"Rafford Clegane, my sworn knight." Gregor said solemnly, "I swear to you, there will always be a place for you by my heart. We will share food and drink at the same table. I will never force you to do anything you do not wish to do. From this day forth, you are one of the Clegane family. We live together, and we die together."
He had made a slight revision to the oath that Maester Harry had just recited. The original phrase, "I will never compel you to act unjustly." had been altered to, "I will never compel you to do anything you do not wish to do." For a man who intended to carve his path through the world by embracing the darker side of power, the word "unjust" struck a nerve. It sounded judgmental, naïve even. Gregor, unlike most, had already seen the shadows of this world for what they were. He judged not the morality of means, only the clarity of purpose and the success of the result.
The phrase "we live together, and we die together" wasn't part of the traditional oath either. Gregor had added it himself. He would raise a brotherhood of death-bound knights. Raff was the first, but he would not be the last.
For any noble to utter such words to a subordinate was unheard of. In the rigid, hierarchical society of Westeros, nobles and their retainers existed in clearly stratified spheres. "Live and die together" was the kind of sentiment only a madwoman like Arya Stark of the North might have shown, befriending a butcher's boy, attacking Prince Joffrey for him, and triggering a chain of events that led to the death of her friend and her sister Sansa's direwolf.
So when Gregor spoke those words, it stunned everyone.
Ser Ado Serrett looked uneasy. Gregor was becoming more and more unfamiliar to him, no longer just bloodthirsty, but now willing to lower himself and speak as equals with common-born knights. To him, this was a disgrace to noble dignity.
Maester Harry was even more shocked. Gregor's recent behavior, raiding at night, returning Alva's body, arresting Ado, writing to Lord Tywin, and now knighting Raff, was not the behavior of a brute, but of a cunning man. Judging by the teary look in Raff's eyes, Harry thought Gregor could ask the man to die a hundred deaths, and he'd do so gladly.
Raff was already overwhelmed. Tears shimmered in his eyes. Anyone could see the emotion surging through him. To be knighted, granted the Clegane name, he was completely undone.
To Maester Harry's cool eyes, the man known as the smiling devil who killed without blinking now looked more like a child who'd just been given candy.
Polliver's mouth hung open, his round eyes fixed on Gregor. His splinted right hand was frozen in the air, and even his fork was suspended in mid-motion. He too longed for a knighthood, for the Clegane name, and most of all, for those words: we live and die together. For that alone, he would give anything.
To a fanatical follower like Polliver, Gregor wasn't just a lord, he was a god.
Gregor continued, "Ser Raff Clegane, remember our family's motto."
"A family motto, my lord?" Raff exclaimed, wide-eyed. "We have a family motto now?!"
He knew perfectly well that House Clegane had never had a motto. In fact, none of the three generations of Clegane knights had ever been literate enough to come up with one.
Even Maester Harry was caught off guard.
Gregor, a notorious illiterate, creating a family motto? Normally, such things were either composed by well-read lords or commissioned at great expense from archmaesters. For Gregor to invent his own… it was extraordinary. Unnatural, even.
Julie, the girl;Thomasson; Ado Serrett; the executioner Dunsen; the note-keeper Mark; and diehard fan Polliver, all stared blankly at Gregor.
Only Maester Harry remained skeptical and watchful.
"Unrivaled!" Gregor declared. "That is the motto of House Clegane, Unrivaled."
The name struck like thunder in Ado Serrett's head. He couldn't contain himself. Rage burst from within as he leapt to his feet. "Ser Gregor! Unrivaled is the motto of House Serrett!"
"You don't deserve it." Gregor replied coldly. "Only House Clegane is worthy of such words. As for your House Serrett… that preening peacock you use for a sigil suits you far better."
"I will, " Ado shouted, but the rest of the sentence, likely a challenge to a duel, never made it out. His body burned with shame, his breath caught in his throat, but he lacked the courage to die for his honor.
Raff stood, patting Ado's shoulder, and raised a cup with a smile. "Don't be angry, Lord Ado. You can still use Unrivaled for your family motto. We will too. But… I'm afraid yours might become a bit of a laughingstock among the nobility. Your house has coins, hire a new archmaester and find another one. No shame in it. Now, come on, let's toast to my joining House Clegane!"
Raff Raff never insulted people. He killed with a smile, his words like honey, his heart full of blades.
Maester Harry couldn't help but chuckle. So, Gregor had simply stolen the Serrett family's motto. It fit his bandit logic perfectly. Once word spread that House Clegane claimed Unrivaled, House Serrett would be ruined in reputation. And when it came to martial prowess, none could deny that Gregor Clegane was the most fearsome in the Westerlands, perhaps in all Seven Kingdoms.
Still, this would deepen the already-burning feud between the Cleganes and the Serretts, fanned further by the death of Alva.
But that, too, was Gregor's nature. A brute stays a brute, even when he's playing the wise man. Even his family motto had to be taken by force.
…
"Father." said Julie sweetly, pouring Gregor a drink and placing a piece of honeyed bread on his plate, his portion always several times larger than anyone else's. "You said you wouldn't kill me, right?"
Gregor glanced sideways at the girl, suddenly uneasy. Not that anyone could see it, he wore his expression like a mask.
He didn't respond. He didn't know what she might say next.
"Ser Raff Clegane, when you go to Lannisport tomorrow to have our new family crest forged, could you have one made for me too? I want a small one, in silver, a brooch."
Raff glanced at Gregor's face, which had gone faintly stiff, and smiled. "Of course, Julie."
But Gregor felt a chill run down his spine. After the Serrett incident, Raff would surely kill Julie. The sweeter he smiled, the more ruthlessly he'd strike. And he'd do it silently, cleanly, without leaving a trace.
Julie wasn't Gregor's daughter, nor his bastard. Raff knew that. He had seen the awkwardness on his lord's face. Naturally, Raff would take care of the "problem" without being told.
To silently kill and dispose of a little girl was, to Raff, a satisfying chore.
But Gregor didn't want Julie to die, not yet. The girl had done nothing wrong.
He could command Raff not to touch her. Or… perhaps he'd just protect her for now. Who knew what the future held? One step at a time.
"Raff, make Julie's brooch in gold." Gregor said. He glanced at her hay-strewn hair and tattered clothes. "And take her for a haircut. Buy her some decent clothes."
"Yes, milord." Raff's smile faded slightly. He shrugged. With only a few copper coins left, he'd have to rely on the Clegane name and the sword at his hip to buy on credit.
"Maester Harry, if you're willing, start teaching Julie to read tomorrow. Teach her noble etiquette, the mottos and sigils of the great houses, and everything else she'll need to know."
"As you wish, my lord."
"Lord Ado Serrett." Gregor said, "Julie is now my foster daughter. Her name is Julie Clegane."
Ado's face went white.
Thomasson slowly unclenched his grip on his fork. He glanced at Gregor, a flash of deep gratitude in his eyes, before bowing his head and gulping down his bacon soup.
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