help but think, but Robb died a king, and this is just a boy.

     “My lord father has assigned you rooms in the East Tower,” Lady Myranda was telling Lady Waynwood, “but I fear your knights will need to share a bed. The Gates of the Moon were never meant to house so many noble visitors.”

     “You are in the Falcon Tower, Ser Harrold,” Alayne put in. Far away from Sweetrobin.That was intentional, she knew. Petyr Baelish did not leave such things to chance. “If it please you, I will show you to your chambers myself.” This time her eyes met Harry’s.  She smiled just for him, and said a silent prayer to the Maiden. Please, he doesn’t need to love me, just make him like me, just a little, that would be enough for now.

     Ser Harrold looked down at her coldly. “Why should it please me to be escorted anywhere by Littlefinger’s bastard?”

     All three Waynwoods looked at him askance. “You are a guest here, Harry,” Lady Anya reminded him, in a frosty voice. “See that you remember that.”

     A lady’s armor is her courtesy. Alayne could feel the blood rushing to her face. No tears, she prayed. Please, please, I must not cry. “As you wish, ser. And now if you will excuse me, Littlefinger’s bastard must find her lord father and let him know that you have come, so we can begin the tourney on the morrow.”  And may your horse stumble, Harry the Heir, so you fall on your stupid head in your first tilt. She showed the Waynwoods a stone face as they blurted out awkward apologies for their companion. When they were done she turned and fled.

     Near the keep, she ran headlong into Ser Lothor Brune and almost knocked him off his feet. “Harry the Heir?  Harry the Arse, I say. He’s just some upjumped squire.”

     Alayne was so grateful that she hugged him. “Thank you. Have you seen my father, ser?”

     “Down in the vaults, ” Ser Lothar said, “inspecting Lord Nestor’s granaries with Lord Grafton and Lord Belmore.”

     The vaults were large and dark and filthy. Alayne lit a taper and clutched her skirt as she made the descent. Near the bottom, she heard Lord Grafton’s booming voice, and followed.”The merchants are clamoring to buy, and the lords are clamoring to sell,” the Gulltowner was saying when she found them.  Though not a tall man, Grafton was wide, with thick arms and shoulders.  His hair was a dirty blond mop.  “How am I to stop that, my lord?”

     “Post guardsmen on the docks. If need be, seize the ships. How does not matter, so long as no food leaves the Vale. “

     “These prices, though,”  protested fat Lord Belmore,”  these prices are more than fair.”

     “You say more than fair, my lord.  I say less than we would wish.  Wait.  If need be, buy the food yourself and keep it stored.  Winter is coming.  Prices must go higher.”

     “Perhaps,”  said Belmore, doubtfully.

     “Bronze Yohn will not wait, ”  Grafton complained.  “He need not ship through Gulltown, he has his own ports.  Whilst we are hoarding our harvest, Royce and the other Lords Declarant will turn theirs into silver, you may be sure of that.”

     “Let us hope so,”  said Petyr.  “When their granaries are empty, they will need every scrap of that silver to buy sustenance from us.  And now if you will excuse me, my lord, it would seem my daughter has need of me.”

     “Lady Alayne,” Lord Grafton said. “You look bright-eyed this morning.”

     “You are kind to say so, my lord. Father, I am sorry to disturb you, but I thought you would want to know that the Waynwoods have arrived.”

     “And is Ser Harrold with them?”

     Horrible Ser Harrold.  “ He is.”

     Lord Belmore laughed. “I never thought Royce would let him come. Is he blind, or merely stupid?”

     “He is honorable.  Sometimes it amounts to the same thing.  If he denied the lad the chance to prove himself, it could create a rift between them, so why not let him tilt?  The boy is nowise skilled enough to win a place amongst the Winged Knights.”

     “I suppose not,” said Belmore, grudgingly.  Lord Grafton kissed Alayne on the hand, and the two lords went off, leaving her alone with her lord father.

     “Come,” Petyr said, “walk with me.”  He took her by the arm and led her deeper into the vaults, past an empty dungeon.  “And how was your first meeting with Harry the Heir?”

     “He’s horrible.”

     “The world is full of horrors, sweet.  By now you ought to know that.  You’ve seen enough of them.”

     “Yes,” she said, “but why must he be so cruel?  He called me your bastard.  Right in the yard, in front of everyone.”

     “So far as he knows, that’s who you are.  This betrothal was never his idea, and Bronze Yohn has no doubt warned him against my wiles.  You are my daughter.  He does not trust you, and he believes that you’re beneath him.”

     “Well, I’m not.  He may think he’s some great knight, but Ser Lothor says he’s just some upjumped squire.”